The Logo Expert Terms of Service

These are the standard terms of service for design projects and services provided by The Logo Expert. Please read them carefully before purchasing a service or starting a project.

These Terms of Service apply to branding packages, logo design, monthly design retainers, ad-hoc graphic design services and any other design services supplied by The Logo Expert, unless otherwise agreed in writing.

If anything in these terms is unclear or you believe your project requires different arrangements, please raise this with us before the project begins. Any agreed changes should be confirmed in writing.

By purchasing a service, paying an invoice or deposit, or otherwise instructing us to begin work, you confirm that you have read, understood and accepted these Terms of Service.

Payment

Full payment and commencement of work

All branding packages, logo design projects, monthly retainers and ad-hoc graphic design services must be paid in full before work begins, unless otherwise agreed in writing.

For online purchases, payment confirms your acceptance of these Terms of Service and authorises The Logo Expert to commence the relevant service.

Once payment has been received, we will allocate time and resources to your project and begin the work according to the agreed scope.

We reserve the right to withhold final artwork, editable files, source files or other final deliverables until any outstanding amount relating to the project has been paid in full.

Payment for additional work

Any work requested outside the agreed scope of a purchased package or service may be quoted separately.

Additional work will only be undertaken once the additional cost has been accepted and, where required, paid for in advance.

Cancellation and Refunds

Cancellation after work has commenced

Because our design services involve creative development, research, concept development and time reserved specifically for each client, payments are not automatically refundable once work has commenced.

If you decide to cancel a project after we have started working on it, a full refund will not be available.

This applies particularly where concepts, design directions, sketches, layouts or other creative work have already been developed or presented to you.

Once concepts or design work have been presented, the associated creative work and project time cannot simply be returned or recovered by us. For this reason, the amount paid cannot be treated as an unused deposit that can be fully refunded.

Refunds at our discretion

Where a project is cancelled after work has commenced, we may, at our discretion, consider a partial refund based on the amount of work completed, the stage reached in the project and any costs already incurred.

Any partial refund is entirely at our discretion and does not constitute an admission that a refund is otherwise due.

Where the value of the work already completed equals or exceeds the amount paid, no refund will be payable.

Concepts already presented

Any concepts, design directions, sketches, layouts or other creative work presented before cancellation remain the property of The Logo Expert unless the relevant final design has been fully paid for and ownership has transferred in accordance with these Terms of Service.

You may not use, reproduce, modify, distribute or develop any concept that has been presented but has not been selected, finalised and transferred to you.

Cancellation before work begins

If you request cancellation before any work has commenced, we may consider a refund of the amount paid, subject to any reasonable transaction, administration or third-party costs already incurred.

Where work has already commenced, the cancellation provisions above will apply.

Monthly retainers

Monthly retainer services are paid in advance.

Once a monthly retainer period has commenced, fees for that period are generally non-refundable because time and resources have been allocated to the service.

If you wish to cancel a monthly retainer, cancellation will take effect at the end of the period already paid for unless a different cancellation arrangement has been agreed in writing.

Any work requested outside the scope of the retainer may be quoted and charged separately.

Typefaces

Licensing of used fonts or typefaces

Any fonts or typefaces purchased for a final design and/or supporting brand identity assets may be subject to commercial licensing requirements.

A font or typeface licence gives the licence holder the rights specified by the relevant font foundry or supplier. Purchasing a design service from us does not automatically provide you with a licence to use every font included in a design.

During the initial presentation of concepts, we may provide information about the typefaces used and where they can be acquired.

It is your responsibility to obtain any necessary font licences for your own use, whether the licence is paid or free.

It is not permissible for us to provide you with an unauthorised copy of a font or typeface that we have personally purchased or licensed.

If you would like to use a font or typeface that we have purchased for your own commercial artwork, you may need to purchase the appropriate licence directly from the relevant font supplier and register the licence in your name.

Typically, a font used as part of a logo will not require a separate font licence for the final logo artwork where the lettering has been converted into vector artwork and is no longer editable as a font. However, if you require the font for use in your own editable artwork, such as a website, presentation or marketing material, you may require an appropriate font licence.

