Deposit · Design
Deposit in design: what is normal
Design deposits typically run 25-50% at signature, with the balance split across milestones or due on delivery.
Typical range
25-50% deposit at contract signature, with the remainder either at a mid-project milestone (concept approval) or on final delivery.
Off-market
No deposit at all, especially on a project longer than a few weeks or from a client the freelancer has not worked with before. Zero deposit means the freelancer is financing the client's project.
One-line fix
"A 40% deposit is due at contract signature and is non-refundable if the project is cancelled after work begins."
What we see
The deposit is not a fee-collection convenience; it is the mechanism that transfers a small amount of financial commitment from freelancer to client at the moment the deal starts. Without it, every risk in the project sits on the freelancer, and the client's exit cost is exactly zero.
In design work, the deposit range is well-established because the profession has been thinking about it for decades. 25-50% at kickoff is the pattern; smaller deposits are common for repeat clients where trust is already established, and larger deposits (up to 75%) show up on rush work or projects that require the freelancer to turn down other engagements.
The most common issue in client-drafted design contracts is not a low deposit but no deposit clause at all, combined with net-30 or net-60 payment terms. The combination means the freelancer completes the work, invoices, and waits a month or two for money, funding the entire project from their own cash. A deposit fixes that, and clients rarely refuse it once asked.
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