Privacy Policy

  • Welcome to Frankly Creative. I provide freelance graphic design, website design and development, and other creative and freelance services.

    I respect your privacy and am committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how I collect, use, store and protect your personal data when you visit my website, contact me, enquire about my services or work with me as a client.

    My website is hosted on Squarespace, which provides the platform used to operate this website.

    I handle personal data in accordance with applicable UK data protection legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

  • For the purposes of data protection law, the person or business responsible for your personal information is:

    Business name: Frankly Creative
    Business owner: Sarah Franklin
    Email address: hello@frankly-creative.co.uk
    Website: www.frankly-creative.co.uk

    If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how I handle your personal information, please contact me using the email address above.

  • Depending on how you interact with my website and services, I may collect the following types of personal information:

    Information you provide directly

    • Your name and business name.

    • Your email address and telephone number.

    • Information you submit through my website contact or enquiry forms.

    • Details about your project, design requirements, website needs or freelance work.

    • Information you provide in emails, messages, meetings or other communications.

    • Feedback, testimonials or other information you choose to share with me.

    Client and project information

    • Project briefs, branding materials, images, content and files you provide.

    • Website login details or access credentials where necessary for a project. I will only request these where required and will handle them securely.

    • Project timelines, correspondence, contracts, quotes, invoices and payment records.

    Technical information When you visit my website, certain information may be collected automatically, including:

    • Your IP address.

    • Browser type and device information.

    • Pages visited and interactions with my website.

    • Dates, times and general website usage information.

    • Cookie and analytics information, depending on your consent and website settings.

    Please avoid sending sensitive personal information unless it is genuinely necessary for the service I am providing.

  • I use your personal information for the following purposes:

    • To respond to enquiries and discuss potential projects.

    • To provide graphic design, website design, development and freelance services.

    • To prepare proposals, quotes, contracts and invoices.

    • To communicate with you throughout a project.

    • To manage deadlines, deliver work and provide ongoing support where agreed.

    • To process payments and maintain accurate business and financial records.

    • To operate, maintain and improve my website.

    • To understand how visitors use my website, where analytics are enabled.

    • To protect my business, prevent misuse and resolve disputes.

    • To send marketing communications where I am legally permitted to do so.

    I only use personal information for purposes that are relevant to my business and the services I provide.

  • Under UK data protection law, I must have a lawful basis for processing your personal information. Depending on the circumstances, I rely on the following bases:

    Contract: Where processing is necessary to provide services you have requested, fulfil an agreement or take steps before entering into a contract with you.

    Legitimate interests: Where processing is necessary for my legitimate business interests, such as responding to relevant business enquiries, maintaining client relationships, managing my website and protecting my business, provided these interests do not override your rights.

    Legal obligation: Where I need to process or retain information to comply with legal, accounting, tax or other regulatory requirements.

    Consent: Where you have given consent, for example for certain non-essential cookies or marketing activities where consent is required.

    Where I rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

  • If you contact me through my Squarespace website, email or another communication channel, I will use the information you provide to respond to your enquiry and discuss any services you may be interested in.

    If you become a client, I may continue to use relevant information to manage our working relationship and deliver the agreed services.

    If you decide not to proceed with a project, I will retain your information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy, including any legitimate business or legal requirements.

  • I do not sell your personal information to third parties.

    However, I may share relevant information with trusted service providers where necessary to operate my business and provide my services. These may include:

    • Squarespace: My website hosting and website management platform.

    • Email and communication providers: To manage enquiries and communicate with clients.

    • Cloud storage and file-sharing providers: To store and exchange project files.

    • Payment providers and banks: To process payments where applicable.

    • Accounting and invoicing providers: To manage invoices, expenses and financial records.

    • Analytics providers: To understand website performance, where enabled.

    • Professional advisers or authorities: Where necessary to obtain professional advice or comply with legal obligations.

    These providers may process personal information on my behalf or in accordance with their own privacy policies, depending on the service they provide.

    I only share information where it is appropriate and necessary, and I take reasonable steps to ensure that personal information is handled securely.

  • Some third-party providers I use, including website hosting and cloud-based services, may process or store personal information outside the United Kingdom.