Restrictions

Restrictions relating to concepts and design development

These Terms of Service do not give you the right or permission to use, modify, alter, replicate or borrow any previous ideas, concepts, sketches or design directions presented during the project but not selected as the final design.

All original preparation materials, sketches, visuals, concepts and unused ideas shown or considered during a project remain the property of The Logo Expert unless otherwise agreed in writing.

We are free to develop or reuse unused ideas for future conceptual and client work. Where a previously unused idea or design retains a similar look or style to the finished logo, we may repurpose and develop it so that the resulting design is sufficiently different and does not intentionally conflict with the completed client work.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, we reserve the right to showcase completed logos and associated designs in our portfolio and in online galleries, portfolios, showcases and awards, as well as in printed literature such as books and magazines.

Associated designs and artwork may include commercial print design, business cards, stationery, signage, digital icons, social media graphics, website applications and other supporting brand materials.

Any supporting artwork and designs created as part of a project may be used by us for professional and promotional purposes, subject to these Terms of Service.

You are free to change, modify and adapt the finished logo design as you see fit after ownership has transferred to you, but you do so at your own risk. We cannot accept responsibility for problems caused by alterations made by you or another third party after delivery.

Ownership & Copyright

All preparation materials, sketches, visuals, concepts and working files used to create the project remain the property of The Logo Expert until ownership of the agreed final artwork transfers to you.

The final artwork and digital files covered by the agreed project scope will become your property only once full payment for the project has been received.

If final payment is not received as agreed, all designs, concepts and associated work remain the property of The Logo Expert until payment has been received in full.

If there are issues with final payment, we reserve the right to reuse or amend unpaid ideas for other clients or to use them as concepts within our portfolio.

You may not use, modify, reproduce, distribute or otherwise exploit unpaid concepts or designs.

If you attempt to use, modify, reproduce or otherwise exploit our ideas or designs without making the agreed final payment, we reserve the right to seek appropriate legal advice and take any action available to us.

The Logo Expert reserves the right to display artwork, ideas, sketches and completed designs created for a project in our portfolio and as examples of client work.

If you require confidentiality, non-disclosure arrangements or a “stealth mode” project, please discuss this with us before agreeing to the proposal or purchasing the service. Any confidentiality requirements must be agreed in writing.

Final payment transfers ownership of only the agreed final design or deliverables included in the purchased service. Previous ideas, unused concepts, working files and preparation materials remain ours unless otherwise agreed in writing.

Trademark & Copyright

Due to the lengthy and potentially costly procedures involved in trademark, copyright and legal name searches, we do not provide legal trademark or copyright clearance services.

If you require your logo, brand name or other intellectual property to be registered as a trademark, you must obtain your own legal advice and conduct the appropriate searches and registrations.

We do not guarantee that a proposed logo, brand name, slogan, business name or other intellectual property is available for registration or use.

Brand Naming

You are responsible for ensuring that your company, product, service or brand name is legally available before work begins.

If a legal issue arises with the name after the project has been completed, no refund will be available and we will not be legally responsible for problems arising from the use of that name.

Please ensure that the name you intend to use is available and legally safe before committing to a branding or logo design project.

Changing a name during a project can require substantial additional design work and may cause significant delays.

If you change the approved business, product or brand name after significant logo exploration or design work has already been completed, we reserve the right to recalculate the project cost to account for the additional work required.

You should ensure that your chosen name has been appropriately checked and does not knowingly infringe another registered trademark, business name or other intellectual property right.

Cancellation

Cancellation during a project

If you choose to cancel a project after work has commenced and ideas, concepts or proposals have been submitted, previous payments are generally non-refundable.

However, depending on the amount of work completed, the overall project budget and the circumstances of the cancellation, we may, at our discretion, agree to return a portion of the funds.

Any refund or cancellation arrangement must be agreed in writing.

Cancellation of monthly retainers

Monthly retainer services may be cancelled subject to the notice period or cancellation terms specified in the relevant proposal, quotation or service agreement.

