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We typically work best with brands & businesses that:

  • Believe in the power of brand identity design and social media marketing

  • Understand the value of having an appropriate, consistent, high quality brand identity

  • Are interested in a long-term solution, and aren’t just looking for a quick fix

  • Are able to communicate brand values and goals clearly

  • Are organized and open to feedback

Our office hours are 9AM–5PM MST, Monday–Friday​

We are closed for U.S. bank holidays:  MLK Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Caesar Chavez Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day (including Black Friday), and the week of Christmas Eve through New Year's Day.

Our preferred means of communication is email.

  • Email communication makes it easy for us to send links, attach files, and later search for information if we need to reference something.

  • We typically respond to your emails within 24 hours of receiving them.

Single Point of Contact​

  • To streamline the communication process and minimize the risk of confusion and misunderstandings, Anne Maria will be Unity Design’s point of contact for all correspondence. Likewise, our clients will assign one person who will be assumed to understand and represent their organization’s interests to be our sole point of contact .

  • Anne Maria's email address is annemaria@unitydesign.com.

Project Participation​

Any client stakeholders that wish to participate in any aspect of our work must be involved from the very beginning and will be managed by the client's assigned single point of contact, who will act as the the project liaison. Last-minute weigh-ins from people that weren't privy to our deliberations and decision tree are not allowed.

Meetings​

  • In-person meetings are available if needed, but must be requested at least one week in advance via email and are subject to our availability. Same-day meetings are not available.

  • For subscription-based engagements, we'll schedule a monthly meeting on the same day every month so it's easy to remember and plan for.

Timely feedback is the key to success.​

  • It is important that you provide timely and thorough feedback when required so that we can understand your ideas, concerns, insights, and suggestions and proceed with our work at a good pace. We ask that all messages are replied to within 2 business days.

  • Late or missing feedback, approvals, materials, text, imagery, and other requested content will stall projects, compromise our planned completion dates, and jeopardize project success.

We always give you fixed prices, not estimates.​

  • You will not pay a dime more than your selected price.

  • We never assess an hourly or daily fee to accomplish the agreed-upon scope of work, since you should not have to make an investment decision every time our assistance may be needed. This is a unique feature of our consulting practice.

  • The project fee must be paid in full on acceptance to schedule a project.

  • For monthly subscription-based engagements, the first month's fee must be paid in full to schedule a project.

Our work is guaranteed.​

In the event that you feel that we are not meeting the standards described in our proposals, or are not satisfied with our work or the direction the projects are taking within the first 30 days of our engagement, we will refund your entire fee upon such notification.

Availability​

  • Unity Design's services are in high demand and our schedule fills up quickly. Depending on our workload, we may not be able to take on new projects immediately.

  • Each proposal will clearly state when we will be able to schedule a start date.

Scope of Work​

Our scope is limited to what has been laid out explicitly in our proposals. Further requests for consultation or special projects beyond the agreed upon project scope will be treated separately as needing a new proposal and associated fees.

Deliverables​

  • We will deliver the final approved artwork files to you via email. If the files are too big to email, we will email you a Dropbox link to access the files. This link will be active for 30 days, after which the files will be archived.

  • Please keep your files in a safe and accessible place for continued use. Requests for files that have already been archived can be accommodated for $50 per request. Although I typically keep client files archived for several years, I can't guarantee that I'll have access to them after the 30-day window has expired.

  • Any fees incurred beyond the initial project price must be paid in full before deliverables are released. In the case of web design, the invoice balance must be paid in full before we can launch a website.

Payments and Scheduling​​

  • The quoted fee must be paid in full upon acceptance to schedule projects. Your payment will lock in your project on our calendar.

  • For monthly subscription-based engagements, the first month's fee must be paid in full to schedule the project.

  • All project invoice payments are due upon receipt. Clients will receive automatic reminders for late payments 3, 7, and 14 days after the due date.

  • Subscription-based services require the client to place a credit or debit card on file with our automated invoicing system which sends invoices out on the same day every month.

  • Late payments (delinquent for more than 30 days) will cease all work until payment is made in full for the outstanding balance due. Please let us know if you anticipate any difficulties paying so we can try to work out an amicable solution without having to pause our work and lose project momentum.

Revisions​

  • All design projects include two rounds of revisions, and each round can contain an unlimited number of single revisions.

  • Additional rounds of revisions are available for $175 per round and are added to the invoice balance.

  • Extra revisions are rarely necessary. Two rounds of revisions are usually more than enough to dial in a perfect design.

