Terms & Conditions — U.S. Clients

ORCA DESIGN LLC · Last updated: October 27, 2026

These Terms & Conditions (the “Terms”) govern (a) your use of orcadesignec.com (the “Website”), (b) any inquiry you submit through the Website or otherwise, and (c) all design services provided by ORCA DESIGN LLC (“ORCA,” “we,” “us”) to clients for projects located in the United States (“Services”). “You” or “Client” means the person or entity using the Website, submitting an inquiry or engaging ORCA.

By checking the acceptance box on our contact form, submitting an inquiry, signing a proposal, or using our Services, you agree to these Terms. These Terms are incorporated by reference into every proposal, estimate and agreement issued by ORCA for a U.S. project. If a written agreement signed by both parties, including its schedules and any accepted work proposal (an “Agreement”), conflicts with these Terms, the Agreement controls on that point only.

1. Who we are

ORCA DESIGN LLC is a Florida limited liability company based in Miami, Florida, providing interior design, landscape design, residential design and design-visualization services. ORCA is affiliated with ORCA DESIGN SAS, a separate company organized under the laws of Ecuador. Unless an Agreement states otherwise, ORCA DESIGN LLC is the only contracting party for U.S. projects, and ORCA DESIGN SAS may participate only as a subconsultant or production studio of ORCA DESIGN LLC.

2. Professional licensure disclosure

2.1 State exemptions under which ORCA operates

• Florida. Section 481.229(1), Florida Statutes, provides that no person is required to qualify as an architect to make plans and specifications for, or supervise the erection, enlargement or alteration of, (b) any one-family or two-family residence building, townhouse, or domestic outbuilding appurtenant to a one-family or two-family residence, regardless of cost, or (c) any other type of building costing less than $25,000, except a school, auditorium or other building intended for public use. Under Section 481.229(6)(a), the licensing requirements for interior design do not apply to interior design or interior decorator services for any residential application.
• Texas. Section 1051.606(a) of the Texas Occupations Code exempts from the Texas Architectural Practice Act a person who does not represent that the person is an architect or architectural designer, or use a business or professional title that uses a form of the word “architect,” and who prepares architectural plans and specifications for, or observes or supervises the construction, enlargement or alteration of, a privately owned single-family or dual-family dwelling or a building or appurtenance associated with the dwelling, or a multifamily dwelling not exceeding two stories in height and sixteen units per building, or the alteration of a building that does not involve a substantial structural or exitway change. ORCA does not provide Services in Texas for buildings that Texas law requires to be designed by an architect, including buildings intended for 24-hour custodial care and certain publicly owned buildings. In Texas, ORCA does not represent itself as an architect or architectural designer.
• Other states. For projects in any other state, ORCA performs Services only to the extent that state’s laws permit persons who are not licensed architects to perform them. Where they do not, Section 2.2 applies.

2.2 When a licensed professional is required

If a project does not fall within an exemption, or if an authority having jurisdiction (“AHJ”), lender, insurer, homeowners’ or condominium association, or design review board requires drawings signed and sealed by a licensed architect or engineer, Client shall retain and pay, at Client’s sole expense, a licensed architect and/or engineer of record (“Professional of Record”). The Professional of Record will review, revise as he or she deems necessary, adopt and seal the documents and will hold responsible charge for them, and the Professional of Record — not ORCA — is responsible for their professional content.

2.3 Engineering

ORCA does not provide engineering services. Structural, wind-load, flood, civil, geotechnical, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire-protection and energy-compliance design and calculations must be performed and sealed by engineers or other professionals licensed in the project’s state and retained by Client. ORCA does not verify, certify or assume responsibility for information supplied by those professionals.

2.4 Client representations and acknowledgments

By engaging ORCA, Client represents and warrants that, throughout the engagement, the project is and will remain a one-family or two-family residence, a townhouse, or a domestic outbuilding or other appurtenance to such a residence; or, in Texas, a multifamily dwelling not exceeding two stories and sixteen units per building; or, for interior design services only, another residential application; and that the project is not a building intended for 24-hour custodial care or a publicly owned building. Client will notify ORCA promptly in writing if any of this changes. Client further acknowledges that:

1. neither ORCA nor anyone acting for ORCA has represented, stated or promised that ORCA is a licensed architect, engineer, registered interior designer or other licensed professional;
2. Client is not engaging ORCA with the understanding or expectation that the Services or Deliverables constitute architecture, engineering or registered interior design; and
3. Client alone is responsible for determining whether the involvement, review, approval, signature, seal or supervision of any architect, engineer, registered or certified interior designer, contractor, permit expediter, code consultant or other licensed professional is required or advisable, and for retaining and paying them.

