Kotei Designs

Privacy Policy

Effective Date: 22 August 2026
Website: koteidesigns.site
Jurisdiction: Republic of South Africa

1. Introduction

Kotei Designs ("Kotei Designs", "we", "us" or "our") respects the privacy of individuals and businesses whose personal information we collect, use, store or otherwise process.

This Privacy Policy explains how Kotei Designs collects, uses, stores, protects and, where applicable, shares personal information when you:

• Visit or use our website;

• Submit an enquiry through our website;

• Subscribe to our newsletter or other communications;

• Request a quotation or consultation;

• Become a client;

• Communicate with us by email, WhatsApp, telephone or other channels;

• Purchase or subscribe to our services;

• Provide information during a branding or design project; or

• Otherwise interact with Kotei Designs in the course of our business.

Kotei Designs operates in South Africa and intends to process personal information in accordance with applicable South African law, including the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 ("POPIA"), where applicable.

Nothing in this Privacy Policy is intended to remove or unlawfully limit any rights afforded to a data subject under applicable law.

2. Who Is Responsible for Your Personal Information?

Kotei Designs is responsible for determining how and why personal information is processed for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.

For privacy-related questions, requests or concerns, you may contact:

Kotei Designs
South Africa
Website: koteidesigns.site
Privacy contact: [PRIVACY EMAIL ADDRESS]

Where required by applicable law, Kotei Designs will maintain the appropriate Information Officer or Deputy Information Officer arrangements.

3. Personal Information We May Collect

Depending on the nature of your interaction with Kotei Designs, we may collect information including:

Personal and contact information

• Full name;

• Email address;

• Telephone number;

• WhatsApp number;

• Business or physical address;

• Company or business name;

• Social-media usernames, handles and profile links.

Business and project information

• Brand information;

• Business information;

• Company documents;

• Project briefs;

• Marketing information;

• Brand strategy information;

• Business objectives;

• Target-market information;

• Website information;

• Information contained in documents supplied to us;

• Photographs and videos;

• Other information reasonably necessary to provide our services.

Financial and administrative information

• Banking or payment-related information where necessary for business administration;

• Tax and VAT information;

• Invoices and payment records;

• Transaction information;

• Contractual information.

Kotei Designs does not ordinarily store clients' full banking or card-payment credentials. Where payments are processed through third-party payment providers, such as PayFast, Ozow or other payment providers, the relevant payment information is handled by those providers in accordance with their own privacy and security practices.

Account and access information

Where necessary for a project, a client may provide website, social-media, hosting or other account access information.

Clients should provide only the access information reasonably necessary for the service being performed and should use secure methods for sharing credentials where available.

Kotei Designs will not request passwords or access credentials unnecessarily.

4. How We Collect Personal Information

We may collect personal information:

• Directly from you;

• Through our website contact forms;

• When you subscribe to our newsletter;

• During consultations;

• Through quotations and proposal processes;

• Through contracts and onboarding forms;

• Through email;

• Through WhatsApp Business;

• Through telephone communication;

• Through payment and invoicing processes;

• During the provision of branding, design or related services;

• Through project-management platforms;

• Through information voluntarily supplied by you; and

• Through cookies, analytics and similar technologies when you interact with our website.

Where reasonably possible, we will collect personal information directly from the person to whom it relates.

5. Why We Process Personal Information

Kotei Designs may process personal information for purposes including:

• Responding to enquiries;

• Preparing quotations and proposals;

• Communicating with prospective and existing clients;

• Entering into and administering contracts;

• Providing branding, graphic design, web design and related services;

• Managing client projects;

• Developing brand strategies and identities;

• Processing and recording payments;

• Issuing invoices and maintaining financial records;

• Managing recurring payments and subscriptions;

• Providing customer support;

• Managing revisions, approvals and project communications;

• Maintaining records of services provided;

• Protecting our business and enforcing contractual rights;

• Resolving disputes;

• Complying with legal, tax, accounting and regulatory obligations;

• Improving our website, services and customer experience;

• Sending newsletters and promotional communications where permitted;

• Displaying completed work as part of our portfolio or marketing activities, subject to the applicable permissions and conditions described in this Policy;

• Preventing fraud, abuse and unauthorised access;

• Maintaining the security of our systems and information; and

• Performing other legitimate business activities that are compatible with the purpose for which the information was collected.

We will not collect personal information indiscriminately or process it for purposes that are incompatible with the purpose for which it was collected, except where permitted or required by applicable law.

