Hello and welcome back friends. This post that I will be sharing is more targeted to the newer graphics designers. Or perhaps, intermediate. Feel free to use any of this reference material for your own use.

If you read my blog post about Minimalism Design, why you should be using it, you'll recognize some of the examples I used here.

In this post, I go over how to craft yourself a solid contract for commission based work. If you're an entrepreneur, company or startup, this could be a good primer for you on how a healthy contractual draft should go.

This is totally original content, and I get pretty in-depth so, let's just jump right into it.

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THE CONTRACT

This right here is the single most important aspect of any project you’ll work. You need to understand this, and you need to get this right. This is the difference between having a commission and being a personal slave.

Writing up a contract can be hard, and each contract is unique in the ways that it’s kind of hard to find a “One Size fits all” contract.

However, there are some things you should always make sure to do when drafting up such a contract.

Ensure no loose ends.

You want your contract to be water tight. You want to specify who you are, who your client is, what sort of service you’re going to provide, how many drafts and amendments are allowed. You don’t need to write a complete essay, but you want to cover your bases.

Don’t be afraid to add in things that you want to be included.

If you want to say, after the project is finished you don’t want to work under Chris, don’t be afraid to add in something like that. This is only an example, but the idea is the same. Just keep in mind that the other party will have to agree to the terms too.

Reserve your rights to showcase your work on your portfolio.

Some clients will not like this, but you should always push for this right, as one of the most important things that you want to do is expand your portfolio and show off your work. Most clients will be understanding, and will actually like the idea, but some will not. In this case, ask for an additional fee to waive this right

Let’s take a look at how I would create a contract.

I would include a contract in my invoice, and add a section to it saying something to the effect of “When you pay you agree to these terms”. Let’s take a look at that now.

Now, it’s important to go over your terms with your client, making sure he agrees beforehand, otherwise, he’ll disagree later right?

Anyway, let’s break down this contract further.

We’re setting this all up as an invoice to save time, however, if you feel more comfortable doing an actual contract first, then invoice, you can. But most clients are going to want an invoice regardless, especially if they’re bigger. And it’s always healthy to have an invoice anyway.

We’re setting down our brand to maintain our image as professionals. Putting an address and full name is optional, I never do because I always work with clients remotely, and I’d prefer to stay anonymous, but you can do what you and your client prefer.

The invoice is addressed to our client, and the balance that he’s going to make is clear.

Dating is also important, the client will need that information for future budgeting practices.

Now, notice here, that I used “Branding Package”. I do this because It makes it easy to refer to later. I mean, a branding package is basically a full-scale identity for a company. I will get more in depth with this in another post.

Now, the important part. Under the branding package, I define what’s included. 1 Logo Design. 1 Brand Design. Through this small invoice, we’re defining our work duration and boundaries.

3 logo Drafts, 3 Branding Drafts. We’re defining how many variations of the logo we’re willing to do for this price range.

5 Logo amendments. 5 Brand Amendments. We’re defining how many times we’re going to be willing to make small changes to each of the major elements to this project.

So just in this section, we’ve defined the max amount of work we’re going to do for the amount of pay. And we will always be able to refer to this section in the future. We’re also showing how professional we are by covering all corners of the project. Always make it clear to the client exactly what they’re going to get.

Notes:
By paying the deposit, Christopher Pandabar (Inverse Solutions) agrees to the terms and conditions specified in the terms section of this invoice. All payments will be made in BTC as preferred by MaliceRed and only BTC. The amounts specified in this contract are in USD but will be paid in BTC based on a major bitcoin exchange (BTCE) BTC-USD
Terms:
Christopher Pandabar (Inverse Solutions) will pay 50% of total price deposit to commission MaliceRed to begin working on the above-specified projects. Any additional services not specified above will require an additional $28.00 per hour.
MaliceRed reserves the right to refuse any additional work not specified above. If for any reason Christopher Pandabar (Inverse Solutions) decides to forgo completion of services. MaliceRed reserves the right to keep all fees and commissions paid as compensation for labor and services spent. Christopher Pandabar (Inverse Solutions) will no longer have to pay the remaining balance.
MaliceRed reserves the right to publish all graphics created under commission for portfolio and showcase purposes. These graphics will be watermarked and will not be used for commercial purposes.
Christopher Pandabar (Inverse Solutions) acknowledges that source files will be provided along with 1 initial file size per file. Source files for drafts will not be provided but can be purchased additionally.
MRD – 4/10/2016

Now for the actual terms of the agreement.

By paying the deposit, Christopher Pandabar (Inverse Solutions) agrees to the terms and conditions specified in the terms section of this invoice.

We’re making it clear, that if Chris agrees to our terms, he’ll have to pay our deposit. He has no excuse later to say he didn’t agree to the terms. It doesn’t always have to be set up this way however. Asking for a signature works just as well, and is equally as fine. I set it up this way because this is a remote project, but you may find yourself in a different situation.

All payments will be made in BTC as preferred by MaliceRed and only BTC. The amounts specified in this contract are in USD, but will be paid in BTC based on a major bitcoin exchange (BTCE) BTC-USD
This is a good example of defining your own terms. In this case, it’s a remote project, and I prefer to take bitcoins as a form of payment. I also explain, that I want bitcoins equal to the value of my commission price, and this price will be based on a Bitcoin exchange called BTCE.

Christopher Pandabar (Inverse Solutions) will pay 50% of total price deposit to commission MaliceRed to begin working on the above specified projects. Any additional services not specified above will require an additional $28.00 per hour.

We’re saying at this point, that he needs to pay up 50% upfront to commission us for work on his project. We’re also saving ourselves the headache of dealing with design creep by saying, anything outside of the project, or anything more than what we specified above is going to be charged hourly.

Setting your boundaries is what this is about, and you have to get in the habit of doing this, otherwise you’ll be working on the same thing without any compensation for it. No one works for free. Reasonable clients will understand this, in fact, most of my clients did.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that the client will accept all of your terms, sometimes things don’t work out perfectly. This is especially true when you’re working on a project like this. In that case, we just have to remember to keep our formality and always be willing to talk to our client. Eventually, something will be worked out.

If you’d like to create invoices just like this, I use Invoice Generator.

That's pretty much it. Now, I know this is a breakdown of how I would do an agreement with a client, but this is really useful for any commission based contracting. Whether you're a florist, or photographer, or Music producer. This is a really good primer for what to expect, and gives you a practical foundation when it's time to draft up an agreement with a client.

Now, let it sink in!

With that being said guys, what do you think about it? Is there something you would remove or include? Discuss it with me!

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Logo Giveaway

Alrighty so, In my introduction post I mentioned that I would like to help contribute to the steemit community right?

Well, I came up with a very fair and awesome way I can do just that. I will like to announce that I will be doing a weekly logo design giveaway.

Under normal circumstances, I would advise no logo designer to give away their product for nothing. However, steemit has embraced me, and I'd like to keep good on my word and return the favor.

Once every week, on Monday, I will select 1 random follower to have a one totally free logo design from start to finish. All that follower has to do is provide me a brief, and I will take care of the rest. That will be started up on June 12th.

So perhaps you're a startup and are looking for a good mark for your company, be sure to follow me for a chance to get yours!

For more information, check out my post

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Thanks for reading!!!!