ORCA agrees to provide the Services in material reliance on these representations and acknowledgments.

2.5 References to architects on this Website

Words such as “architecture,” “architect” or “architectural” that appear on the Website or in ORCA’s marketing refer to the design discipline or to professionals licensed outside the United States (for example, in Ecuador through ORCA DESIGN SAS). They do not mean that ORCA or any of its personnel is licensed to practice architecture in any U.S. jurisdiction.

3. Nature of our deliverables

Unless an Agreement expressly provides otherwise, ORCA’s deliverables — such as space-planning concepts, two-dimensional plans, furniture and lighting layouts, finish and material selections, landscape design, renderings, visualizations and videos (“Deliverables”) — are design and visualization documents. They are not architectural or engineering construction documents, and they are not intended to be used or relied upon for construction, demolition, structural modification or code compliance, or to obtain any building or construction permit, certificate of occupancy, or governmental, association, lender or landlord approval.

Unless an Agreement expressly provides otherwise, ORCA does not engage, retain, contract with, supervise or coordinate any architect, engineer, contractor, trade contractor or other professional. Where an Agreement expressly includes drawings intended for permit submission, ORCA provides them only within the exemptions described in Section 2.1 and subject to Sections 2.2, 2.3 and 7.

4. Scope, phases and revisions

The specific Services, Deliverables, phases, schedule and fees for each project are defined only in the Agreement and its schedules; anything not expressly listed there is excluded. The Agreement sets the number of included rounds of modifications, the periods for review sessions and for requesting changes, and when Deliverables are deemed approved, including when Client does not respond within the stated period. Any change beyond the included rounds, for whatever cause — including revised preferences or instructions, or inaccurate, incomplete or changed information provided by or for Client — is an additional modification. Additional modifications are priced in a separate written work proposal that Client must approve and pay before ORCA begins them, and they may affect the schedule, ORCA’s availability and the budget. Nothing on the Website is an offer to provide Services.

5. Website content and inquiries

• Website content is for general information only and is not professional, legal, engineering or construction advice for your project.
• Portfolio items may include built work, projects under construction, unbuilt or conceptual designs, computer-generated imagery, and projects developed in collaboration with or built by third parties. Areas, dates and descriptions are approximate.
• Submitting an inquiry does not create a client relationship or any obligation for ORCA. ORCA may decline any project at its discretion. A client relationship begins only when an Agreement is signed and any required deposit is received.
• The Website may link to third-party sites (for example, social media or video platforms). ORCA is not responsible for their content or practices.
• All Website content is the property of ORCA. You agree not to copy, scrape, reproduce or reuse Website images, plans, videos or 360° tours without ORCA’s written permission.

6. Client responsibilities

Client shall, at Client’s sole cost and in a timely manner:

1. Provide a complete and accurate description of the project, including functional needs, intended uses, budget, schedule, decision-makers and aesthetic preferences, and promptly notify ORCA of any changes.
2. Provide current survey and topographic information and the zoning, land-use, flood, environmental, setback, height, lot-coverage, title, deed-restriction and homeowners’/condominium association requirements affecting the property, prepared or issued by licensed surveyors, engineers, title companies or governmental authorities, as applicable, together with any other property information ORCA requests (the “Premise Documents”).
3. Retain any Professional of Record, engineers, surveyors and other licensed consultants required for the project, and a properly licensed contractor.
4. Schedule review sessions, review Deliverables and give decisions, approvals and change requests within the periods stated in the Agreement.
5. Ensure that field dimensions, existing conditions and utility locations are verified on site by Client’s contractor or surveyor before construction or fabrication.
6. Act as, or designate, the permit applicant and owner-builder or contractor of record, and pay all permit, impact, review and association fees.

ORCA relies on the Premise Documents and on all other information furnished by or for Client or by third parties, and has no obligation to investigate, measure, survey, test or verify it. No review, comment, use, incorporation or coordination of such information by ORCA, and no delivery of any Deliverable, constitutes confirmation of its accuracy, completeness, legality, code compliance or constructability.

7. Codes, permits and approvals

Determining and achieving code compliance, and obtaining permits and approvals, are the responsibility of Client and its licensed professionals and contractor. Where an Agreement expressly includes documents intended for permit submission, ORCA will use reasonable efforts to prepare them consistent with the building codes in effect and as commonly interpreted at the time they are prepared. Code interpretation varies among AHJs and plan reviewers, and codes change. ORCA does not guarantee that any permit, variance, zoning, association or design-review approval will be granted, or the time it will take. Revisions required by code changes, reviewer interpretations, undisclosed conditions or Client changes are additional modifications.

