Legal disclosures

Data we collect. When you contact DesignTheoryWorks or commission services, we process identification and contact data (name, email, phone, company), project correspondence, billing identifiers, and technical logs (IP address, user agent, timestamp) required to operate this website.

Purposes and legal bases. We process personal data to respond to inquiries (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR — pre-contractual measures), to perform contracts and issue invoices (Art. 6(1)(b)), to meet legal retention duties (Art. 6(1)(c)), and — only with consent — to send optional studio updates (Art. 6(1)(a)). Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)) support site security, abuse prevention, and aggregate analytics.

Recipients. Data is shared only with processors bound by data-processing agreements: hosting and email providers, our payment provider Stripe for settlement of invoice payments, and professional advisors where legally required. We do not sell personal information.

International transfers. Where a processor operates outside the EU/EEA, transfers rely on Standard Contractual Clauses or an adequacy decision, supplemented by technical safeguards.

Retention. Inquiry records are retained for up to 24 months after the last contact. Contractual and tax records are retained for 6 or 10 years as required by German commercial and fiscal law. Newsletter consent records persist until withdrawal.

Your rights. You may request access, rectification, erasure, restriction, and portability of your data, and you may object to processing based on legitimate interests. Where processing rests on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting prior lawful processing. You may lodge a complaint with your supervisory authority. CCPA residents may additionally request disclosure or deletion and may opt out of any future “sale” of personal information — we do not sell data. Exercise rights by emailing [email protected].

Minors. Our services are offered to businesses and are not directed at children under 16; we do not knowingly collect minors’ data.

Scope. These terms govern design, UX, accessibility, and front-end services provided by DesignTheoryWorks at 21397 Habichtweg 8 Barendorf, Germany. Specific deliverables, timelines, and fees are fixed in a written proposal or statement of work accepted by the client.

Prices & payment. Quoted prices are in USD or EUR as stated and exclude VAT where applicable. Invoices are payable within 14 days via the payment link we provide; late amounts may accrue statutory default interest. Work may be paused on accounts more than 14 days overdue.

Delivery & revisions. Turnaround windows begin after receipt of brief, content, and any deposit. Each engagement includes the revision rounds stated in the proposal; additional rounds are billed at the agreed hourly rate. Client delays extend timelines day-for-day.

Client responsibilities. You warrant that materials you supply are accurate and that you hold rights to all content, trademarks, and data you provide, and that you will review drafts promptly for accessibility and legal compliance.

Intellectual property. Upon full payment, all rights in the final client-specific deliverables transfer to you. DesignTheoryWorks retains rights to pre-existing tools, frameworks, and generic know-how, and may reference non-confidential work in its portfolio unless you opt out in writing.

Warranty & liability. We warrant services with professional care for 30 days after handover; we will fix material non-conformities reported in that window. Except for intent, gross negligence, injury to life, or mandatory statutory liability, our liability is limited to the contract value of the affected engagement. Third-party platform outages are outside our control.

Termination & governing law. Either party may terminate for material breach with 14 days’ written cure notice. German law applies; the place of jurisdiction is the competent court for Barendorf where the client is a merchant. Mandatory consumer protections remain unaffected.

Essential storage. We store a single local preference key on your device to remember that you dismissed the cookie notice (localStorage). Without it, the banner would reappear on every visit. This is strictly necessary for the function you requested and does not require consent under § 25 TDDDG / ePrivacy rules.

Analytics. Where aggregate, privacy-minded analytics are enabled, we use them only to understand page performance in broad strokes. No cross-site advertising cookies are set, and we do not build advertising profiles.

Third-party embeds. The contact page embeds a Google Map. Loading that map may cause Google to set cookies under Google’s own policies when you interact with the frame; the frame loads lazily and only on pages that include it.

Managing cookies. You can clear or block cookies in your browser at any time. Blocking essential storage only means the consent notice will show again. Questions: [email protected].

Fixed-scope projects. Deposits and milestone payments cover work already performed, reserved capacity, and third-party costs. If you cancel before work begins, prepaid fees are refundable less a 10% administrative charge. After work begins, we refund the unused portion of any prepaid balance for undelivered milestones, calculated pro rata at the end of the engagement.

Retainers. Monthly care retainers are billed in advance for the coming period and are non-refundable once the period starts, except where we terminate without cause — in which case we credit or refund the unused, prepaid days.

Defective delivery. If a deliverable materially fails the agreed specification and we cannot cure it within a reasonable period, you may request re-performance or a proportionate refund for that deliverable.

How to request. Email [email protected] with your invoice number and a short description of the issue. Approved refunds are returned to the original payment method within 14 days of approval. Statutory withdrawal rights for consumers in distance contracts (14-day right of withdrawal) apply in addition where the law grants them.