New Changes in Our Business

Dear Valued Client,
Thanks to many great clients and friends like you, I have had a long and successful 43 year career in this business, but as all things must change with the times, I have had to make some changes concerning the future of our business and it's ability to continue performing all the tasks involved.

As of January 1st. 2010, we have phasing out and/or changed some of the services that we have performed for so many years. I have always loved my job of working with people like you who demand professional services and I want to continue in this trade but at a somewhat less stressful pace for the next few years.

I will still be offering my creative talents in art, illustration, photography, graphic design, custom signage and website development to my long list of satisfied clients but I am closing the business to the general public and will only be accepting new clients by referral from good customers like you that appreciate a high level of professional quality.

In these new changes, I will no longer be offering the personal installation of signs, this is one of the pitfalls of getting older, you realize one day that some things are not as easy to do anymore.
It now takes a bit longer to dig a post hole or climb a ladder than it did a few years ago and it’s not fair to you as a customer to be charged this extra time for my inability to perform these manual tasks efficiently.

The installation of most signs that we create can be handled by any competent carpenter or handyman capable of working neatly and safely. I will gladly provide instructions and/or supervision, if needed, to help insure that the person you hire to do your installation can perform a safe and professional job.

Installation of signage that does not fall into the category of handyman installations can be referred to one of several professional companies we associate with who have cranes or bucket-lifts and offer those particular services for hire.


I honor your friendship and have appreciated your business support in the past and I truly hope that you understand my reasons for these changes, and that you will continue working with me on any future projects that you have.                         

          Thank You, Larry Elliott

Our Business Policies

 Our policy of conducting business is very simple, we set our standards high. Elliott Design strives to make every project an enjoyable experience for our clients and a profitable one for your business through our creative concepts.

 We do not start any project without the client understanding what is expected of them, we don't like surprises and don't think you do either. If there is anything you have a question about, please ask if we haven't made everything clear.

DEPOSITS & TERMS
   Artwork/Design/Sketches for Logos
 We require a 50% design deposit from all new clients to cover production time in the preparation of sketches or artwork for your project. Clients with established accounts are not required to make design deposits. Elliott Design can help you establish a price range and help plan a budget for your project before we start creating visual concepts for you to view. We do not provide free concept sketches up front just to show what a project might look like. Once we have been hired to do your project, we will then create rough sketches to propose a few concepts for you to consider. From these roughs, you may choose one that you would like us to refine and present with color options. Only after the second draft of the artwork is approved will we start production to finish the project. The balance of the artwork fee must be paid in full before we can release the artwork to you and provide you with a copyright release. All artwork created by us, is and remains the copyrighted property of Elliott Design until payment has been cleared and we re-assign the copyright over to you with our Copyright Release Form. The artwork, once it has been released to you, is yours to reproduce as you like as much as you like, there are no restrictions to you as the Copyright owner.

 Changes, edits, and additions requested after the approval of the final artwork is considered billable time and will increase the cost of your project, be sure you have proof-read the layout, checked for spelling errors and are sure you have all the information in the layout/design that is needed.

 You will receive one copy of your artwork or logo on a CD in (4) standard formats — AI, CDR, PDF, & JPG for use in digital reproduction, we will also post the files on our web server for access at any time. Other formats are available if for any reason you require them, but we should be made aware of this ahead of time, a small fee of $25 per image file will be charged for the retrieval of your files and changes in format after the job is completed.  

   Signage
 We require a 50% start-up fee from all new clients to cover any out-of-pocket expenses for materials involved in your project. Established client accounts may or may not be required to make a materials deposit depending on the initial cost to acquire necessary materials. You will receive an estimate of the total cost of the project before any work is done. Any deviation in this estimate due to a price increase in materials from our suppliers once your project has started is out of our control and the end price will be adjusted to cover this added expense, this is rare and usually involves only a very small increase. Signage or manufactured items that require artwork, design, sketches and/or research will have the design deposit included in the production deposit. The artwork created for your sign project does not entitle you to use it in any other form without our permission. Should you desire to use this artwork, layout or design as a logo or part of a logo, we will gladly work with you and for a reasonable fee, convert it into a logo and reassign the rights to you. It is strictly unlawful under State and Federal Copyright laws in the unauthorized use of intellectual property and we will protect our rights to the fullest of these laws.

 Deposits are non-refundable once the project has started, a partial refund might be in order unless materials have already been acquired for the project and then only on standard items that we normal use as stock materials, any specialty materials cannot be credited once we have purchased them for you. Costs of materials that have been cut to size for your project will not be refunded.

   Website Development
 We require a 50% start-up fee from all new clients to cover design, research, and any out-of-pocket expenses involved in your website development. Customers with established accounts do not have to pay a deposit. We provide web hosting and domain registration if you do not already have these services set up. Cost for domain registration and 300 megabytes of web space starts at $140 per year, web development is not included in the domain/space setup, this fee is non-refundable and must be paid in full if we are to host your site. We can help you establish a budget on what you should expect to spend to create the type website your company or organization would need. Once your website has been created and published online for the world to access, we can continue to be your one-stop service provider and make periodic updates as you require, or we can provide you with a template website that you or anyone with good computer skills and the proper software could replace text and images any time you desire.


When you hire Elliott Design,

you are hiring:


• An Experienced Graphic Designer
• A Talented and Imaginative Artist
• A Creative Marketing Director

• An
Interest in YOUR Success

 Elliott Design would like to work WITH you and FOR you as your graphic artist on your creative projects. With ten years of art training prior to the more than 43 years of continuous study while operating a graphic arts studio, I have been called on to use my creative talents practically every day to provide artwork covering nearly every subject matter that could possible relate to signage, business branding, logos, general design for packaging, and the marketing of businesses and products for both indoor and outdoor coverage.

 When you hire Elliott Design for your project, we ask that you allow us to do what we do best and that is to create a high quality professional job for you. My many years of extensive experience should outweigh the opinions that you may receive from others. As the old adage goes, "To Many Cooks Spoil The Stew" could not be any more true for stews or artwork. Everyone has likes and dislikes and unless they are trained in graphic design these are just personal opinions and usually have no place in making critical decisions concerning marketing towards your customer base, you need to present your product or business to the public, not just to one or two of your friends and family. Listening to your well meaning art critics could cause your business venture or ad campaign to suffer because your marketing materials were not what they should have been or could have been. My training has taught me to look past personal opinions and base my conceptual design work on the marketed target groups and what they are finding to be the most currently appealing. 

 I will listen to any reasonable ideas that may have artistic merit, but if it won't work or would devalue the advertising effectiveness of your project, I will let you know. I value your input and ideas, as I know you understand more about your business than I ever could. Your input helps me decide how to best present your business or product in exciting and visual graphical ways that your customers will find interesting, and that is what marketing is all about, getting people to notice what you are trying to sell and presenting it in a way that promotes sales.

 In the end, if you feel that you or anyone else untrained in the graphics design field knows more about what is the best solution to your design project that we do, then you should look elsewhere until you find a "yes-man" that will do it your way no matter how unprofessional the results. Check this link if your uncle's second cousin's brother-in-law thinks you should have "all capital Old English red letters on a blue background" — you'll have to find someone else to do your project.


Sincerely,
   Larry Elliott
        Professional Graphic Artist

 NOTICE:  if you have arrived here through clicking a link from a SEARCH ENGINE listing or email referral, you may be missing a lot
of our design samples, use this link to go to Elliott Sign & Design Home Page to view our complete web site.

©1998-2011 All images, design/layouts and artworks are the
copyrighted property of Elliott Sign & Design, all rights reserved.