Where no specific cancellation period has been agreed in writing, cancellation will take effect at the end of the period that has already been paid for.

Fees relating to work already completed, work already scheduled or services already supplied remain payable.

If we are unable to complete a project

If we become unable to complete a project due to illness, incapacity or unforeseen circumstances, we will make reasonable efforts to notify you and determine the most appropriate way forward.

Depending on the circumstances and the work already completed, we may provide a partial or full refund of amounts paid for work that cannot be completed.

Where completed work can reasonably be used by another designer to continue the project, we may provide the completed work to you, subject to the applicable payment and ownership terms.

Any refund will be assessed based on the work completed and the circumstances of the project.

Project Suspension

We reserve the right to suspend a project where there is continued interference through excessive micromanagement, a continued inability to agree on a reasonable design direction, an inability to move the project forward after a reasonable number of unique design ideas or concepts have been presented, or a reluctance or failure to make required payments.

Where reasonably possible, we will provide fair notice and an opportunity to remedy the situation before suspending or terminating a project.

Suspension or termination resulting from the client’s actions or failure to meet their obligations will not automatically entitle the client to a refund.

Where payment remains outstanding, all unpaid designs, concepts and work remain the property of The Logo Expert.

Force Majeure

If we fail to perform any obligation under these Terms of Service because of an event beyond our reasonable control, including an act of God, government action, terrorism, riot, war, accident, significant service disruption, failure of third-party infrastructure, transportation disruption or other circumstances beyond our reasonable control, that failure or delay will not constitute a breach of these Terms of Service.

Where reasonably possible, we will notify you of the circumstances causing the delay and resume performance as soon as reasonably practicable once those circumstances have ended.

Limitation of Liability

Loss or damage

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, The Logo Expert will not be liable for indirect, incidental, consequential or special loss or damage arising from the use of our services, designs, information, documents, products or materials.

This includes loss or damage arising from amendments, errors or omissions in documents, designs, information or other materials supplied by us, as well as your use of or reliance on third-party content, links, platforms, services, software, advertisements or other third-party resources.

Your use of or reliance on information and materials produced, amended or designed by us is undertaken at your own risk.

You acknowledge that information and materials may contain inaccuracies or errors and, to the fullest extent permitted by law, you agree to exclude liability for such inaccuracies or errors.

We will take reasonable care when producing design work and will, to the best of our knowledge, provide original work that does not intentionally infringe or plagiarise another person’s work.

Where appropriate, we may perform limited checks to determine whether our work appears to unintentionally infringe another design, including limited searches against publicly available resources, trademark databases and reverse-image search tools.

However, these checks do not constitute a legal clearance or guarantee that a design is free from all intellectual property claims.

You remain responsible for conducting your own legal and commercial due diligence regarding the originality, availability, registration and use of your logo, brand name and other intellectual property.

If you have concerns regarding copyright, trademark infringement, originality or legal clearance, please obtain independent legal advice before using the relevant design commercially.

POPIA & Privacy

Protection of personal information

The Logo Expert respects your privacy and is committed to processing personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) and other applicable South African privacy laws.

For purposes of POPIA, The Logo Expert may act as the responsible party when determining why and how your personal information is processed.

Information we may collect

Depending on the service you purchase or request, we may collect and process information such as:

Your name and surname
Business or company name
Email address
Telephone or mobile number
Billing and invoicing information
Business address and other contact details
Information submitted through website forms
Project briefs, brand information and business information you provide to us
Design preferences, feedback and project communications
Information relating to your purchases, invoices and payments
Files, images, documents, logos and other materials you provide to us
Information necessary to provide monthly retainer or ad-hoc design services

We will only request and process information that is reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.

How we use your personal information

We may process your personal information for purposes including:

Processing and administering purchases and payments
Providing the services you have purchased
Communicating with you about your project or account
Preparing quotations, proposals and invoices
Delivering design files and other project materials
Providing ongoing monthly retainer services
Responding to enquiries and support requests
Managing our client relationship
Maintaining business and accounting records
Meeting legal, regulatory and contractual obligations
Protecting our business against fraud, misuse or unlawful activity
Improving our services and customer experience
Sending marketing communications where permitted by law and where the required consent or other lawful basis exists

We will not process your personal information for an unrelated purpose that is incompatible with the purpose for which it was originally collected unless permitted by applicable law.

