Design Retainer Agreement Template

This Design Retainer Agreement is made on [Contract Date] between [Company Name] ("Studio") and [Client Name] ("Client").

1. Services

Studio will provide ongoing graphic design within Client's brand guidelines, such as social media graphics, presentations, sales materials, advertising, email designs, and print pieces. New brand identities, websites, and packaging aren't part of the retainer and are quoted separately.

2. Monthly Hours and Fee

The retainer includes 20 hours of design time each month for $2,200, invoiced in advance on the 1st of each month and due within 15 days.

3. Requests

Client will send requests through the shared request board, each with a short brief, the content, the sizes needed, and the date it's needed by. Studio will confirm the estimated hours and delivery date within one business day.

4. Turnaround Times

• Small requests, such as a social graphic or resizing an existing design: within 2 business days
• Larger requests, such as a presentation or a brochure: within 5 to 10 business days, as agreed for each request

Turnaround starts once Studio has the brief and all the content it needs.

5. Priorities

Client sets the order of the queue and may change it at any time. Rush requests, delivered the next business day, count at 1.5 times the hours worked and depend on Studio's availability.

6. Revisions

Two rounds of revisions are included for each request. All design and revision time counts against the monthly hours.

7. Tracking and Overages

• Studio tracks time in quarter-hour increments and sends a monthly report of time by request.
• Studio will tell Client when 80% of the month's hours have been used.
• Hours beyond the retainer are billed at $150 per hour, only with Client's approval first.
• Unused hours don't roll over to the next month.

8. Third-Party Costs

Stock imagery, fonts, printing, and other third-party costs are billed at cost with Client's approval.

9. Ownership

Once a month's invoice is paid, Client owns the final designs delivered that month. Studio keeps ownership of preliminary concepts and designs not used. Native working files are provided on request. Fonts and stock images remain the property of their makers and are licensed under their own terms. Studio may show the work in its portfolio once it's public, unless Client asks otherwise in writing.

10. Confidentiality

Each party will keep the other's confidential information private and use it only for this agreement, during it and for two years after it ends.

11. Term and Termination

This agreement starts on the date above with a three-month minimum term, then continues month to month. After the minimum term, either party may end it with 30 days' written notice. Client pays for the month in progress, and Studio completes or hands over the requests already started.

12. Limitation of Liability

Studio's total liability under this agreement is limited to the fees Client paid in the three months before the claim. Studio isn't responsible for errors in content Client provided or approved, or for printing errors.

13. General

Studio is an independent contractor and is responsible for its own taxes, equipment, and insurance. This agreement is governed by the laws of [state or country]. It is the entire agreement between the parties on this subject and may only be changed in writing.

By signing below, both parties agree to these terms.