6. Lawful Basis for Processing

Where POPIA applies, Kotei Designs will process personal information on an appropriate lawful basis, which may include:

• The data subject's consent;

• The necessity of processing to perform or enter into a contract;

• Compliance with a legal obligation;

• Protecting legitimate interests;

• Protecting the legitimate interests of Kotei Designs or another party; and

• Other lawful grounds recognised under applicable law.

Where consent is required, Kotei Designs will seek consent in an appropriate manner.

Consent may be withdrawn where applicable. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing that occurred before the withdrawal.

7. Newsletter and Direct Marketing

Kotei Designs may send newsletters, promotional material, service announcements and other marketing communications where permitted by applicable law.

Where consent is required for electronic direct marketing, Kotei Designs will obtain the appropriate consent before sending such communications.

Each applicable marketing communication will provide an appropriate means for the recipient to object to or unsubscribe from further marketing communications.

You may request that Kotei Designs stop sending you direct marketing communications by using the unsubscribe mechanism provided in the communication or by contacting us through our designated privacy contact.

A request to stop marketing communications will not necessarily prevent Kotei Designs from sending non-marketing communications that are necessary for an existing contractual, administrative, legal or service-related relationship.

Kotei Designs will maintain appropriate records of marketing preferences and objections.

8. Use of Client Work in Portfolios and Marketing

Kotei Designs may wish to showcase completed projects as examples of its professional work.

This may include:

• Finished brand identities;

• Logos;

• Brand guidelines;

• Graphic designs;

• Websites;

• Packaging;

• Marketing materials;

• Client business names or logos;

• Project photographs;

• Testimonials;

• Social-media posts; and

• Other publicly presentable aspects of completed projects.

Where portfolio or promotional use involves personal information, confidential information, identifiable individuals or material that was not intended to be publicly available, Kotei Designs will consider whether additional permission is required before publication.

Kotei Designs will not intentionally publish confidential client information merely because it was supplied to us for the purpose of completing a project.

Clients may communicate specific confidentiality restrictions to Kotei Designs. Where appropriate, those restrictions should be documented in the applicable client agreement.

9. Third-Party Service Providers

Kotei Designs uses third-party services and platforms to operate its business and provide services.

These may include:

• PayFast;

• Ozow;

• Debit-order and recurring-payment providers;

• Google Workspace and related Google services;

• Gmail;

• Microsoft Outlook;

• WhatsApp Business;

• Trello;

• ClickUp;

• Website hosting and website-related services;

• Analytics and tracking providers;

• Cloud storage services;

• Design and creative software platforms;

• Social-media platforms;

• Email and communication platforms; and

• Other technology providers required to operate the business.

These third parties may process personal information on behalf of Kotei Designs or independently in accordance with their own terms and privacy policies.

Where a third party processes personal information on Kotei Designs' behalf, Kotei Designs will take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards and contractual arrangements are in place where required by applicable law.

Because some technology and service providers may operate internationally, personal information may, where applicable, be processed or stored outside South Africa. Kotei Designs will take reasonable steps to ensure that such transfers or processing comply with applicable legal requirements.

10. Payment Information

Kotei Designs accepts various payment methods, which may include:

• EFT;

• PayFast;

• Ozow;

• Debit orders;

• Recurring card payments; and

• Other payment methods made available from time to time.

Kotei Designs does not intentionally retain clients' full card numbers, card security codes or equivalent payment credentials.

Where payment is processed by a third-party provider, the provider may collect and process payment information directly.

Kotei Designs may retain payment confirmations, transaction references, invoices, amounts paid, payment dates and other financial records necessary for accounting, contractual and legal purposes.

11. WhatsApp and Electronic Communications

Kotei Designs uses WhatsApp Business as a business communication channel.

Clients acknowledge that information communicated through WhatsApp may contain personal or business information relevant to a project.

Kotei Designs may retain relevant WhatsApp communications for purposes including:

• Maintaining project records;

• Confirming instructions;

• Recording approvals;

• Managing revisions;

• Resolving disputes;

• Administering contracts; and

• Protecting the legitimate interests of Kotei Designs and its clients.

Clients should avoid sending unnecessary sensitive personal information through ordinary messaging channels.

12. Project Management and Client Records

Kotei Designs uses project-management and productivity platforms, including Trello and ClickUp, to organise and manage projects.

Information stored on these platforms may include:

• Client names;

• Project information;

• Briefs;

• Deadlines;

• Tasks;

• Feedback;

• Design requirements;

• Approvals;

• Project correspondence; and

• Other information necessary to manage the engagement.

Access to project information will be limited to individuals who reasonably require it to perform the relevant work.

