Working with a Graphic Designer: Design Files & Copyright
When working with a graphic designer it is important to know who owns what when it comes to the handing over of files when your project is finished.
As the client, you will receive a final artwork file. The final artwork file is either a high-resolution print-ready file with crop marks and bleed for printing or a high-resolution file in a different format that is web-ready or suitably responsive.
Designers Copyright
Your designer actually owns the copyright on the native design file including the concepts and non-final artwork. They also hold the license for all of the elements, stock imagery and fonts. Licenses for things like stock imagery and fonts are legally not allowed to be used for anything other than the purpose the license was purchased for – i.e your completed artwork.
So it makes sense that your designer who has all of the high tech design software and paid subscriptions for things like imagery and fonts, would not hand them over when a project is complete. (It is not typically included as part of your finished product unless this has been agreed upon upfront).
Your designer will (or should) maintain all copies of previous artwork and projects, so in the future when you need an update or edit, they can do so without repeating the whole design process, which is substantially cheaper for you and less time consuming for them.
However, there may be some instances whereby after a few years if your designer hasn’t heard from a client, or if you decided to work with another designer, they will remove your files from their system.
This is because designers have to pay for a vast amount of cloud storage, or have hefty servers and/or back up hard drives. It is unnecessary to store files which will no longer be required.
Crispin Design keeps client files on our server for 12 months after the last project has been completed. If the file has not been requested or worked on for that year, it will be removed from our system.
Tip: It may be easier to add your designer to your own Google Drive or One Drive account and they can add your files directly to your own personal or business cloud storage.
Finished Products
As a client, you will receive the final artwork file, which you own. You also own the text and any other elements that you supplied your designer – which you either need permission to use or should be your original work.
The final artwork file is either a high-resolution print-ready PDF file with crop marks and bleed for printing. Or a high-resolution file in a different format that is web-ready or suitably responsive. You will usually need special software to open the native file versions and neither file can be edited or changed.
Your designer is obligated to provide a finished product so you can supply this to your printer, social media manager or web designer and they will be able to print or present your finished work in the format for which it was intended to perfection.
Here are some of the types of files your designer may provide you with:
Professional Print File
Hi-res print-ready file with crop marks and bleed.
Low Res JPEG File
Web-ready responsive file that is suitable for websites, social media and sized for sending over email.
Web & Email File
PDF or JPEG file that has been responsively resized for fast loading and optimum viewing on websites, social media, smartphones and can easily be attached to an email without the hefty file size.
High-Resolution File
These files are not scaled back for web or digital optimization and are the full, original size. They will often be far too big to be zipped, sent or shared under normal circumstances and are generally used by printers, signwriters/installers and other professionals. The file would be too big for any type of client use.
Did you know that your designer can create a suite of brand-specific templates for all of your design projects? When you want to create something new your designer can use your own template and create something fresh without starting from scratch.
Check out our estimates page here.