Statement of Work Illustrator template:
Easily craft a scope of work for your projects

Why a statement of work is important

A statement of work is vital in any motion design project as it helps both parties see exactly what work will be done in the project. The statement of work removes any ambiguity about the work you'll be doing and what the client can expect in terms of deliverables throughout the whole process.

Ultimately, the statement of work is important because it helps protect against the dreaded scope-creep. With a statement of work you have a something in writing to refer back to further down the line, so if the client asks for something that wasn't included initially, you can politely point them to the document and say: "as per the statement of work this wasn't included in this project, however we can absolutely look at including it with a revised budget and timeframe."

A good plan

Writing a statement of work is actually a great way to start any project, it gives you the chance to sit down and plan out exactly what needs to be done. It's a sort of checklist for the work you're about to do and can help you fix problems before they arise.

Let's say you need to provide a square version of the animation at the end of a project for example, with this in mind right from the start of a project you can tailor the design and animation to make that conversion process easier.

It can also help highlight things that have perhaps been missed in the initial project talks, will the video need to be translated for example? Or will the client need to provide anything before work can begin? Catching these issues early makes for smoother sailing further down the line.

Raising red flags early

A good statement of work can also help raise any red flags early on in a project before work has even begun, because it helps clarify exactly what's going to be done. Let's say the client had expected 3 different versions of a storyboard for example, if the statement of work clearly defines one version as a deliverable then this will help set their expectations correctly, avoiding conflict further down the line.