While it’s entirely unlikely, as we want to ensure that our clients are happy and that we’re also happy in our work, there may come a time where we (or the client) feels as though things can’t continue.  Potential scenarios would be where the client is unsure of what they want and has an “IKIWISI” (I’ll know it when I see it) approach to design where they’ll ask to see a certain cover; then, if they don’t like it, they’ll ask for another, and this could end up going on for weeks or even months.  In this case, it wouldn’t make sense for either party to continue because it’s clear we’re just not a good fit for each other.  Another scenario would be that the conversations become barbed and unpleasant for whatever reason. It makes for a tough relationship overall, especially if attempts have been made to diffuse the situation and it hasn’t worked.

In cases such as these, we are happy to walk away and take a hit for whatever work was done and however much time was spent on the project until that point.  The most important thing for us is that the client loves our work and we love working with the client; creative projects are much smoother when all parties involved are happy, and there’s no tension or antagonism, so when this harmony breaks down there comes a point where the only solution is to dissolve the relationship.

Whatever money has been paid up until that point will be refunded in full, unless any work has been completed. If the client has gone beyond the point where stock images were purchased and the cover has already been rebuilt with licensed stock images (whether we have the final page count or not), we’d not be able to refund as we’ve completed that part of the project and have purchased items on the client’s behalf.  If this is the case, the client could end the project early and take whatever has been paid for up until that point.  However, this is with the agreement that anything provided by us up until that point (artwork, concepts that were our own, formatting, and any edited work) outwith this is not used for anything in the future.  If the client wishes to use anything that has been supplied up until that point, payment in full will be necessary in order to release the required files to be used freely by the client in perpetuity.

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