A recent post: Attention Freelance Logo Designers: Let Us Talk The Signing of an NDA, saw me waffle on a little about NDA’s, and not inadvertently falling victim to what can be some pretty crippling limitations.
When you design logo and brand identities for a living, the freedom to then show, exhibit, promote and generally show-off all completed works, is a fundamental necessity to ensure ones own continued business success.
NDA Limitations
As I mention in the letter template below, I have been caught out on occasion by hurriedly signing an NDA before really reading it, or more specifically, trying to understand the legalise presented in the NDA.
Sometimes it’s not at all clear what actual limitations are placed on a designer, and the bigger problem is not the ‘being quiet during a project’, but the often times unrealistic limitations in the showing of completed works after the project is completed.
Some of these limitations, other than the usual, and expected: “Not being able to discuss the project during the development of the project”, could be:
- Not being able to show your work in your portfolio, for 6 months or longer, after the project is completed, even though the client/agency is actually allowed to show your work, on their site, immediately.
- Not being able to show/promote any completed logo and brand identity work at all, after any period, whatsobloodyever.
- Not being able to show any unapproved designs/concepts—Can understand this one.
- Not allowed to take credit for your own design, as the intermediary agency will claim all copyright to your work—this one I hate with a vengeance.
The challenge with an NDA, is that they are often having to be signed before a designer can actually present their own particular Terms and Conditions, and with mine I have explicit demands when it comes to how I show, present, show-off all my completed works, unused logo design concepts etc, such as this in my Logo Design Proposal:
All preparation materials, sketches, visuals, including the electronic files used to create the project remain the property of Graham Smith. The final artwork/digital files will become the property of the client mentioned in this proposal ONLY upon final payment of the project.
If final payment is NOT received as agreed, and set out in the initial proposal, all designs and concepts will remain the property of Graham Smith until payment is received. If there are issues with final payment, I reserve the right to reuse or amend any of these ideas for other clients, or to be used freely as concepts in my portfolio.
Graham Smith reserves the right to show any artwork, ideas, sketches created for this project in a portfolio as examples of client work. This can be during the project, and also on completion. If you have any specific ‘secrecy/stealth mode’ requirements, please mention this before agreeing to the proposal.
If a new logo and brand identity project is going to impose an almost indefinite ‘quiet period’ on my work, then I will think very hard about whether it’s actually worth taking the project on.
Let’s suppose this new project becomes the best one you have ever created, and it would be the one piece in your portfolio that perfectly demonstrates exactly how creative, talented you really are. How gutting it would then be to realise that you’d not be able to show it in your portfolio, and even worse, maybe not even getting the credit for the design!
Not Being Able To Take Credit For Your Logo Design
This is one other part of an NDA that needs to be checked, as some do actually stipulate that the client, or intermediary agency, will take full credit for your design and work, leaving you completely out in the cold, other than the pay cheque.
So anyway, when I’m presented with a new lead and an NDA to sign before they share any project information with me, I’ll send a letter a little like this one below. Feel free to use this letter as is, or adjust it to your own requirements:
Dear Sir/Madam,
Really great to hear from you, and thank you for reaching out to me for your logo design. I just have a few questions relating to your NDA before I go ahead and sign it for you.
I have, in the the past, been caught out with signing NDA’s before I have been able to present my own Proposal, and Term’s of Condition’s.
I have been presented with quite heavy restrictions on when, or even if at all, I’m able to show/present the final works in my portfolio, which were not immediately clear in the initial NDA.
As logo and brand identity design is what I do for a living, any logo works that I complete are an essential part of my business survival, and the presenting of all new works, in my portfolio etc, is an absolute necessity.
I do completely understand, and respect, the need for secrecy during the project’s duration that requires the singing of an NDA, and I don’t have any issues with this whatsoever. The challenges and problems have arisen after the project has been completed, and fully signed-off.
I would just like to confirm with you that I would be able to freely present the work, in my portfolio, and other promotional means, after the project is completed and signed-off, or are there likely to be be significant restrictions in place preventing me showing the completed work in my portfolio?
I would also like to confirm that full design and development credit, for the logo and brand identity design, remains in my name?
Look forward to your reply.
Conclusion
Ultimately, signing and accepting any limitations in a NDA is completely down to your own personal choice.
For me, I find some of restrictions boarding on the arrogant and 66, and am very cautious about signing any NDA that comes my way.
Even before I do sign an NDA, I’m not afraid to swing a number of questions back to the client/agency to clarify the various concerns I have outlined in this post. It’s actually quiet scary see how many restrictions start to leak out, that are not clearly explained in the actual NDA