The paperwork · Last updated September 2026
“Fixed scope, fixed price, no surprise invoices — here is exactly how we work, written down.”
These terms govern the design and development services The Brief Bureau (“the bureau”, “we”) provides to you (“the client”). By commissioning work from us, accepting a written quote, or making a payment, you agree to them.
Every project also runs on its own written proposal or quote, which sets the fixed scope, timeline, and price for that job. If these terms and a signed quote ever disagree, the quote wins for that project.
We work on fixed scope: the quote lists exactly what will be designed, built, and delivered. Anything not listed is out of scope until it is quoted and agreed in writing.
Changes you request after approval of a design or milestone are treated as new work and quoted separately. We flag this before we start the extra work — never after the invoice.
All prices are quoted in writing and are valid for 30 days. Unless the quote says otherwise, work begins with a 50% deposit and the balance is due on delivery, before the site is handed over or published on your domain.
Invoices are payable within 14 days. Work may be paused on overdue accounts, and completed deliverables stay ours until the invoice is settled.
We design first and build second: each milestone — design, build, launch — is approved by you in writing before we move to the next. Two rounds of revisions are included per milestone; further rounds are quoted as extra work.
If we are waiting on you — content, images, feedback, sign-offs — the timeline shifts by however long the wait lasts. We'll tell you when a delay starts and what's needed to get moving again.
You confirm you own or have licensed everything you give us — text, images, logos, trademarks — and that providing it to us for use on your site doesn't infringe anyone else's rights.
You give feedback in a single consolidated round per revision cycle, from one decision-maker or a named point of contact.
Once you've paid in full, the design and the code we wrote for your site are yours — the source files, the layout, the words we drafted for you. We keep the right to show the finished work in our portfolio and case files unless you ask us in writing not to.
We retain ownership of our pre-existing tools, boilerplate, and internal processes, and we license those to you as needed to run your site. Third-party software your site depends on (fonts, plugins, hosting, AI services) is governed by those providers' own licences and terms.
A project is complete when the agreed deliverables are live or handed over and the final invoice is paid. We remain on hand for questions and small fixes after launch; anything beyond a small fix is quoted as new work.
Ongoing hosting, maintenance, and content updates are separate services, quoted on their own.
Either side can end a project in writing. If you cancel, you pay for all work completed to that point plus any costs we've already committed on your behalf; the deposit covers this where possible and the balance is invoiced if it doesn't.
If we cancel — which we'd only do for a good reason, such as non-payment or a breakdown of the working relationship — you pay only for the work completed and we return anything you've paid beyond it.
We build carefully and test what we ship, but our liability under these terms is limited to the fees you paid us for the project in question. We're not liable for indirect losses — lost profits, lost data, lost business — and nothing here limits liability that can't legally be limited.
Your site depends on third parties we don't control — domains, hosts, browsers, APIs. We're not responsible for their outages or changes.
These terms are governed by the laws of Greece, and the courts of Athens have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute. We may update these terms from time to time; the version in force is the one published here when you accept a quote.
Questions about any of this? Write to hello@designbureau.studio and a human will answer.
Need a signed copy, or something explained?
Write to the bureau.