Website Hosting and WordPress Care Plans are paid monthly, 1 month in advance.
Our graphic and website design work is paid in the agreed stages, getting your approval and payment after each one.
We accept direct deposit and credit cards.
A deposit is required from all new clients.
Yes, we can help your start-up business. We can create a branding package to help you kick-start your business, including print, web and social media graphics.
Our fees are based on time, required expertise and resources required for your project. Please see our prices page.
Liking or not liking something is very subjective. Depending on the job, we design based on research, experience and following up a design brief.
Before we commence work, we give you a fee proposal that specifies the scope of the work and how we’ll approach it. The scope of work will specify hours assigned to your project and, in some cases, the number of drafts presented to you for feedback and changes until approval.
If you don’t like anything we design, we stop work and re-assess the project brief and hours worked so far. If we need to assign more hours to your project, you will be notified.
Before engaging our services, please review our work and reviews and remember that when you’re working with a professional creative, trust is essential!
For logotypes
In a word, no. We don’t use clip art to create our logotype designs. If you work with us, rest assured all work is completely original, done from scratch just for you. If you are working with another graphic designer, please make sure they don’t use clip art for your logo; otherwise, you might be infringing the rights of the clip art vendor. Besides this, if it includes clip art, your logo can’t be trademarked.
For marketing material and websites
We prefer to create illustrations from scratch. But it’s not always economically viable or necessary. For example, let’s say we need to add a pair of scissors to an advertisement design or we need a telephone icon to add to a phone number. We don’t need to create those elements from scratch (it’s an unnecessary cost for you!) so we use elements we already have in our extensive stock images and clip art library.
For editorial design
We believe it’s important that authors have a publication they can completely call their own, so we prefer to create illustrations from scratch. However, sometimes this is not possible due to the cost of creating custom images. For instance, for a custom 1/4 page editorial design illustration, we charge around AU$ 550 – as opposed to a clip-art image that can cost around AU$ 25. Of course, if you go the custom made route, that illustration done exclusively for you, and you can use it for branding other areas of your business.
As professionals, we’ll consider the overall cost of design and printing as well as your budget and present you with the best solutions for you.
If by that you mean ‘free pitching’, then no. As professional designers, we follow a code of ethics, which has a very strong stand against free pitching or working on spec.
From Australian Graphic Design Association (AGDA), 2009:
Free pitching is the practice of clients or would-be clients asking for unpaid design submissions or speculative presentations from one or more designers/studios in order to decide the winner’ of the work to be commissioned or used.
Like any effective business process, the design process begins with a good definition of the business and communications objectives. Developing that definition requires experience, knowledge, learning, respect and commitment from both designer and client in order that a successful partnership evolves for the short term as well as the long term.
The main product of our industry is ideas and creative solutions to our clients’ visual communication problems. Effective solutions take time for consultation, research as well as production, and the issue of time raises the issue of cost for all responsible business practitioners.
The process of free pitching or competitive submissions devalues the profession and the experience, education and work practices encompassed in that.
As many designers say, My plumber, doctor, accountant, don’t free pitch.”
Not to worry, we’ll give you the final print or web-ready files. And yes, it’s best to ask us to do any updates to your brand identity and marketing material or website when you need them.
If you need the ‘source files’ please let us know and your fee proposal will take that into account. To use your source files, you will also need the high-end design software we use, plus the ‘know-how and expertise in order to manipulate the files.
The better option is to have us make updates to the files. This is why you hire us as experts in our field, to help you and free your time from tasks outside your area of expertise.
There’s a big difference between web design and web development. They’re two clearly different roles (or jobs) and need two different skillsets.
Web design is about how the website is going to look and feel. Also called “front end design”, web design is based on your online strategy and branding. It involves choosing photos and creating illustrations and graphics to fit the visual communications of your new website. This is all done during the concept design stage of our web design services.
Web development is when we add functionality to your website – or put it another way, we make it do what we need it to do.
Here at Soul Space Design, we are experienced in both: design and development.
As designers, we will make sure your website is a shining example of your brand and visual identity.
If you already have a web developer you want to continue working with, we can provide web design services only and liaise with your developer.
But it’s usually a more cost-effective approach to have both your web design and website development done by the same company.
We can look after all your website requirements: from digital strategy, web design, development right through to web hosting and web maintenance.
Copywriting is an important part of marketing. If you’re a good writer and know how to write for marketing purposes, you might want to write your own content. From experience, ideally is best to hire expert help. We can recommend you professional in this field that can write the type of content needed for your creative project.
The short answer is: as much as your marketing budget allows. For guidance, here are some of the elements that can help make your brand and visual identity as individual as you are:
Logotypes
All our logotype design work is custom made so you really get an exclusive individual design.
Illustrations
We can create custom made illustrations, or purchase royalty-free images for your project. For branding purposes, it’s best to use custom made illustrations. As part of our work, we assess each and every job and advise you accordingly.
Photographs
As above, it’s always best to use your own photos (taken by a professional photographer). That way your design project will stand out for its authenticity. However, we understand sometimes this is not possible and we might need to use royalty-free stock images.
The use of stock images can be a good compromise as it is an economical option, but again, it might mean your brand or visual identity is not as individualistic as you might wish it to be. Your call.
