Legal
Terms of Service
The ground rules for using this website and for working with Jovian Design, written so you can read them in one sitting.
Plain-English terms. The signed agreement for your project always takes priority over this page.
Effective October 14, 2026
Who we are
This website, joviandesign.com, is run by Jovian Design, LLC, a small UX research, service design and front-end studio based in the Greenville (Simpsonville area), South Carolina, USA. “We,” “us” and “the studio” mean Jovian Design, LLC. “You” means anyone using the site or hiring the studio. By using the site, you agree to these terms.
Using the site
The site is provided as-is and as-available, without warranties of any kind. We work to keep it accurate and running, but we don’t promise it will always be available, error-free or up to date. The articles, case studies, games and tools are here for information and fun. They aren’t professional advice for your specific situation, and you use them at your own discretion.
Estimates are not quotes or offers
Every price, hour count and timeline on this site is an estimate. The “from” prices on the consulting menu describe typical work, not a promise of what your project will cost. Pricing is based on an average of roughly $80–$100 an hour; actual rates range from about $60 to $150 an hour depending on the work, and they’re always negotiable.
Adding packages to your request list and sending it is a request to talk, not a purchase. Nothing is billed online, and nothing is binding on either side until we both sign a written agreement or statement of work.
How engagements work
Every project starts with a free phone call. After that, we confirm the scope and the final price in writing. That written agreement governs the work, and if it conflicts with anything on this website, the agreement wins.
- Scope. The agreement lists what’s included. Anything outside it is new work.
- Changes and surprises. New requests, and problems discovered along the way (a broken integration, missing content, a platform limit), can add time and cost. We’ll tell you, estimate it, and bill for it only after you approve it in writing.
- Your part. You agree to give timely feedback and to provide the content, access, accounts and information the project needs, and you’re responsible for the accuracy of what you provide.
- Timelines. If feedback, content or access arrives late, the schedule moves with it. Delays caused on the client side don’t count against our deadlines.
Payment
- Deposit. Work is invoiced half up front and half on delivery, unless the agreement says otherwise. Work starts once the deposit is paid.
- How to pay. Card or bank transfer. We never ask for payment details through this website.
- Late payment. Invoices are due on the terms written on them. If a payment is late, we may pause work until it’s settled, and the agreement may set a reasonable late fee.
- Outside costs. Hosting, domains, plugins, testing platforms, participant incentives and similar costs are passed through at cost, with your approval.
- Taxes. Prices don’t include any sales or similar taxes that may apply. If they apply, they’re added to the invoice.
Revisions
One round of revisions is included in each package unless the agreement says otherwise. Further revisions, or revisions that change the agreed scope, are billed hourly, and only after you approve them.
Intellectual property
When the project is paid in full, you own the final deliverables we made for you, and the files and code are handed over to you. Until then, they remain ours.
We keep ownership of our pre-existing tools, methods, code libraries, templates and know-how, and you get the right to use whatever of these is built into your deliverables. We may show the work in our portfolio and case studies, unless the agreement or a non-disclosure agreement says otherwise. You’re responsible for having the rights to anything you give us to use, such as logos, photos, copy and data.
Third-party platforms and tools
Many projects run on platforms we don’t control, such as Salesforce, Squarespace, WordPress, hosting providers, plugins and testing services. Their own terms, pricing and policies apply. We aren’t responsible for their outages, security incidents, price changes, feature changes or discontinued products, though we’ll help you work around them where we can.
No guaranteed results
We do careful work and measure what we can, but we can’t guarantee specific business results, search rankings, traffic, conversions, funding outcomes or other metrics. Those depend on many things outside our control.
Accessibility
Our accessibility work aims at WCAG 2.2 AA. It is not legal advice, and it is not a guarantee that a site or product complies with any law or will never receive a complaint. Content and code added after delivery can also change a site’s accessibility.
Confidentiality
We keep your non-public business information confidential and use it only for your project. That doesn’t cover information that is already public, that we already had, or that we’re required by law to disclose. We’re glad to sign a non-disclosure agreement when a project needs one.
Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent the law allows, our total liability for any claim related to a project or this site is limited to the fees you paid us for that specific engagement in the 12 months before the claim. We are not liable for indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages, including lost profits, lost revenue or lost data. Some places don’t allow these limits, so they apply only as far as the law permits.
Indemnity
You agree to cover us against claims, losses and reasonable legal costs that arise from content or materials you provide (such as text, images, data or trademarks), or from your use of the deliverables in a way that breaks the law or someone else’s rights.
Ending a project
Either side may end a project in writing, as the agreement describes. If a project ends early, you pay for the work done and approved costs incurred up to that point, and we hand over the paid-for work.
Acceptable use of the site
Please don’t:
- attack, probe, overload or try to break into the site or its server;
- scrape or copy the site in bulk, or reuse its content as your own;
- send spam, automated or abusive messages through the forms;
- cheat the arcade leaderboard or use offensive, impersonating or misleading nicknames.
We may remove leaderboard entries, block messages, and restrict or block access to the site at any time, including from certain countries.
Links to other sites
The site links to other websites, including the studio owner’s other site. We don’t control them and aren’t responsible for their content or practices.
Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of South Carolina, USA, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Any dispute will be handled in the state or federal courts located in Greenville County, South Carolina, unless the project agreement says otherwise.
Changes to these terms
We may update these terms from time to time and will change the effective date above when we do. Changes don’t alter an agreement that has already been signed.
Contact
Questions about these terms? Email hello@joviandesign.com. Jovian Design, LLC, Greenville, South Carolina, USA. See also our Privacy Policy.
This page is written to be clear, not to replace advice from a lawyer.