Sam Osborne Studio works with charities, public sector bodies and purpose-led organisations, many of which need to know how their suppliers operate. There are also legal requirements to explain how data is stored and used. These policies set this out.
Privacy Notice
This notice explains how Sam Osborne Studio collects and uses personal information.
Who we are
Sam Osborne Studio is run by Sam Osborne, a sole trader based in Oxfordshire. Sam Osborne is the data controller for personal information collected by the business.
What information is collected
- Contact details you provide by email, phone or the enquiry form on this website, such as name, organisation, email address and phone number.
- Project information you share as part of an enquiry or a commission.
- Billing details needed to issue invoices and receive payment.
- Your name and email address if you sign up to the newsletter.
- Technical information such as your IP address, used to protect this website against attacks.
Why it is used, and on what basis
- To respond to enquiries and prepare proposals (legitimate interests).
- To deliver projects and manage the working relationship (contract).
- To keep financial records as required by HMRC (legal obligation).
- To send the newsletter, if you’ve signed up (consent). You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in every email.
- To keep this website secure (legitimate interests).
Personal information is never sold, and it is not used for marketing without your consent.
Who it is shared with
Information is only shared where needed to run the business. This includes an accountant and software providers for services such as email, file storage, invoicing and website hosting. The enquiry form is run by Tally, the newsletter by EcoSend, and website security by Wordfence. Some providers may store data outside the UK. Where this happens, appropriate safeguards are in place as required by UK data protection law.
How long it is kept
- Correspondence and project records are kept as part of the studio’s digital archive for up to 20 years. Because design lifecycles are long, clients often return to past projects years later to request file retrieval, updates, or re-dos. Retaining these records ensures continuity of service for your business.
- Financial records and related business invoicing addresses are kept for at least as long as HMRC requires (typically 6 years).
- Sensitive material supplied for a project is handled as set out in the Safeguarding Statement below.
- You can ask for your personal contact information to be deleted at any time. Please note that while we will remove personal data (such as individual email addresses) upon request, commercial project files, illustrations, and final assets will be retained in our archive as intellectual property and business records. We will also retain any data required for ongoing legal or tax reasons.
Cookies
This website does not use tracking or advertising cookies. It uses essential cookies for security, and the enquiry form and newsletter sign-up may set cookies needed for them to work. None of these are used to track you.
Your rights
You have the right to access the personal information held about you, to ask for it to be corrected or deleted, to object to or restrict how it is used, and to ask for a copy of it to be transferred elsewhere. To make any of these requests, use the contact details given on the contact page.
If you are unhappy with how your information has been handled, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk.
Responsible AI Use Policy
All Sam Osborne Studio’s creative work is created by a human, specifically Sam Osborne.
AI tools have a supporting role in the business, and this policy sets out where they’re used, where they’re not, and how client information and creative work are protected.
In this policy, “AI tools” means software that can generate or process text, images or audio, such as chat-based assistants, transcription tools and the AI features built into design software. Many everyday tools now include AI features without labelling them clearly, so this policy covers those too.
AI IS NOT used for:
- Creative work: illustrations, lettering, characters, logos and design concepts delivered to clients are made entirely by Sam Osborne, not generated by AI.
- Creative direction: ideas, visual direction and design decisions come from Sam’s own thinking, research and conversations with clients.
- Imitating other artists: AI is never used to copy or imitate the style of other illustrators, designers or artists.
- Images of real people: AI is never used to create images of people that could pass as real photographs, or to change what an image of a real person shows.
- Personal information: personal, proprietary or sensitive information about individuals or organisations is never entered into AI tools.
- Confidential material: anything covered by an NDA, or that is reasonably considered proprietary or commercially sensitive, is never entered into AI tools.
AI IS used for:
- Admin and writing support: drafting and organising some everyday business tasks.
- Client communication: messages to clients are primarily written by Sam, any AI-assisted drafts are always carefully reviewed before sending.
- Research and discovery: finding, sorting and summarising background information at the start of a project.
- Meeting notes: occasional AI note-taking in discovery sessions, so Sam can listen and take part fully. Participants are always told at the start and can ask for it to be switched off.
- Image editing: occasional use of Adobe tools such as generative fill, generative expand and upscaling for technical tasks, for example extending a background or increasing resolution.
Anything produced with AI support is reviewed and edited by Sam Osborne.
Client information
Non-personal project information, such as briefs, research, and background material, may be used in AI tools to support the work, for example, to summarise or organise information. Information about individual people, such as names and contact details, is never entered into AI tools. If a client has their own rules on AI use, those rules take priority, and any client can ask to keep their material out of AI tools entirely.
Accuracy and Bias
AI tools can produce information that sounds convincing but is wrong. Anything found or summarised with AI support is checked against original sources before it informs client work. AI tools can reflect bias in the data they were built on. Sam Osborne Studio stays alert to this, particularly in research, and corrects for it.
Protecting creative work
Clients may not use, adapt or feed any part of Sam Osborne Studio’s work, concepts, drafts or style into AI or machine learning systems without written permission. They also may not allow others to do so. This is set out in the contract terms for every project.
Transparency
Clients can ask at any time how AI has been used on their project and will get a straight answer.
Environmental Policy
Sam Osborne Studio is a small, home-based studio, so its direct environmental impact is low, and it is committed to keeping it that way.
In practice, this means:
- Digital-first delivery: digital proofs and deliverables are prioritised over printed materials wherever they work just as well. Very little is printed in the studio.