8. Construction

ORCA is not a contractor and does not perform, control or direct construction. ORCA is not responsible for construction means, methods, techniques, sequences or procedures, job-site safety, or the acts, omissions, workmanship, schedule, pricing or defects of any contractor, subcontractor or supplier. Any site visit or contractor-selection assistance that ORCA agrees in writing to provide is limited to observing general conformance with the design intent and is not an inspection, certification or supervision of the work. ORCA does not guarantee construction cost, quality or completion dates.

9. Renderings, VR, 360° tours and estimates

Renderings, animations, virtual-reality experiences, 360° tours and other visualizations are artistic representations of design intent. They are not construction documents and may differ from the finished project in materials, colors, textures, lighting, furniture, landscaping, surroundings and views. Any opinion of probable construction cost, budget or schedule provided by ORCA is an estimate based on ORCA’s judgment and is not a guarantee that bids or actual costs will not vary.

10. Third-party products and suppliers

ORCA may recommend finishes, furniture, fixtures and materials, including products manufactured in Ecuador or other countries. Unless an Agreement expressly states that ORCA is the seller, such products are purchased by Client directly from the supplier, and the supplier’s and manufacturer’s terms and warranties apply. ORCA is not responsible for product defects, shipping, customs, duties, tariffs, lead times, damage in transit, or the compliance of any product with local requirements (including Florida Product Approval or Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance where applicable), which must be confirmed by Client’s contractor and supplier before purchase and installation.

11. Fees and payment

• Fees, deposits, payment milestones and hourly rates are set out in the Agreement and its schedules.
• Deposits are earned upon receipt and are refundable only as and to the extent the Agreement provides.
• Payments must be made in full when due, without setoff, counterclaim, deduction or withholding, except as required by law. Client is responsible for all taxes, duties and similar charges imposed on Client in connection with the Services.
• If any amount remains unpaid after its due date, ORCA may, as provided in the Agreement, suspend the Services, review sessions and the preparation and delivery of Deliverables, without liability, until all amounts are paid in full. Client shall reimburse the costs ORCA incurs as a result of non-payment, including reasonable costs of collection and attorneys’ fees.
• Fees are not contingent on obtaining permits, approvals, financing or any particular construction outcome.

12. Suspension and termination

Either party may terminate an engagement as provided in the Agreement, including for convenience by written notice and for a material breach not cured within the stated cure period. The amounts payable on termination are set out in the Agreement and may include the full fee for the phase in progress on the termination date. Deliverables provided on termination are delivered in the form then existing, without any obligation to complete or further develop them or to deliver editable files. If there is no Agreement, Client shall pay for Services performed through termination at ORCA’s standard hourly rates.

13. Intellectual property and portfolio use

• Designer Materials. ORCA retains all right, title and interest in its source, working, editable, CAD, BIM, Revit, Unreal Engine and other native files, drafts, preliminary or unselected concepts, templates, design elements of general application, methods and know-how, whether or not delivered (“Designer Materials”), and in all of ORCA’s copyrights, trademarks and other intellectual property. Nothing ORCA prepares is a “work made for hire.”
• Final Deliverables. Rights in the final Deliverables pass to Client only as and to the extent provided in the Agreement, and only upon payment in full of all amounts due. Any license to Designer Materials embedded in the final Deliverables is non-exclusive, royalty-free, limited to Client’s use in connection with the specific property identified in the Agreement, and transferable only to a successor owner of that property. Use of any Deliverable or Designer Materials for another site, additional units or any other project requires ORCA’s prior written consent.
• Editable files. Source and editable files are not Deliverables unless the Agreement expressly includes them; any provided remain ORCA’s property. Any modification of a Deliverable by anyone other than ORCA is at Client’s sole risk, and ORCA’s name and title block must be removed from modified documents.
• Portfolio. ORCA may use the Deliverables, including renderings, visualizations and videos, in its portfolio, Website, social media, advertising, publications and award submissions without prior notice, but will not disclose identifying information about the property owner or the property’s exact address without Client’s prior written consent. ORCA will give Client at least fifteen (15) days’ prior written notice before publishing photographs of the completed project; if Client objects in writing within that period, ORCA will use only the original visualizations.

14. Confidentiality

Each party will keep confidential, and use only to evaluate or perform the engagement, the other party’s non-public information disclosed in connection with an inquiry or the Services, including plans, drawings, budgets, business information and ORCA’s Designer Materials, except as required by law. This does not apply to information that is or becomes public through no breach, is lawfully received from a third party without restriction, or was already in the receiving party’s documented possession. Section 13 governs ORCA’s portfolio rights.