Editorial Design
For books, ebooks and magazine design, we much prefer to design from scratch and use your photos and create illustrations, graphics, tables, etc. All custom made for you. But sometimes this is not possible due to budget constraints. We then research available options using stock or clip art images, making sure everything complies with the relevant licenses.
There are lots of variables to consider and we’ll always talk you through your options, prices and legal implications (if any) when using ready-made designs.
Choosing colours is part of our job.
With the help of the design brief (where you as a client have significant input) as well as our design research, we will present you with colour scheme options for your design.
And don’t worry, if you have a specific colour you want us to use or must use, we’ll ensure that our designs work well with that colour.
As much or as little as you want. We’ll listen to your requirements and take into consideration any ideas you have but… you also have to give us space so we can do our best work for you!
Some people think they have to tell us exactly what they want, right down to the last tiny detail. But by doing that, you’re not making the most of our professional creative services or the money you are investing.
We can help you the most when you let us do what we do best: DESIGN!
Yes, we offer a complete commercial print service delivered to your door, Australia-wide.
As far we’re concerned, our work doesn’t finish just because we’ve finalised your design project. We consider ourselves part of your team, and we’ll be here to make updates to the designs we create for you, for as long as you are in business.
If you prefer we give you working/source files so you can do your own future design work, you must let us know prior to the work beginning. This is because working files are part of our intellectual property (see our blog post, Digital Artwork: Who Owns It?)
Also, keep in mind you’ll need the right design software to access your working files. Plus, you’ll need the time to learn and master the software to be able to use it for commercial purposes.
Like most business owners, you probably don’t have the time (or need the hassle) as you are busy doing what you do best – running a business.
We hope our clients can see the value of hiring professionals to look after their brand – just as most people value the professional service and expertise offered by an accountant or a solicitor.
All our digital files are created following international commercial standards at the time of us working on your project.
As a client, you are entitled to receive the designs you have commissioned to us, as a final product, generally a flat PDF.
Probably in 10 years’ time, the files will be out of date, both in terms of keeping up with the changes in your business and the technology used in digital file creation. Even one year can make a big difference in the software used for producing artwork!
But to answer the question: if we ever get to that beach in the Bahamas, any designer with the right professional setup can change our files.
Yes and no. There are some international restrictions on what you can and cannot do with your logo. Let us explain…
YES: You can use your logo to promote/advertise/market and brand your business in any media for as long as you are in business. You can also trademark your logo. If you sell your business, you can pass the visual identity to the new owners. Your visual identity is an asset to your business.
NO: You cannot use bits and pieces of your logo to create a new one. Nor can you create a new company using the same design as the existing logo – even if you change colours or text. If you are planning on expanding your company, we can use your current visual identity and adapt it to reflect the changes in your business.
In some cases, our clients wish to use their logo for several businesses, just changing the name or colours. If that’s what you need, the fee proposal we prepare for you before work begins will state that and you can rest assured the work is being performed to meet your specific needs.
For more information please refer to the Australian Copyright Council article: Logos Legal Protection.
Copyright on all creative work we produce is always shared between us and the client. In a nutshell, we retain the right to be recognised as the creators of the artwork, and you get the right to copy or reproduce the artwork for the purpose it was created.
For instance, in the case of logotypes, you’re entitled to use it on all of your products and merchandise, e.g. websites; brochures; TV commercials, for as long as you are in business.
And from our side, no part of that logotype can be used for the creation of new artwork such as new logotypes for different businesses or/and entities because you get exclusive rights.
Copyright is intellectual property or IP because it results from a person’s creativity and thoughts.
The owner of the copyright is generally the author, and the author is generally the first person who gave life to a piece of art, music, or any creative production really!
According to the Australian Copyright Council, a design is automatically protected by copyright, if it is:
– an artistic work as defined in the Copyright Act;
– the result of some skill and effort, and not merely copied from somewhere else; and
– fixed or captured, for example, on paper or on a computer disk.
In that respect, all concepts, designs, sketches and ideas we present to clients remain 100% the copyright of the graphic designer. But once a design is approved, the client has the right to use the approved designs for the purpose they were commissioned.
Sharing copyright with our clients mean we are always acknowledged, whenever appropriate, as authors of the creative work. IP is always ours, and the rights to reproduce the design–the copyright–goes to the client.
If stock images or clip art are used then copyright remains with the original photographer or stock image provider and can only be used according to their terms and conditions.
To find out more about copyright, please visit the
Australian Copyright Council website.
Process
Initial meeting with you (in person or online).
Fee proposal.
Deposit payment.
Design brief development.
Design work commences.
Presentation:
Design changes until approval.
Digital production for print or website process starts.
Time frame:
Content writing: 2 – 4 weeks, depending on the amount of research required.
Brand identity can take 3 – 7 weeks.
Web design & development 4 – 8 weeks.
Design is more than just making something look pretty with a computer and software.
Graphic design is a creative process where art and technology come together. A professional designer is trained in the use of both.
Put simply, people hire graphic designers to get help with their visual communications.
The main job of the graphic designer is to research, create strategies and develop creative concepts. This is the process of analysis and generating ideas around your product or service.
For more on working with graphic designers, please refer to our blog.
