The AIGA Standard Form of Agreement for Design Services does not take a one-size-fits-all approach, and it is not an extensive pre-printed document where you simply fill in the blanks. Instead, this agreement acknowledges that most design firms develop their own custom proposal document for each project and are looking for an appropriate set of terms and conditions to attach to it.

Use an agreement like this when subcontracting with design firms and ad agencies. You should not use this form when you are selling services directly to a business client. For that, you should prepare a fixed-fee proposal and use the legal terms and conditions that are contained in the AIGA Standard Form of Agreement for Design Services.

This article explains the key ingredients that create a binding legal agreement between a designer and a client, and it describes how a court might later interpret that contract in a lawsuit.

Are designers taking the business side of design seriously enough? Stone takes a serious look at 60 designers to address how they feel about agreements and contracts with clients.

Learn more about the business implications of working with independent contractors (freelancers).

At some point you will experience the pain and annoyance of not getting paid on time. Often, the root cause of the problem is contractual in nature. AIGA Blue Ridge member and lawyer Matthew S. Johnston has some recommendations.

Defining the business relationships that in-house designers have with their companies is an often ignored but absolutely essential exercise for in-house groups. Andy Epstein explains why.