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De la Reb · Jan 3, 2005, 05:24 PM

I've been selected to redesign a series of lables for a new beverage product. It has been
test marketed in the western United States with great success. The company is now ready
to redesign the packaging for it's national debut. Because this product has the potential to
be fairly successful, I want to protect myself.

Does anyone have a good contract they could share regarding Package and/or Label
design? I'm especially interested in how usage and rights issues are addressed, and if I
should expect royalties should the product take off. (Is that crazy?)

I do not want to fleece them or make crazy demands, I just want what's
reasonable and fair. And I want to state it clearly from the get-go in my
contract.

thanks!

art_director · Jan 3, 2005, 07:41 PM

royalties for a package design? you're kidding, right?

eyevaan · Jan 4, 2005, 08:17 AM

Do you use a contract for your other work? It is the same process, but remember the copyrighted design, logo, packaging and container is theirs, regardless of whether you were instrumental in the creation of all the parts.

no royalties BUT

Perhaps you try to hang yourself off the total success of the product instead of getting a full payment at the time of creation [you want to talk to a contract lawyer on this one]... kind of like a stock option, if they will talk to you in those terms. Sometimes upstarts do that.

De la Reb · Jan 4, 2005, 10:02 AM

well yes, I guess I am crazy. I guess I just wanted to be sure that since I will be doing
a whole new look (including logo) for them that I was covering myself. I always want
to make sure I'm not undercutting the cost for any given project because as you know,
the whole industry suffers. And it doesn't hurt to ask. According to the GAG Pricing and
Ethical Guidlines Handbook I often reference, they do suggest it, but aren't very clear.
That's why I asked the good people of this forum, because usually they give solid, real
world advice.

art_director · Jan 4, 2005, 10:08 AM

to eyevaan's point, it is possible to tie your compensation into the product's success. doing so is beyond the scope of what you should try accomplishing without legal counsel. typically you'll get a smaller fee for producing the work and will have to wait to see whether the product is a success. then there's the need to turst and or police the client to compensate you properly on the sales record.

personally, i would get a good rate for the job and call it even. these sort of things are usually employed by ad agencies / design firms.

good luck and let us know how you come out.

De la Reb · Jan 4, 2005, 10:14 AM

Yes I do use a contract for all of my jobs. I just don't have an extensive usage and rights
section in it. Mostly, because I work with one big client, our agreement is rights
transferred.
So I guess I was just wondering if there is some kind of verbage I could include in the
usage and rights section of my current contract that would cover me in case my design
becomes one of the big reasons for the success of the product. (crazy, but you never
know!)
Incidentally, through their marketing research, they have determined the number one
reason why the product is not moving off the shelves: bad packaging. At least that's what
they told me.

I like your suggestion. re: total success of product. That's kind of what I'm searching for.
A contract lawyer, ok. Thank you.

De la Reb · Jan 4, 2005, 10:20 AM

thanks art_director, I will probably end up getting properly compensated
and call it even, like you suggested, just wanted to know my options.

iREZ · Jan 4, 2005, 01:03 PM

Working pre press in a packaging plant here in Los Angeles, I've come across alot of crappy label designs in my time. The best thing to do is make sure everything is of quality. It's funny how we get some large companies to come over with artwork from a "graphic firm" that looks like a five year old put it together, from over complicated saturated front labels, to images that are 72pix/inch and even UPC codes that have been reduced under 40% of the original size (which results in no reads). Hope things turn out well for you.

Macola · Jan 4, 2005, 03:35 PM

I'm glad to hear you use a contract...based on your previous thread, I wasn't sure. I don't want to start the same old argument again, but I personally believe that you should never work without one.

Royalties are pretty hard to come by these days, as others mentioned. I'm still getting royalty checks from a book publisher, but it's extremely rare to do that in the design world. Build in a decent rate up front, and if you really intend to get a royalty agreement, an attorney is your best bet. You can also buy royalty agreement templates online, but you're better off with a live person who can customize the contract to your specific situation.

Good luck!

art_director · Jan 4, 2005, 04:13 PM

One should note that Macola's reference to royalties on a book design is not in the same world as commercial advertising work.

Macola · Jan 4, 2005, 06:01 PM

It wasn't even design, it was writing (a short story that was published in an anthology).

I'm still getting royalty checks from a book publisher, but it's extremely rare to do that in the design world.

art_director · 06:19 AM

.

Westbo · Jan 19, 2005, 08:15 AM

Originally posted by De la Reb:
I've been selected to redesign a series of lables for a new beverage product. It has been
test marketed in the western United States with great success. The company is now ready
to redesign the packaging for it's national debut. Because this product has the potential to
be fairly successful, I want to protect myself.

Does anyone have a good contract they could share regarding Package and/or Label
design? I'm especially interested in how usage and rights issues are addressed, and if I
should expect royalties should the product take off. (Is that crazy?)

I do not want to fleece them or make crazy demands, I just want what's
reasonable and fair. And I want to state it clearly from the get-go in my
contract.

thanks!

There really is not a "royalty" for package graphic design. It's unfortunate that many graphic designers and other creatives are led to believe that there are royalties to be expected for their commercial work. It's not at all a reality and pushing for it just makes you much less marketable. It's quite OK to charge for your work. If you feel you want future compensation for your efforts, build that into your bid. For example, charge at a "disount" to help launch, then charge an addtional fee if it goes national. Realize though that any complication your bid provides may open a client to reconsider competitive bids. You may win the battle but lose the war. Your client may begrudgingly pay for this project, but not consider you for future ones and worse yet spread the bad word.

So, don't get greedy. Think big picture. Charge a fair flat fee, do a terrific job and earn a happy client. It pays off in the long run.

W2