Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

You have questions, we have answers. If you can’t find what you’re looking for in our FAQ section below, use our online submission form at the bottom of this page.

Overall FAQ

Scott E. Pond Designs has been officially in business since January of 2010, however Scott E. Pond has been officially designing projects for clients for a lot longer. Scott received his first commission--designing a 40th school reunion collectable book for a co-worker--way back in 1991. Not counting a couple portrait drawing commissions back in middle school and high school, this was his first "adult" commission project, with many more to follow over the years.
Not overall. Way back in the day, I was influenced design-wise by the RPG artists at the time--Larry Elmore, Ken Parkinson, BROM, and the like--along with the retro and "modern" designs of the northeastern United States in the 80's and early 90's. Since then, through study and general expansion of my interests through international travel, Indie-explorations, and wide-ranging research, my styles have taken on a more hodge-podge feel as I've grown artistically. Today, I try to incorporate the style that best suits the audience, the genre of the project, and the overall details of the project, delving into many different styles and ideas.
There's been several you might be familiar with:

Scott Sigler (New York Times Best Selling Author)

Paul E. Cooley (Parsec Award Winning Author)

Jake Bible (Bram Stoker Award Winning Author)

Matt Wallace (Award Winning Author)

Escape Artists (Escape Pod, Pod Castle, PseudoPod, and Cast of Wonders)

... to name a few...

Yes, each of the testimonials were given voluntarily by previous clients. If you are a current or previous client and wish to give a testimonial as well, please click on the logo in the upper left corner and submit one on the bottom of our homepage.
I don't have any restrictions on anyone contacting my previous clients for impressions and feedback, however I do not have explicit permission from them for potential new clients to contact them. If you are able to contact them, please be aware that they all have responsibilities and their own careers and family life so it may take a while for them to respond if they want to.
Yes I do take on international clients. As most of the design work can and is done virtually and digitally, there are limited concerns about doing work with international clients.
I try to operate under several simple rules of thumbs:
  • I will not claim ownership of someone else's work
  • I will be accountable, professional, and punctual at all times for my clients and projects
  • I will not engage in cultural appropriate; instead, I will draw inspiration from and pay tribute to different cultures
For the standard contract, you own the finished product output (example: a jpeg of the finished artwork) and can use it in the manner we have contractually agreed to. As the artist/graphic designer, for the standard contract, I own the source files I used to create the finished output. If you wish to use the finished artwork in a manner not in compliance with the contract or is you wish to own the source files used to create the finished project, then additional fees will be required to be paid to compensate the artist/graphic designer (me).
Ahhh yes, the perennial question that many creatives are asked or are expected of them.

Here's the deal.

As young/inexperienced creative, I worked either for exposure or was under compensated for many of my initial projects. Why? For practice in some cases. To get my foot in the door in other cases. Mostly, it was because I was young, dumb, and didn't know any better. As a professional, what this question really means is will I take my free time that I could be spending either with my family or on paying projects and do some creating for free for you?

It's a pretty rude question.

Do you expect a doctor to perform surgery for free? A police officer to lay down their life for you for free? A garbage collector to pick up your smelly garbage for free? A teacher to educate your kids for free?

Of course not.

So why would you expect me to use skills that you don't have to create something for you with payment as nebulous as exposure? Would you do a project at your day job for exposure or would you expect to be fairly compensated for your skills, time, and effort? I certainly hope you would expect to be paid, with actual money, and at a fair compensation rate.

So please, stop believing that I would spend my time using my skills to make a tangible creation for your for free.

Thank you for attending my TED Talk.

Design Process FAQ

Yes, I have a standard terms and agreement, which can be found here: https://scottpond.com/terms-and-agreement/
I personally do not have an NDA, however if a client requires me to agree to one in order to conduct business with them I am willing.
There are multiple checkpoints throughout the process to ensure that the product is progressing within the client's expectation. At any point in the process, the client can cancel the project, however they will forfeit the engagement fee and will be charged for the work performed to date.
Standard delivery of design work is a digital file. However, if the client wishes a physical copy provided by this designer, the client will may for all manufacturing costs and a surcharge for level of effort and time required for this designer to manufacture the project in physical form.

Quoting Process FAQ

Arrangements can be made to use a credit card, check, or cash. However, the final project file(s) will not be provided until the funds clear.
Yes, although PayPal is the preferred method.
Payments are preferred to be lump sum. If installments are desired, please contact us before the project commences.
Both, depending on project type. For standard projects, the charge is standardized as much as possible to use a flat rate. However, add-on effort or advanced/unique projects are normally charged on an hourly basis.
That's a very good question, with both a yes and no answer. If the designer is inexperienced and/or charges the client for what is essentially their "practice time" during the project, then the practice of hourly charges can be unfair.

For experienced designers (like myself) our level of effort is consistent from hour to hour, which makes hourly charges feasible at a standard rate. Additionally, I do not charge for mistakes on my part or portions of time where I have to experiment in order to get a new desired look/feel. Just like many trades, when I charge hourly rates, the client is getting the benefit of my experience, making my design efforts more efficient, and I do not charge the client for experimentation or mistakes unless explicitly agreed upon between myself and my client.
Both. Standard project come at a starting price point. Advanced or unique projects have rates based on effort and time spent. See https://scottpond.com/project-pricing/

Book and Book Cover Design Specific FAQ

Graphic Design Specific FAQ

Yes, I have and do design tattoos. Please refer to https://scottpond.com/project-pricing/ and the section on Advanced Design Work for price estimates.
Yes, I have designed frame-by-frame projects and also animated GIFs.

Logo Design FAQ

Standard number of iterations for the standard design cost is 3 designs for initial discussion and 2 major iterations of the selected design.
Standard questions for initial logo design engagement are: what is the name of the company/service; what is the color scheme/branding for the company; what does the company/service provide; what impression do you want the logo to convey; what style do you want the logo; do you have branding requirements for the logo, such as font, color, style, etc.; and the like.

Help! I can't find an answer to my questions!!!

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