FAQ

What are our Working Hours?

We typically communicate Monday-Friday from 10am to 5pm Eastern 

What’s the best way to communicate?

During your project, we may primarily use Asana to communicate. This helps us keep everything organized and in one place. We’ll create a project and give you access to where you will be able to view and comment on tasks and items. Please note you can assign a due date within Asana and we will consider that as a request. We will review and advise if we can make that due date or reschedule it. We do our best to reply to all communication regarding active projects the same day or within 24 hours (during our office hours). 

Please do not send us text messages of project info as they are easily lost and honestly cross a boundary into our personal lives.

If there are multiple stakeholders on the client side who will have project input, please designate one of you to communicate design/project feedback to us, after you have internally deliberated and arrived at an agreement. If we need to schedule a conference call or round table to work through options, we are happy to do so. Additional charges may apply.

Scheduling calls keeps our work from being interrupted, enables us to be prepared to address your project efficiently on our talk, and allows us to focus 100% on projects at hand.

What’s Included?

Your specific deliverable(s) will be outlined in the package you choose. We may use a variety of toolsets to create the final work. For design assets, we work largely in Adobe Creative Suite. We’ll typically produce digital design files in these programs and be able to output them into PDF files, and image files that you can use online and in print. We also use Google suite of products for presentations, documents, and spreadsheets.

The price of creative does not include the cost of fonts, photos, copywriting or video, etc. It’s possible in the discovery process we may identify assets like these which are needed. Those would be at additional cost. But you’ll always be aware of, and approve, any such choices before we commit. If you know there are specific fonts, images, art, or other assets you want to use, let us know right away as you’ll need to purchase them before we begin any design work.

What will we need from you the client?

Before we get started, depending on the nature of your project, we may need the following from you: 

References: We need to see what inspires you! If we agree to work together, we’ll share a Pinterest board or similar collection of images that match the aesthetic mood, feel, and brand voice for your project.  We’ll expect your input and feedback on that.

Answers to our questions: Before we can start on creative we need to pick your brain! We’ll send you a questionnaire to get an in-depth look at your business or project goals, so we can strategically plan your design. We may talk it through in a kick-off call, discovery session, or brand workshop. In any case, we’ll make a record we can all refer back to.

Content:  If there are additional calls to action or information to be incorporated, we may need your content before we begin a specific milestone. This may include text copy and any images you wish to use. Starting with the content will let us focus the design around your content and highlight all the important aspects to focus users’ attention most effectively.

How long will my project take?

It depends on a few factors: schedule, complexity, and your response time.

Schedule: The more complex the project the more advanced scheduling time may be required. This could be anywhere from approximately two months after the first contact, to two weeks. This allows time for you to complete any text copy, take any new photos, and do the homework required for us to craft your solutions. If we are handling the curation and creation of content, that is a process that takes time in and of itself, that may be a “Phase 1” of a multi-phase project.

Complexity: The complexity of your project is another factor, while some jobs can be completed in as little as a few days, others can take as long as three to four months or more to fully plan and execute. We’ll give you a better timeline during our strategy session findings or proposal. 

Response Time: The final factor is your response time. During the project, you will need to respond in agreed upon time frames. Delays in your responses will result in a delay in the project and may increase the overall cost of the project. If you have any vacations or offline time planned during the time we’re supposed to be working on your project, please let us know before you sign the contract so we may alter the timeline accordingly. Likewise, if we have planned offline time, we’ll keep you posted and also may adjust our working hours to accommodate getting it done.

Tell me more. Due to the varying nature of different services, there is no one size fits all lead time for every service. So we have outlined a common process below. Yours may vary. Projected timelines assume a reasonable level of responsiveness of three to four days on both sides.

This can vary based on current workload and availability. All design and marketing services are scheduled according to the package purchased. Other packaged services are all-inclusive based on a defined scope. Rush and off-hours charges may apply. Illustration, photo editing, copywriting, and services not specifically mentioned in your package are not included unless noted and may require additional investment.

If there is a firm deadline, please note it upfront in your initial request so we can be clear if we can or can not accommodate it. Often we can pull from a wide pool of resources to make it happen. If we are unable to accommodate your request we are happy to refer you to other trusted colleagues in the field.

1-2 WEEKS BEFORE PROJECT BEGINS 
• You – You make a down payment to get on the schedule 
• We – Have a strategy session to determine the goals and features of your project 
• You – You begin the homework we’ve assigned as well as gather any desired content 
• We – Schedule your project and are available if you have questions 
WEEK 1-2
• You – All content and homework due 
• We – Start outlining the potential creative concept(s)
WEEK 2-3
• You – Provide feedback on rough creative and we discuss potential alterations
• We – Produce proposed final creative
WEEK 3-4
• You – Provide feedback on proposed final creative and we discuss potential alterations
• We– Produce and deliver final creative

What will my project cost?

It varies greatly. See our Creative Services Packages for standard base prices which generally start at $1,495 and go up in price based on a few factors: complexity, scope, and timeline. Smaller tasks are billed at our hourly rate in 15-minute increments. Other illustrations and commissions are priced per request.

Complexity: We’ll discuss your project and if one of our standard packages is not quite the right fit, we can create a custom quote based on your needs.

As a rule, we always aim to provide a package price based on scope and number of revisions. In our experience, straight hourly billing does not benefit either of us. There are also matters of usage rights, copyright ownership, and the value of the work which are not tied to hourly billing.

Bundling services into a single project will result in a lower overall price for you than ordering one thing at a time.

The scope of work also affects the overall price. The price quoted at the beginning of the project may not be the final price as changes to the scope of work (adding, removing or changing add ons, etc.) may result in the final project cost changing. We will always communicate as that is happening if you request additional work, so there are no surprises.

Timeline: The timeline affects the price. The price quoted is based in part on the amount of time we estimate the project will take to complete. Delays due to a lapse in communication on your part to provide content or feedback may result in a “holding fee” for each week the project extends past the timeline. Also, your project may be further delayed by having to be rescheduled.

Why? Please keep in mind we may have turned down other paying work due to your project being on the schedule, not being timely can result in loss of income and scheduling conflicts for us. Again, communication is key, just let us know in advance if you will be offline for any period of time and We’ll plan accordingly. The unexpected will likely happen at some point and we keep it as easy as we can.

If you have a tight deadline, a “rush fee” may be charged to complete the project in time.

What payment terms do you accept?

For each project, these terms apply:
All prices are shown in US dollars.

Total fixed fee for the project: Packages are fixed fees with defined parameters. If the project evolves outside of what’s included additional fees will apply.

Deposit due: agreed-upon fee, due at time of agreement acceptance

Progress / milestone payment(s) due as agreed upon.

Balance:  due on delivery (Final production-ready files will be released on receipt of final payment) All proofs prior to this will be low-resolution images.

Payment can be accepted through Paypal or our online billing portal, via an electronic invoice, ACH transfer or check. Please make checks payable to John Hornsby Creative.

Do you offer any discounts or have any hidden fees?

Fee adjustments may be made due to rush delivery requests or prompt payment, as follows:

Urgent delivery (if we can accommodate it) requires a price increase which may vary depending on complexity and how much of a rush it is.

Discounts:
Full payment upfront may get you a 10% discount on the pre-tax total.

If you are a registered 501(c)(3), educational facility or teacher, veteran, or active service member we offer a 15% discount in appreciation of your service.

Reparations rate: we offer a 20% discount for Black and Native American owned businesses.

The above discounts may not be combined. We are happy to extend the highest discount for which you qualify.

Discounts apply to services only and not tangible products.