- Efficient digital assets: images and files for web and screen are optimised to reduce their size, which lowers the energy needed to load, share and store them.
- Low-impact providers: this website is hosted by a UK-based certified B Corp whose data centres are matched 100% with renewable energy. Business software and services are chosen with their published environmental commitments in mind.
- Travel: meetings are held by video call where possible. Travel is kept for when meeting in person adds value, using public transport where practical.
- Equipment and energy: computers and other equipment are kept in use for as long as possible, repaired where practical, and recycled responsibly at the end of their life. Energy use in the studio is kept to a minimum.
- Design for print: Where work is designed for print, clients are given advice on reducing its impact. This might include choosing a commercial print provider with sound environmental credentials or selecting efficient print formats.
Information Security and Business Continuity
Security measures are robust and proportionate to the size of the business.
Access
Two-factor authentication is switched on for all business accounts, including email and cloud storage. Passwords are managed in a secure password manager, and all devices are password-protected.
Storage and backups
Client work is stored on password-protected computers and in a secure cloud storage provider, and business email runs through a dedicated account. No separate servers or databases are used. Devices are backed up regularly using encrypted backups.
Continuity
Working files are synced continuously to secure cloud storage. If a computer fails, work can carry on from other hardware with nothing lost. In the event of illness or anything else that affects delivery, clients are told without delay and timelines are adjusted openly.
If something goes wrong
If a device is lost or stolen, it can be wiped remotely, and all files and accounts remain accessible through password-protected cloud accounts. If personal data is ever compromised, passwords are changed immediately, and affected people and, where required, the Information Commissioner’s Office are told within 72 hours, in line with UK GDPR.
Accessibility
Good design works for as many people as possible. Many of the organisations Sam Osborne Studio works with serve people with a wide range of needs, and public sector bodies have a legal duty to make what they publish accessible. Therefore accessibility is built into the work from the start, not checked at the end.
In practice, this means:
- Colour and contrast: colour combinations are checked against WCAG standards, and colour isn’t the only way information is communicated.
- Type and structure: typefaces, sizes and spacing are chosen for legibility, with clear hierarchy and a logical reading order.
- Images and illustration: complex visuals are designed to be understood quickly and supported by text, and illustration reflects the diversity of its audience, showing people with dignity.
- Digital documents: PDFs are set up to work with screen readers.
Accessibility also depends on content and context, responsibility for much of which sits with the client. Sam Osborne Studio is always happy to advise.
Safeguarding Statement
Sam Osborne Studio is a single-person design practice. It has no employees and does not have direct contact with children or adults at risk during routine work. It does, however, recognise its responsibility to support the safeguarding culture of client organisations, including charities and public bodies.
Where a project involves sensitive content, images or messaging relating to children or adults at risk, Sam Osborne Studio will follow the client’s safeguarding standards, consent and image-use guidelines, and reporting procedures.
If a safeguarding concern arises during a project, for example, through research material, case studies or communications, it will be reported promptly to the client’s designated safeguarding lead. Sam Osborne Studio will not investigate or act on the concern independently.
Sensitive material supplied by clients, such as photographs, case studies or personal stories, is stored securely and used only for the agreed project. Where flagged by the client, such sensitive materials can be securely deleted or returned at the end of the project upon request. Otherwise, these files will remain securely protected within the studio’s long-term digital project archive to ensure continuity of service
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy
Sam Osborne Studio is committed to equality of opportunity and fair treatment in all its business dealings. As a sole trader with no employees, formal recruitment and employment processes do not apply. However, the principles of the Equality Act 2010 are reflected in how the business operates.
In practice, this means:
- Treating all clients, collaborators and contacts fairly and with respect, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.
- Choosing any subcontractors or collaborators, on the rare occasions they are engaged, on the basis of skill and suitability for the work.
- Considering accessibility and inclusive representation in all design and illustration work, so that it reflects and serves diverse audiences.
- Welcoming and acting on client feedback about how the business could be more inclusive.
Anti-Corruption and Bribery Policy
Sam Osborne Studio does not offer, give, request or accept bribes, improper payments or inducements of any kind. All business is conducted honestly and transparently, in line with the Bribery Act 2010. Any gifts or hospitality given or received in connection with business are modest, proportionate and transparent. They are never given or accepted with the intention of influencing a business decision.
Modern Slavery Statement
Sam Osborne Studio has a zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery and human trafficking in all its forms. As a sole trader with no employees and no complex supply chain, the risk of modern slavery within the business is minimal. Sam Osborne Studio does not knowingly engage with, subcontract to, or buy goods or services from any organisation involved in modern slavery, forced labour or human trafficking. It is committed to acting ethically and with integrity in all business relationships.
This statement is not made under Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, which applies to commercial organisations with an annual turnover above £36 million. It is provided voluntarily as a statement of business practice.
Insurances
Sam Osborne Studio holds professional indemnity and public liability insurance and can provide certificates on request.
Complaints
If you are unhappy with any aspect of the studio’s work or conduct, raise it with Sam Osborne using the contact details on the contact page. Complaints are acknowledged within two working days, and a response or a proposal for resolving the issue follows within ten working days. If a complaint relates to personal data, it is handled as set out in the Privacy Notice above.
Questions
If anything here isn’t clear, or you need something for a procurement process that isn’t covered, get in touch via the contact page.
These policies are reviewed at least once a year and updated whenever studio processes change.
Last reviewed: 05/10/2026