About DS Design & Terms and Conditions

Click here to download a copy of our terms and conditions as a word document

What we do

D.S. Design are a graphic design/web design company, based in Stotfold, Hitchin Hertfordshire. We also produce fine art and murals to order.
We have various services at our disposal, illustrators, printers, framers, copywriters we can even provide web domains, hosting and web developers all at a very affordable price. If we at D.S. Design don't know how to do it, we know someone who does. At D.S. Design, we have experience of pre-press, and the requirements that a printer needs to successfully send your projects to print.

Meetings

Please note, some places may incur a call out fee, due to travel expenses, prices vary depending on distances involved. We are based in Hertfordshire. Due to the Internet, and its capabilities, graphic/web design is not limited to this one area. We are able to conduct business, not just locally, but nationally, and even in some cases, internationally. We will consider traveling to surrounding areas and to London.
We can send you PDF files, or any other format you require for proofs, and/or initial ideas, can all be sent to you by E-mail.Web pages and web site design, can be uploaded to using our own webspace, as a test, and for your approval then uploaded to your own site when you are satisfied with the final design. Please note your website will not be loaded to your site until full payment is received.
As we are based in Hertfordshire the area we serve for mural design and creation, is limited to Hertfordshire and surrounding areas, but in certain circumstances, London and further areas would be considered.

 

Small Business Start up Package

This package is aimed at companies just starting up and that don't have the budget for a large bespoke website. Just tell us your budget and your ideas, and we can put together a package to suit you. Starting at just £110 for 1-3 pages, including a contact page. For more details or to arrange a meeting please email us. We can also help with all your stationery and marketing literature, and work with you and your available budget.

How can D.S. Design help my company to stand out?

Printed literature for your company, can be your biggest marketing asset. D.S. Design, has experience producing:-

* brochures
* leaflets
* stationery (business cards and letterheads)
* logos
* posters
* banners and exhibition stands
* gift wrap
* greetings cards
* packaging

The quality of your printed literature, and the time and effort involved in producing them, reflects on how you run your business. With our expertise at D.S. Design, and our eye for what 'looks good' we can put your business on the right track, and help you to stand out from the competition. Or if you are a design consultancy, we can give you the extra help you need to meet tight deadlines.

Why do I need a web page?

If you have a presence on the web, then everyone can see what your business has to offer. You could be missing out on customers if you don't already have a website.
Here at D.S. Design we can produce your website to match your printed literature, or vice versa.
Having a well designed website, can make all the difference and definitely without a doubt reflects the quality of what your business has to offer. Even if you already have a website, we could re design it if you are not happy with your current site. We can also help to make your website accessible to everybody.
We could for instance make it easier to navigate, or give your site a complete revamp!
If you are not sure about what you want, we could produce a 'no-obligation' website for your approval, and show you the difference we can make.
If you don't already have a website or domain name, we can help with that too!
Starting at just £50 per year, you could have your own web space, and domain name included- extra domains are £15 yearly or 2 yearly renewals, PLUS free e-mail addresses and instructions on how to set up your email clients - if you would like us to set up your accounts and visit your place of work an extra fee applies.
We can also submit your page to popular search engines. Not only that but we can help with optimising your site to appear as high as possible on search engines.

Other Information we may need for your web page?

If you already have webspace/domain name, and ISP provider, we will need this information along with passwords, to produce your webpage, this is also important as we will design your web page according to what your hosting package supports.

Pricing, timescale, for graphic/web design

I usually estimate per job, for graphic design, my estimates are dependent on whether I have all the information I will need to complete the job up front, this will cut the cost of your final bill. Any changes you make will incur costs of 25 per hour. Per webpage, dependent on size and content, also dependent on having all the information upfront, will usually be £55-£150 per page, as above extra changes at £25-£30 per hour.
For flash content or pages, £40 - £60.
For hosting/domain plan prices, please see above. Please bare in mind these prices are not fixed, this is just to give you some idea, each job is given an estimate, every project has a different cost. I will try to also take into account your budget. If I have all theInformation I need I can meet the required deadline.
Timescale for a medium sized website, providing of course you give me the final brief, I have all images and text I need, and all final decisions on what you want have been made, usually about a month.
The same applies for graphic design, for say a brochure, providing I have all the relevant information needed to complete the project on time, usually about a month, and in some cases sooner, if you require.