Lawful processing

We will process personal information only where there is a lawful basis to do so.

Depending on the circumstances, this may include where processing is necessary to perform a contract with you, where you have provided consent, where processing is required by law, or where another lawful justification under POPIA applies.

Payment information

Where payments are processed through third-party payment providers, your payment information may be processed directly by those providers.

We do not need to retain your full payment card details in order to provide our design services. Payment information may therefore be handled by the relevant payment service provider in accordance with its own privacy policy and security procedures.

Third-party service providers

We may use trusted third-party service providers to help us operate our business and provide services to you.

These may include providers used for:

Website hosting
Email communication
Payment processing
Cloud storage
Project management
Accounting and invoicing
Website analytics
Customer communication
Marketing and advertising
File delivery and collaboration

Where third parties process personal information on our behalf, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place and that information is processed for legitimate business purposes.

Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, damage, unauthorised access, unauthorised disclosure, alteration or destruction.

However, no online transmission, storage system or electronic communication can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

You acknowledge that information submitted electronically is subject to the inherent risks associated with internet communications.

Retention of personal information

We will retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, to provide our services, to maintain appropriate business and accounting records, to resolve disputes, to enforce agreements, or where retention is required or permitted by law.

When personal information is no longer required, we will take reasonable steps to securely delete, destroy or de-identify it where appropriate.

Your rights

Subject to applicable law, you may have the right to:

Ask whether we hold personal information about you
Request access to personal information we hold about you
Request correction or updating of inaccurate or incomplete information
Request deletion of personal information where legally applicable
Object to certain processing of your personal information
Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
Object to or opt out of direct marketing communications
Lodge a complaint regarding the processing of your personal information

Requests relating to your personal information should be submitted to us in writing using our current business contact details.

We may need to verify your identity before processing certain requests.

Direct marketing

Where we send direct marketing by electronic communication, we will comply with the applicable requirements of POPIA.

Where consent is required, we will obtain the appropriate consent before sending unsolicited electronic direct marketing.

Where POPIA permits marketing to existing customers in connection with our own similar services, we will provide an appropriate opportunity to object or unsubscribe.

Every applicable electronic marketing communication will provide an appropriate means for you to request that future marketing communications stop.

You may unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time.

Client information and project materials

Information and materials that you provide to us for the purpose of completing your project will be used to provide the contracted services.

You are responsible for ensuring that you have the necessary authority and permissions to provide us with personal information, photographs, documents, customer information or other third-party materials that you ask us to use in your project.

Where you provide personal information relating to another person, you confirm that you are authorised to provide that information to us for the relevant project purpose.

Portfolio and public display

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, we may display completed work created for you in our portfolio, website, social media, design showcases, awards submissions and other promotional materials.

Where project materials contain personal information that is not ordinarily intended to be publicly available, we will take reasonable care when presenting the work publicly.

If your project requires confidentiality or you do not want completed work displayed publicly, please notify us before the project begins so that appropriate arrangements can be agreed in writing.

Privacy enquiries

If you have a question, request or concern regarding the way we process your personal information, please contact The Logo Expert using the contact details published on our website.

You may also contact the South African Information Regulator where you believe your personal information has been unlawfully processed or where your privacy rights have not been appropriately addressed.

Acceptance of these Terms

By purchasing a service through our website, submitting payment, paying an invoice or instructing us to commence work, you confirm that you have read and accepted these Terms of Service.

These Terms of Service apply together with any quotation, proposal, package description, scope of work or written agreement issued by The Logo Expert.

Where a written project-specific agreement conflicts with these general Terms of Service, the project-specific agreement will take precedence to the extent of the conflict.

We reserve the right to update these Terms of Service from time to time. The version applicable to your project will be the version accepted at the time of purchase or commencement of the relevant service.

Ownership & Copyright