Reddit reviews Business and Legal Forms for Graphic Designers (Business and Legal Forms Series)

There are books with boiler plate contracts for designers. http://www.amazon.com/Business-Graphic-Designers-Fourth-Edition/dp/1621532496

They are not a substitute for a good lawyer, but it's better than nothing.

> Logistically, how would I go about getting it developed, and on what should I be focusing most of my efforts? I.e., do I just look up local developers via Google search? Are remote developers viable? Should I aim for developers who have developed similar programs, (for example, say a team developed MyFitnessPal, and I want to develop a fitness-based app, do I go after them, too?). Another important question, what qualities, qualifications, experience, etc. should I look for? (beyond the common sense ones that I should know, like work ethic, chemistry, etc.)

Without details of your app, it's difficult to say what size of team you'll need. My recommendation would be to heavily screen the portfolio of any potential app developers. Any potential candidates should have at least several apps of good quality, and that were moderately challenging to make.

The candidate should also demonstrate (by their actions) that they are familiar with standard professional consulting practices; there should be a contract (I hear you know a lawyer) which clearly details the project including copyright (work for hire), final deliverable, kill fee, change orders, etc. There should also be a document 'briefing' describing exactly what will be delivered, when it will be delivered, and how much it will cost (the proposal). While there is some variation in the process, any 'professional' should do something similar since these processes help ensure that both the vendor (developer) and client (you) know exactly what you're getting into.

For a book which describes this in detail (useful to both freelancers & clients), read Business and Legal Forms for Graphic Designers. Unfortuantely, this series doesn't have one specific to software development, but the principles within are applicable across many industries. The book is very concise, so it's a quick read too.

> I wouldn't be involved in the nuts and bolts of programming at all. I would of course have input on layout, design, and function, etc.

Draw as much of that as you reasonably can; any information you can give will help with the initial design, and planning stages.

> I haven't even thought about cost or funding

Good and experienced software developers tend to be well paid. Perhaps not as much as lawyers, but understand it won't be cheap,

Lastly, don't forget marketing! Marketing is such a huge portion of many successful apps; simply having a 'good' app is rarely enough.

http://www.abookapart.com/products/design-is-a-job

http://creativemornings.com/talks/mike-monteiro--2/1

http://www.amazon.com/Business-Legal-Forms-Graphic-Designers/dp/1621532496

Decide what you feel is fair. You can always negotiate down. Think of the business agreement as a partnership, which is what it is. There is nothing dirty about it.

Sounds like you really want to help the guy develop professionally; and you also really want to use his work because you think it would sell. Great.

Numbers are hard to put out there without seeing his chops or the style you are asking for. Perhaps a base of, say, $500-$2000 per illustration with rights included so you own them, but with him cut in on the calendar (and other calendar year products) profits; so there is real potential and investment on his side. Then you have this great art to monetize in perpetuity and your friend has seen the light of using his talents — and, if you use the opportunity to teach him, become more comfortable with the process of doing so.

Those are opinions, this is advice:

Tell him you are interested and want him to write a quote. Tell him to base it on the Graphic Artist's Guild Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines and Business and Legal Forms for Graphic Designers. It's okay to mention you expect consideration for your part in this opportunity for him, but let him know you want the ownership at the end of project. If he gets the books and builds a good quote in a few weeks, good sign — have him Xerox the pages he used to make the quote and you will learn as much as he.

Have a schedule carefully set up in case he flakes. First few concepts in two weeks to develop rapport and trust — then full concepts in four, line work completed and the first few finals for approval at six-eight, finals for approval weeks eight-twelve, revised finals in sixteen. Add your slide time in secretly and only give it away harshly. Expect 12 new paid works after a life of casual attention to be a bit overwhelming for him; and if you really want to be a hero put him in contention for the next year ... but you have no responsibility to.


Because this is one of those amazing chances to really make someone's life better.

(edit: fixed studio-artist level deadline times)

Thanks for all your feedback. Should have started by saying that we've already signed a contract that includes scope, contingencies, etc. and he's already paid a portion up front. We've agreed on a rate that includes a certain number of hours on training his admin assistant on how to update the site and if I have to maintain it beyond X number of hours or X number of days, I'll be paid an hourly fee. I have a good working relationship with this company. I used a contract template from this, it seemed pretty comprehensive but I guess I won't know if it missed something important until it's too late.

After reading the feedback from this thread and some addition research, I'm building on a dev site on the client's server that is password protected. Since I am new to this, I wanted to just make absolute sure that I wouldn't fuck something up moving it from my server to his after I've done a shitload of work and he's approved it. GoDaddy has a default, ahem, LANDING page (will remember to use that from now on). I'm just going to leave that as is unless he asks for something because there was nothing in our contract about creating custom graphics.

I'm not too stressed but I do want to make sure that I'm doing things efficiently and securely to best serve him. And I agree, if it goes to shit, well, then lesson learned and it probably won't be the last. Thank you for your feedback, I really appreciate it.

Coming from a background in art & software development, the easiest way to prevent and manage disputes is clear precise written communication. Whether it's construction, graphics, art, or anything I do for clients, following these procedures has vastly enhanced my work.

A clearly written contract does help immensely beyond mere dispute resolution, it also greatly assists in clarifying the relationship between the service-provider and the customer. It's far from a contentious or litigious document if written properly, but rather a proper description - and even a means of guaranteeing your work (At Bob's Construction, we not only guarantee our work, but also guarantees it by contract).

Beyond a contract, there are perhaps even more important documents, including a project proposal, budgets, change-order sign-offs, and perhaps most importantly the project briefing/description which clearly describes both the price, and the product to be delivered. Properly following this procedure, and having the documents signed should eliminate misunderstandings and miss-communications.

For example, I've had clients described in emails, calls, and other communication exactly what they wanted, I wrote it down as described (and even written) and sent back the project briefing only to discover the client actually wanted it in a different color. In the rare case that a client things I'm not delivering on my promises, I typically tell them "Customer service is extremely important to me, and to ensure I am delivering the product you asked for, I am following the project briefing. If you would like to make a change to this briefing, we can discuss a change-order and pricing."

If the above subject(s) sound interesting to you, the most clear concise description of this has been "Business and Legal Forms for Graphic Designers". Don't be put off by the "graphic design" label, this works the same in all fields and I have assisted friends and associates in construction contracting services improve their businesses by using these standard professional step-by-step procedures for interacting with clients.

A mentor who is a professional character designer and has worked in-house and freelance recommended these two books to me:

The Graphic Artist's Guild Handbook: Pricing and Ethical Guidelines
https://graphicartistsguild.org/handbook

Business and Legal Forms for Graphic Designers
https://www.amazon.com/Business-Legal-Forms-Graphic-Designers/dp/1621532496