15. Performance standard; disclaimer of warranties

ORCA will perform the Services in a professional and workmanlike manner and will use commercially reasonable efforts to prepare the Deliverables in substantial conformity with the Agreement and the design direction communicated by Client. This is the only warranty ORCA makes. To the fullest extent permitted by law, ORCA disclaims all other warranties, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and any warranty or guarantee of results. The Website and its content are provided “as is” and “as available.”

16. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the total aggregate liability of ORCA, its members, managers, employees, agents, affiliates (including ORCA DESIGN SAS) and subconsultants to Client and anyone claiming through Client, for all claims of any kind arising out of or relating to the Website, these Terms, an Agreement, the Deliverables or the Services — regardless of the form of action or theory of liability, including negligence — shall not exceed the total fees actually paid by Client to ORCA under the applicable Agreement or, if there is no Agreement, one hundred U.S. dollars (US$100).

In no event shall ORCA be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary or punitive damages, or for any loss of use, profit, revenue or property value, or any cost of construction, rework or procurement, even if advised of their possibility.

Client acknowledges that ORCA’s fees reflect this allocation of risk and that ORCA would not provide the Services without these limitations.

17. Indemnification

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Client shall indemnify, defend (with counsel reasonably acceptable to ORCA) and hold harmless ORCA and its members, managers, employees, agents, affiliates (including ORCA DESIGN SAS), subconsultants and representatives from and against all claims, demands, actions, damages, losses, liabilities, fines, penalties, settlements, costs and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, including claims brought by any architect, engineer, contractor, subcontractor or other professional; any governmental, building or permitting authority; or any homeowners’ association, lender, insurer, or successor owner or occupant of the property, arising out of or relating to: (a) any inaccuracy or deficiency in the Premise Documents or other information furnished by or for Client; (b) any use of, reliance on, reproduction, modification, adaptation or implementation of any Deliverable; (c) any breach of, or inaccuracy in, Client’s representations, acknowledgments or obligations under these Terms or an Agreement, including Section 2.4; (d) construction, workmanship, job-site conditions or the acts or omissions of any contractor, subcontractor or supplier; or (e) Client’s failure to retain a Professional of Record or other licensed professional when required. This obligation does not apply to the extent a claim is finally determined to have resulted from ORCA’s gross negligence or willful misconduct. Any indemnity owed by ORCA arises only under, and is limited by, a signed Agreement.

18. No personal liability of individuals

Client agrees that the Services are provided by ORCA DESIGN LLC as an entity. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Client shall make any claim only against ORCA DESIGN LLC and shall not assert any claim against any individual member, manager, employee or agent of ORCA, or against ORCA DESIGN SAS, in his, her or its individual capacity.

19. Dispute resolution; class and jury waiver

1. Mediation first. Before starting arbitration, the parties shall attempt in good faith to resolve any dispute through mediation with a mutually agreeable mediator in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Either party may proceed to arbitration forty-five (45) days after the mediation concludes without resolution, or forty-five (45) days after a written request for mediation if the other party fails or refuses to participate.
2. Binding arbitration. Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or relating to these Terms, the Website, an inquiry, an Agreement or the Services, including their formation, breach or termination, that is not resolved through mediation shall be resolved by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Construction Industry Arbitration Rules (or, if the AAA declines to administer, by JAMS under its comparable rules), before a single arbitrator seated in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The arbitrator shall apply the substantive law of Florida, shall have no authority to award relief inconsistent with or exceeding the limitations in these Terms or the Agreement, and shall issue a reasoned written award. The arbitration and all filings, evidence and awards are confidential, except as necessary to enforce an award or as required by law. Judgment on the award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction. This Section is governed by the Federal Arbitration Act.
3. Court relief to protect rights. Either party may seek temporary, preliminary or permanent injunctive or other equitable relief in a court in Miami-Dade County, Florida, to protect its intellectual property or confidential information, without first mediating and without waiving the right to arbitrate.
4. Attorneys’ fees. The prevailing party in any arbitration, action or proceeding is entitled to recover its reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, including on appeal and in any proceeding to compel arbitration or to confirm, vacate or enforce an award.

Class action waiver: arbitration shall proceed on an individual basis only. Neither party may bring or participate in any class, collective or representative proceeding, and the arbitrator has no authority to consolidate proceedings or preside over any class or collective claim.