Pricing also varies if your website requires maintenance or updates we usually charge this at a slightly lower rate, again this varies.

Statements - we will provide a statement if we feel your project is about to go over your original estimate or specified budget due to extra work or excessive changes to the design.

Initial Consultation charges - DS Design don't usually charge for the initial meeting. However, if we spend time discussing your requirements and putting together various estimates, you decide to go elsewhere with your project we will be obliged to charge a small call out fee depending on the distance we travelled, and how long the first meeting or subsequent meetings took.

Payments can be made by cash or cheque, or online by using paypal, please email us for our paypal details.

Murals, Fine art commissions/pricing and FAQ's
Why would you need a mural?

A mural can change your environment, can be something different, can evoke a feeling or atmosphere. It can provide a room with interest and a focal point. A mural can change your room into a work of art!
The first stage of any mural or piece of artwork, is to decide the subject matter. You the customer can either supply the specific image you require, or we can go away and either look at our range of images we already have, or do some image research for you, to provide you with some ideas. We can even provide an ongoing theme around the room, by taking inot account what you already have in the room, the environment you would like the mural to be in or by introducing colour schemes and perhaps even borders, depending on the project itself.
We then produce a preliminary sketch, which then helps us decide what we need to change or the areas we are happy with, colours etc. before the actual artwork or mural commences.
Pricing, my rate per mural/fine art piece reflects both the size and complexity, time of the project involved.
We will try to take into account a budget the customer may have, and work around that, if we can.
The rate per day is £80-£125 (per whole day). If there are any extra or extended travel expenses these will also be taken into account.
Materials such as paint brushes or wood or canvas, varnish etc., are separate and are added to your final invoice, they will be added only if the initial deposit does not cover the whole cost of materials. Usually we would require a deposit at the start of any project, as security, and also to cover the cost of initial materials. This is usually 10% -25% of my estimate for each project. Payments can be made by cash or cheque.
In some cases, depending on size of the mural, we can produce the mural onto wood panels which then can be fixed to your walls. This would then mean you can take your mural with you wherever you go!

Late Payment

Terms of payment initially are depending on the terms set out in your contract. Terms of payment after receiving your invoice are between 10 and 30 days as stated on your invoice and depending on the project. After this initial period following if your invoice goes over the number of days stated reminders will be sent out, if there is no response a final reminder will be issued- there will be a final 10 days waiting period, if we have still not heard from and you have failed to clear your account, we will add interest on your final bill, we have the right to do this under statutory provisions. If you require more details or have any questions regarding the above please email us. Unless payment is received we will have no alternative but to pursue recovery of the outstanding sum together with interest and court fees. This will serve only to increase that amount that you will, ultimately be required to pay.

Graphic design/web design, what is the next step?

You can contact us by our feedback/enquiry form, or directly by phone or e-mail. A design consultant will then contact you directly, and arrange an appointment to discuss things further, and take down your requirements. We will then produce an initial proof for your approval. For a website we can either come to your place of work, or we can upload the website to a hidden url for you to look at, which can save time. Or if its a print job, we can send you proofs by e-mail as a pdf file, for your approval, or any changes you may need. Or print off a proof for you, and come to see you in person if you like.

Logos and copyright protection

Special rules apply for logos, to avoid breech of copyright we issue them with a watermark, for proofs, and initial ideas. This is to insure that we are paid, and ideas are not stolen. Once final payment is received we will issue the logo, editable and watermark free.