    Where personal data is transferred internationally, I will take reasonable steps to ensure that the transfer complies with applicable data protection law and that appropriate safeguards are in place where required.

    For further information about how these providers handle personal data, please consult their respective privacy policies.

  • I retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting and reporting requirements.

    As a general guide:

    • Enquiries: I may retain enquiry information for up to 12 months after the last meaningful contact if no project proceeds, unless a longer period is reasonably necessary.

    • Client and project records: I may retain contracts, project correspondence and related records for up to 6 years after a project ends where necessary for business, contractual or legal purposes.

    • Financial records: I retain invoices and relevant accounting records for the period required by applicable tax and accounting rules.

    • Marketing information: I retain marketing contact details until you unsubscribe, withdraw consent where applicable, or the information is no longer needed.

    • Website analytics and cookies: Retention depends on the tools used and their individual settings.

    These periods are guidelines rather than absolute deadlines. I may retain information for longer where required by law or necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims. When information is no longer needed, I will take reasonable steps to delete it or anonymise it securely.

  • My website is hosted on Squarespace, which uses cookies and similar technologies to support website functionality and, depending on my settings, to collect website analytics.

    Cookies are small files stored on your device when you visit a website.

    Depending on the features enabled on my website, cookies may be used to:

    • Ensure the website functions correctly.

    • Remember preferences or settings.

    • Understand website traffic and visitor behaviour.

    • Measure website performance.

    Some cookies are essential for the website to function, while others, such as certain analytics or marketing cookies, may require your consent.

    Where required, I will request your consent before placing non-essential cookies on your device. You can manage your preferences through the website's cookie banner or settings where available.

    My website may also use third-party integrations, such as embedded content, analytics tools or other connected services, which may collect information in accordance with their own privacy policies.

    For more information about Squarespace cookies, you can visit the Squarespace Help Centre: https://support.squarespace.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001264507-The-cookies-Squarespace-uses

  • I may occasionally send information about my services, updates or relevant offers where I am legally permitted to do so.

    I will obtain consent where required by applicable electronic marketing and data protection laws.

    You can opt out of marketing communications at any time by using the unsubscribe link in an email, where available, or by contacting me directly.

    Even if you opt out of marketing, I may still send essential communications relating to an existing project, contract, invoice or other business matter.

  • I take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure.

    These measures may include using secure accounts, limiting access to information, protecting devices and accounts, and using reputable third-party service providers.

    Where website access credentials are needed for a project, I will take reasonable care when handling them and recommend secure methods of sharing access.

    However, no method of transmitting or storing information online can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

  • Under applicable data protection law, you may have the right to:

    • Access the personal information I hold about you.

    • Rectify inaccurate or incomplete information.

    • Erase your personal information in certain circumstances.

    • Restrict the processing of your information in certain circumstances.

    • Object to processing based on legitimate interests or to direct marketing.

    • Data portability, where applicable.

    • Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.

    These rights are subject to certain conditions and exceptions under the law.

    To exercise any of your rights, please contact me at hello@frankly-creative.co.uk. I may need to verify your identity before responding.

    I will respond within the timeframe required by applicable data protection law.

  • My website may contain links to third-party websites, platforms or services, including social media profiles, portfolio platforms and external websites.

    If you follow these links, you will leave my website. I am not responsible for the privacy practices, content or security of third-party websites.

    I recommend reviewing the privacy policies of any external websites you visit.

  • My services and website are intended for businesses, professionals and individuals seeking creative or freelance services. I do not knowingly collect personal information from children unless there is a legitimate reason and an appropriate lawful basis to do so.

    If you believe a child has provided personal information to me unnecessarily, please contact me so that I can review the matter and take appropriate action.

  • I may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to my business, website, services, technology or applicable legal requirements.

    Any updates will be published on this page, together with a revised 'Last updated' date.

    I encourage you to review this policy periodically.

  • If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, how I use your personal information or how to exercise your data protection rights, please contact me:

    Business name: Frankly Creative
    Email: hello@frankly-creative.co.uk
    Website: www.frankly-creative.co.uk

    You also have the right to complain to the UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you are concerned about how your personal information is handled.

    You can find further information at https://ico.org.uk/ and contact the ICO through its official website.