Waiver of jury trial: to the extent any claim is litigated rather than arbitrated for any reason, Client and ORCA each knowingly, voluntarily and intentionally waive any right to a trial by jury.

20. Governing law and venue

These Terms, the Website and all matters arising out of or relating to them, whether in contract, tort or statute, are governed by the laws of the State of Florida, without giving effect to conflict-of-laws principles that would require the application of another jurisdiction’s laws. Any claim determined not to be subject to arbitration shall be litigated exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, and the parties consent to their jurisdiction. Nothing in this Section affects the application of the professional-licensing laws of the state where a project is located.

21. Privacy and communications consent

• Information we collect. When you contact us we collect the information you provide (such as name, email, company, telephone number, project type, project location and message), and the Website collects standard technical and analytics data through cookies and similar tools (for example, Google Analytics).
• How we use it. To respond to your inquiry, prepare proposals, provide Services, communicate about your project, and improve the Website. We share it only with ORCA DESIGN SAS and with service providers (hosting, email, CRM, scheduling) that help us operate, and as required by law. We do not sell your personal information. Information may be processed and stored in the United States and Ecuador.
• Consent to be contacted. By checking the acceptance box and submitting the form, you expressly consent to be contacted by ORCA DESIGN LLC and ORCA DESIGN SAS at the email address and telephone number you provided, by email, telephone call, text/SMS and messaging apps such as WhatsApp, including calls and messages sent using automated technology, regarding your inquiry and ORCA’s services. Your consent is not a condition of purchasing any goods or services. Message and data rates may apply; message frequency varies.
• Opting out. You may withdraw consent at any time by replying STOP to any text message, using the unsubscribe link in any email, or writing to studio@orcadesignec.com. We will honor your request within the time required by law.
• The Website is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their information.

22. Electronic signatures and records

Checking the acceptance box, clicking “submit,” or signing or accepting a proposal or Agreement electronically constitutes your electronic signature and agreement, with the same effect as a handwritten signature under the federal E-SIGN Act and the Florida Uniform Electronic Transaction Act. You agree to receive notices, invoices and documents electronically. ORCA may keep a record of the date, time and content of your acceptance.

23. Force majeure

ORCA is not liable for, or in breach by reason of, any delay or failure in performance resulting from causes beyond its reasonable control, including acts of God, hurricanes and other weather events, fire, flood, epidemics, governmental orders, labor disputes, supply-chain disruptions, failure of utilities, internet or third-party software or hardware services, cyber incidents, and the illness or unavailability of key personnel. The time for performance is extended accordingly.

24. General provisions

• Independent contractor. ORCA is an independent contractor. ORCA may perform the Services through its own personnel or through independent contractors and subconsultants it selects, including ORCA DESIGN SAS, and retains sole control over the means, methods and manner of performing its Services.
• Entire agreement; precedence. These Terms, together with any Agreement, are the entire agreement between the parties regarding their subject matter and supersede prior communications. In case of conflict, the order of precedence is: (1) the signed Agreement, including its schedules and any accepted work proposal, (2) any other accepted proposal, (3) these Terms.
• Notices. Notices must be in writing and delivered by email or nationally recognized courier. An email notice is received on the day sent if sent before 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on a business day (otherwise the next business day), unless the sender receives a delivery-failure notification.
• Severability. If any provision is found invalid or unenforceable, it shall be enforced to the maximum extent permitted and the remaining provisions remain in full effect.
• No waiver. No waiver is effective unless in writing, and a failure or delay in enforcing any provision is not a waiver of it.
• Assignment. Client may not assign these Terms or an Agreement without ORCA’s prior written consent. ORCA may assign them to a successor entity in connection with a merger, reorganization or sale of substantially all of its assets.
• No third-party beneficiaries. Except for the persons protected under Sections 16, 17 and 18, nothing in these Terms creates any right or remedy in favor of any third party, including contractors, lenders, purchasers or future owners.
• Interpretation. Headings are for convenience only. These Terms shall not be construed against either party as drafter.
• Survival. Sections 2, 3, 8 through 11, 13 through 20, 22 and 24 survive completion or termination of the Services.
• Language. These Terms may be provided in Spanish for convenience. If there is any inconsistency, the English version controls.

25. Changes to these Terms

ORCA may update these Terms from time to time by posting a revised version on this page with a new “Last updated” date. Changes apply to Website use and inquiries submitted after posting, and do not alter an Agreement already signed unless both parties agree in writing.

26. Contact

ORCA DESIGN LLC
175 SW 7th Street, Suite 1107
Miami, Florida 33130
studio@orcadesignec.com
+1 786-755-3211