Our Approach
The purpose of a visual contract
We create visual contracts that help people make autonomous decisions and build sustainable relationships. Our visual contracts are pro-active and result focused instead of traditional, only risk averse and written for courts/judges/lawyer.
We believe anyone is capable of making good contracts and the law should be accessible to everyone, just as the medium that is used to create these contracts to make them tangible.
Showcases
We have co-created, designed and implemented visual contracts in many different contexts. From commercial contracts to employment and consumer facing contracts. You can explore them in our showcases.
The anatomy of a visual contract
Often when we tell about visual contracts the first idea that comes to mind is ‘adding visuals to the legal document’. Nevertheless, we have a totally different understanding of what a visual contract entails and would like to explain to you all the different layers of how a visual contract is built up. The core of a visual contract is that it is a binding legal document with a better user experience, understanding and helping people with making more autonomous decisions on legal topics.
A visual contract empowers people legally because it is easier to understand and increases trust because of transparent communication. This better comprehension and transparency is reached by the different layers within the design of the contract, which can be described as follows:
The layers of a visual contract exist of:
Format & medium
Content: proactive content or traditional content?
Structure – patterns and layout
Visual style/ tone of voice/ words usage
Interpretation
Impact
Read more in our article ‘What is a visual contract?
The design process behind our visual contracts
We develop our contract design system and visual contract templates with legal design thinking principles and methods. While legal design thinking is covering multiple iterations through the main phases of design thinking, as you see in the image on the left (empathise, define, ideate, prototype and test), the contract design process covers some specific steps on defining the content or outline of the contract, and figuring out contract design patterns during the ideate and prototyping phases. We are using these methods to make sure that our contracts are designed for accessibility, understandability and engagement. In our free 7 day get started training, we’ll walk you through the contract design process step by step.
FAQ
Is a visual contract legally binding?
Yes, because of contract freedom a visual contract is legally binding. Also, you can even use spoken words as a contract. Nevertheless, having tangible proof of your agreements make for a better reference and evidence in the case that something goes wrong. Or if you just want to emphasize the agreements you make when working together. Depending on the context the style and amount of visualisation in a visual contract can differ, just as the level and amount of plain language or traditional legalese you use. We co-create our visual contracts always with legal experts that stand behind the drafted and designed content, so we can assure you to have a contract that generates results and good collaboration, as well being legally binding.
Does a visual contract hold up in court?
In short: yes. We have conducted our own mock trial with one of our visual contracts in April 2024. Clarity provides stronger cases in court. Visualisation can help with clarity. Most importantly is that the visuals are created with attention, just as much as you draft contracts with attention and purpose. Download our impact report on Tzorg’s visual contracts including the mock trial or read more here and here.
Who are visual contracts for?
While many argue that visual contracts are only for consumer facing contracts, we have plenty of experience with both consumer, employee ánd commercial contracts. Even lawyers, judges and higher educated people benefit from clear contracts. Check out our showcases for examples.
Do I need to be a designer or artist to create a visual contract?
No you don’t. If you like you can train yourself on the ins and outs of contract design through our articles and trainings, or using our contract design library to get to a higher level quickly. Get started here or book a call with us.
How can I get started with contract design and/or legal design with limited resources?
You can keep learning through our articles and start directly with our free contract design brief and 7 day course here.
How can I learn more about contract design?
We offer training and materials to help you gain more understanding of contract design. Start here.
Which patterns are best to use for different situations?
Best practices in UX and information design show which patterns work best for different situations. It is all related to how our brains work, combined with the context that the contracts are used in and the people (audience/users) who are reading and using the contract.
What is the ROI of a visual contract or contract design?
You can calculate the ROI of a visual contract by checking your current readability score, the level of difficulty of text you are using, the legal strategy and validity of the content and the brand experience of the contract. It is a mix of different factors, though a rule of thumb for ROI is that you can gain at least a 5-20% improvement by applying contract design principles.
What is Legal design thinking?
Legal Design Thinking is the practice of making legal systems, services and documents more understandable and accessible to people by the use of multiple design disciplines like design thinking, User Experience Design and information design, as well as plain legal language and proactive law. Read more about Legal Design Thinking here.
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We guide you in achieving your business goals through accessible and user friendly contracts.