Design Proofs​

  • All design proofs emailed to the client for review and/or approval are considered "soft proofs," a close but not exact representation of the final print. Because of the differences in equipment, screen capabilities and calibration, paper types, inks, printer capabilities and settings, and other conditions and variables that exist between what you see on your screen and press room operations, a reasonable variation in color between proofs and the completed job are to be expected and shall constitute acceptable delivery.

  • Clients are responsible for insuring that all of the content contained in the design proofs is correct and complies with federal, state, and local government regulations. Although Unity Design checks carefully through all stages of production, the client accepts full responsibility for any errors or omissions in the approved artwork.

Artwork Approval and Prepress Work​

  • Clients must officially approve all artwork proofs using our artwork approval form in order to prepare the artwork for production and use.

  • Design modifications requested after the approval form is submitted, and any additional prepress work required as a result is available for $175 per round. These extra revisions may compromise our planned completion date and jeopardize project success.

Press Checks and Print Color Accuracy​

  • We do our best to match colors on our professional-grade, color-accurate computer screen with the CMYK recipes and Pantone swatch colors used in physical printing. However, since computer screens display RGB colors, they can only provide a ballpark simulation of other color modes. It is physically impossible to find an exact translation from one mode to another, only close approximations.

  • Printed colors may also vary due to deviations in technology and techniques, paper characteristics, and calibration settings. Therefore, Unity Design cannot claim any responsibility or offer any warranties for the color accuracy or quality of printed or on-screen designs.

  • It is the client’s responsibility to make sure that print vendors use the right ink colors by choosing colors from their standard swatch books and/or performing press checks so the printer can modify the colors as needed on their end.

Social Media Marketing Expectations​

  • Social media marketing takes a lot of time and effort. It’s not as simple as publishing a post and seeing new customers roll in. It requires consistency, creativity, and mostly patience.

  • It usually takes a while (6–12 months) to build up a following and begin to see real results from both organic and paid social media efforts.

Intellectual Property​

  • Unity Design operates on a "work for hire" basis meaning that the final, approved designs and the electronic files which contain them will become the client's property upon payment of the agreed-upon project fees.

  • All preparation materials, preliminary ideas, sketches, visuals, and mockups, including the working source files, fonts, and software used to create the project remain Unity Design's property. Font files cannot be shared with clients, but they can always obtain their own license and font files from the font foundries themselves.

  • Clients may not use, modify, alter, or replicate any of Unity Design’s work, including sketches and prototypes, without paying any outstanding balance in full.

  • Unity Design retains the right to showcase the approved designs and the client's name and logo for its own advertising, portfolio, and other promotional purposes.

  • Clients are responsible for obtaining rights to use any business name, copy, photos, or original art submitted to Unity Design for publication. Unity Design is not responsible for obtaining permission to use third party intellectual property nor liable for any problems that may arise from copyright disputes or infringements.

Project Suspension Fee​

  • If circumstances require you to pull out of a subscription-based engagement before it is completed, you may do so at any time by paying an amount equal to 50% of one month’s fees (assuming all invoices have been paid up to that point). This ensures that Unity Design is fairly compensated for the work it has done to date, and it releases the rights for all approved, finalized designs and other assets commissioned by the client into their formal ownership to do with as they please.

  • If the engagement is ended and the suspension fee is not paid, or if an outstanding balance on a project invoice remains unpaid for over 60 days, Unity Design reserves the right to reuse or amend any of the work done up to that point for other clients and projects.

Project Timelines & Rush Fees​

  • Each project comes with its own unique timeline based on its type and complexity.

  • Additions to the scope of work, extra revision sessions, above-average design intricacy, late client feedback, and/or dealing with unexpected circumstances will require additional time and could require additional fees.

  • If you desire a rushed time frame for your project, we may be able to accommodate, however a rush fee will apply. Depending on the requested turnaround time and our current workload, at least 50% of the regular project fee will be added to the invoice total to expedite your emergency project. Good design takes time, so it’s best to approach projects in an un-rushed manner whenever possible.

Indemnification​

  • Unity Design, its partners, employees, contractors, and parent company, Unity Creative LLC, cannot be held liable for any loss or misfortune that may arise from the use of the approved designs beyond the amount of the original project fee.

TERMS & CONDITIONS

Because we're passionate about working with businesses whose mission and vision we can get behind, we're extremely selective about the clients we choose to work with. What we do and how we do it should be a good fit for you as well. Toward this end, we'd like to share some information about ourselves and how we work.​

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This purpose of this Terms and Conditions page is to provide you with an introduction to our project workflow and parameters. It serves to strengthen the relationship by laying out expectations for everyone involved, fostering a strong business environment, and making the process as easy and fruitful as possible.

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If you have any questions, please email create@unitydesign.com.

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