Only possibly once or twice have I had a client question the extra costs. Generally they are pretty self-explanatory, for example, if the client is over seas and wants to talk on the phone they pay, not if it’s “local” — but there is always Skype. Also, many clients ask for a typeface to represent their brand and documentation and therefore need a license for usage. When I use a licensed font I create an outline of the font and do not hand over the font file. If they request the actual file they have to pay for it for the type foundry.

The Standard Terms are there to protect yourself and your client(s). Have it all covered is necessary.

But reading through your terms and conditions I can’t help but ask, don’t clients always hassle you about the extra costs you include asking all sorts of questions prior to closing the job?

I mean questions like “What, I really have to pay for all our phonecalls even if you have something to ask me?” or “Do I really have to pay the fonts that you’ll use? Isn’t that supposed to be your job? What do I care what fonts you use”.

I mean, all of these issues are clear to a designer or a person that works in the design industry but aren’t most of your clients surprised by such terms? Don’t you get annoyed when you have to explain yourself every single time?

I think the biggest thing with a well-designed and thought out proposal is getting the good clients, because they are the ones who really pay attention to the little details like your proposal design.

My proposals follow the same guidelines as my terms and conditions. It is always attached to my terms and conditions as 1–2 additional pages that include a project brief, pricing, deadline and deliverable. I also include a cover page with my company logo, the name of the clients company and also the client office name (the person that I deal with directly).

As far as graphic elements, mine does not have any besides my logo, but utilizes 2 beautiful, quality and relevant (for prolonged readability) typefaces by Hoefler & Frere-Jones and focuses on layout. Good design doesn’t always mean over design — sometimes good layout and typography are plenty to make you appear professional, serious and good at what you do.

I just double checked the link to my terms of agreement and all seems to be well. Do you mind trying again to see if you encounter the same issue?

The requested URL /images/TDC_terms&conditions.zip was not found on this server.

Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.

I am not a designer but I do send out written proposals and I actually think design matters just as much in my case. Even though my clients are not buying a design, they are still forming an impression of my company based on what they receive.

We’re going through a major site redesign right now and once the new site launches, your blog has inspired me to have my proposals designed to match.

Thanks!