Terms of Service

Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using Designing Stories, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you disagree with any part of these terms, you may not access the service.

Your Account

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account and password, and for all activities that occur under your account. You must be at least 13 years of age to use this service. We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms or that we reasonably believe are being used to harm other members.

What You Can Purchase

Designing Stories offers three kinds of paid access, each with its own billing and cancellation terms described below.

• Classes, books, and bundles — one-time purchases that grant ongoing access to specific content.
• Mentorship programs — one-time purchases for a specific cohort (for example, the Summer Lighting Mentorship), with synchronous or asynchronous access as stated on the program page.
• Memberships — recurring monthly or annual subscriptions (Studio, Studio+ Pro, Mentorship Circle) that grant ongoing access to a tier of content, community, and live sessions.

Class, Book & Mentorship Purchases

Class, book, bundle, and mentorship purchases are one-time payments. There is no automatic renewal and nothing to cancel. Access terms — including duration, whether content is synchronous or asynchronous, and the specific sessions included — are stated on each product’s page at the time of purchase.

Refunds for classes, books, and bundles. If a digital class or book doesn’t meet your expectations, reach out within 14 days of purchase for a full refund. After 14 days or after you’ve completed most of the content, refunds are at our discretion.

Refunds for mentorship cohorts. Because mentorship cohorts are limited in size and your enrollment reserves a seat, refunds are handled case-by-case. If you need to withdraw before the cohort starts, contact us and we’ll work with you. Once a cohort has begun, refunds are generally not available. If circumstances are exceptional, please reach out — we’d rather find a good solution than a strict one.

Financial access.If cost is a real barrier and you’d benefit from the program, email us before purchasing. We’re committed to keeping this field open to the people who need it.

Memberships

Memberships are billed on a recurring basis — monthly or annually, based on the cycle you selected at signup. You may cancel at any time through the Stripe billing portal linked from your account. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period — you retain full access until then.

Studio trial.New monthly Studio signups include a 14-day free trial. If you cancel before the trial ends, no charge is made. If you don’t cancel, your card is charged the monthly rate on day 14 and every month after. Annual Studio signups do not include a trial. The trial is available once per account.

Refunds for memberships.We don’t offer prorated refunds for partial billing periods. If your card was charged in error or the service was substantially unavailable, email us and we’ll make it right.

Price lock.Your membership renews at whatever rate you signed up at — for both monthly and annual plans. If we raise prices later, existing subscribers stay grandfathered on their original rate for as long as they remain subscribed. “Founding member” launch pricing applies to anyone who signs up before the cutoff date published on the memberships page.

Member discount on classes. Active paid members get a discount on a la carte class and bundle purchases — 20% for Studio, 25% for Studio+ Pro and Mentorship Circle. The discount is applied at checkout only while your subscription is in an active, paid state. Trial, past-due, and canceled subscriptions do not qualify. If a promo code (for example FoundersCircle20) is entered at checkout, Stripe applies it on top of any tier discount.

Memberships and class purchases are separate. Cancelling a membership does not affect any class, bundle, or mentorship you’ve already paid for; purchasing a class does not create a recurring charge.

Community Conduct

Community spaces (Welcome Lounge, Peer Collaboration, Portfolio & Feedback, and so on) are shared resources. By posting, you agree to treat other members with respect, give feedback kindly and specifically, keep conversations constructive, and not post material that harasses, demeans, or discloses someone else’s private information. We may remove posts or suspend accounts that violate these norms, at our sole discretion.

Intellectual Property

All course content, videos, worksheets, recordings, templates, examples, and other materials on Designing Stories are owned by us or our instructors. Your purchase or subscription grants you a personal, non-transferable license to access and use the materials for your own learning. You may not reproduce, share, republish, redistribute, resell, or create derivative works from the content without explicit written permission. Your own posts in community spaces remain yours; you grant us a license to host and display them as part of operating the service.

Acceptable Use

You agree not to share course content, replay links, or paid materials outside the platform; not to record, redistribute, or resell any part of a live session; not to harass, threaten, or harm other members or instructors; and not to attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of the service or other members’ accounts.

Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Designing Stories shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising from your use of the service. Our total liability for any claim related to the service is limited to the amount you paid us in the twelve months preceding the claim.

Changes to Terms

We may update these terms over time. Significant changes — especially to refund, cancellation, or billing terms — will be announced by email to registered users at least 14 days before they take effect. Continued use of the service after changes constitutes acceptance of the new terms.

Contact

Questions about these terms? Email hello@designing-stories.com.