the artist's J.D.

12 days ago

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2 min read

🦅 Filling in the gaps + testing usage assumptions + your weekly roundup

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Hi Reader!

This winter, I worked with an illustrator for a pickleball club project.

I jumped in after the initial conversation, and it quickly became clear that the prior point person had given her broad brush strokes, and she had filled in the gaps.

I see this happen all the time with creatives: assuming the client’s usage is “straightforward” or “like X project”, but not slowing down to test that assumption.

She had worked with some other clubs and assumed that our planned usage was just like theirs: a single use for a club-only tournament.

But the piece she didn’t know was that our goal was different. We wanted a design that could be used for the next 3-5 years as we worked to transition this tournament from a club-only tournament to a regional one.

And because this was our goal, our usage, needs, and budget didn’t align with the assumptions she had made.

This also meant that she gave us a price based on how she thought the work would be used, and then had to revise it once this gap was uncovered.

If you’ve got an early project in your inbox this week, take a few minutes to test any usage assumptions you are making about it. I promise you, a few minutes here will save you hours later when you are trying to untangle it all.

👉 Your action item

Think back to your last client project that involved usage. What three assumptions were you making? Did those assumptions prove to be correct or incorrect? What question do you wish you had asked to uncover the gap between your assumptions and the project reality? Make a note in your workflow to uncover these answers next time you have a usage-based project.

Did you complete this task? Hit reply and share your thoughts.

If you only have 20 minutes this week, the task above is the most important thing to do. But if you have a little more time, keep reading.

Chat soon,

The clause to notice

One small section of a contract that can have an outsized impact later.

This week’s clause: Scope of Work

A common red flag: I’m seeing more and more often language in this section that contradicts the license or usage sections. Including things like “all rights” language or copyright transfer language. It’s a good reminder that contracts are a puzzle and you can’t just scan one or two sections and assume the rest matches up.

👉 Open the Contract Decoder​

LATEST VIDEO

Why you freeze when clients ask for usage rights (and how to fix it)

Learn the real reason mid-career creatives freeze when clients ask about usage, and how to approach usage rights with confidence, not guesswork.

Other things on my radar...

  • There's an interesting new program by the Better Business Bureau called the Institute for Responsible Influence. Its first offering is a course aimed at teaching influencers how to legally and responsibly work with brand partners.
  • Court cases have told us that AI-created works don't have copyright ownership, so what happens if AI is used to create characters? That's the question covered in this article.
  • The FTC usually goes after brands and businesses, which is why when they fined an individual participating in an MLM, it raised questions for attorneys. We don't know if they will continue to target MLM participants (and maybe even influencers), but this recent FTC decision makes it possible.
  • H/t to Scott for sending over this article about the various ways you can not only protect your business assets, but also your personal ones, in the case of a lawsuit.

(Got an article you think others would be interested in, as Scott did? Send it to me, and I'll include it in an upcoming email!)

Protect the business you’ve worked so hard to build

Each Friday, get a focused, jargon-free legal task, designed for creative entrepreneurs who want to protect their ass(ets) without legal confusion. No fluff, no overwhelm. Each one takes 15–30 minutes and helps you handle what matters, without wasting time on what doesn’t.

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