13. Freelance Designers and Other Contractors

Kotei Designs may engage freelance designers or other contractors where required to complete a project.

Where a freelancer or contractor requires access to client information, Kotei Designs will provide access only to information reasonably necessary for that person's assigned work.

Kotei Designs may require relevant contractors to maintain confidentiality and appropriate safeguards when handling client information.

Contractors may not use client information for their own purposes without appropriate authorisation.

14. Confidentiality

Kotei Designs recognises that clients may provide commercially sensitive information during branding and design projects.

Information supplied to Kotei Designs solely for the purpose of performing a client's project will generally be treated as confidential unless:

• The information is already publicly available;

• The client has authorised its disclosure;

• Disclosure is reasonably necessary to provide the contracted service;

• Disclosure is required by law; or

• Another lawful basis for disclosure exists.

Where a client requires specific confidentiality obligations, those obligations should be included in the applicable client agreement or confidentiality agreement.

15. Cookies, Analytics and Tracking Technologies

Kotei Designs uses cookies, analytics tools and similar technologies on its website.

These technologies may be used to:

• Operate and secure the website;

• Remember preferences;

• Understand how visitors use the website;

• Measure website performance;

• Identify technical problems;

• Improve the website and user experience;

• Measure marketing performance; and

• Support advertising or other business analytics where applicable.

Some technologies may be provided by third parties.

Where required, Kotei Designs will provide appropriate notice and obtain consent for cookies or tracking technologies that require consent under applicable law.

You may be able to control or disable certain cookies through your browser or available website cookie controls. Disabling certain cookies may affect website functionality.

16. How We Protect Personal Information

Kotei Designs takes reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against:

• Unauthorised access;

• Unauthorised disclosure;

• Loss;

• Misuse;

• Alteration;

• Destruction; and

• Other forms of unlawful processing.

Security measures may include:

• Access controls;

• Password protection;

• Account authentication;

• Restricted access to project information;

• Secure cloud and communication platforms;

• Appropriate software and device security;

• Limiting access to information based on business need; and

• Secure disposal or deletion of information where appropriate.

No electronic transmission, storage system or online service can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Accordingly, while Kotei Designs takes reasonable measures to protect personal information, it cannot guarantee absolute security against every possible threat.

17. Security Compromises and Data Breaches

If Kotei Designs has reasonable grounds to believe that personal information has been accessed or acquired by an unauthorised person, Kotei Designs will take reasonable steps to:

1. Identify and contain the security compromise;

2. Assess the nature and scope of the incident;

3. Take reasonable steps to mitigate potential harm;

4. Preserve relevant evidence and records;

5. Notify the Information Regulator where required;

6. Notify affected data subjects where required; and

7. Take reasonable steps to prevent a recurrence.

Notifications will be made as soon as reasonably possible in accordance with applicable law.

Where appropriate, affected individuals may be informed of the nature of the incident, the information involved, potential consequences and steps they may take to protect themselves.

Kotei Designs may also require relevant third-party service providers or contractors to notify Kotei Designs promptly if they become aware of a security compromise affecting personal information processed on Kotei Designs' behalf.

18. How Long We Keep Personal Information

Kotei Designs does not intend to retain personal information indefinitely without a legitimate reason.

Information may be retained for as long as reasonably necessary to:

• Provide services;

• Maintain business records;

• Fulfil contractual obligations;

• Meet tax, accounting or other legal requirements;

• Establish, exercise or defend legal rights;

• Resolve disputes;

• Maintain evidence of services rendered;

• Protect the legitimate interests of Kotei Designs; or

• Comply with other applicable legal obligations.

Different categories of information may therefore be retained for different periods.

Project information may be retained after completion where reasonably necessary for portfolio records, proof of services rendered, contractual administration, dispute resolution, intellectual-property records, accounting, legal compliance or other legitimate business purposes.

When personal information is no longer reasonably required, Kotei Designs may securely delete, destroy or anonymise it, subject to any legal or legitimate business requirement to retain it.

19. Data Subject Rights

Subject to applicable law, individuals may have rights concerning their personal information, including the right to:

• Request access to personal information held about them;

• Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;

• Request deletion or destruction of personal information in circumstances where the law permits;

• Object to certain forms of processing;

• Object to direct marketing;

• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent;

• Request information concerning how their personal information is processed; and

• Lodge a complaint where they believe their personal information rights have been infringed.

Some requests may be subject to lawful limitations or exemptions.

Kotei Designs may need to verify the identity of the person making a request before releasing, correcting or deleting personal information.

20. Requests for Access, Correction or Deletion

Requests relating to personal information should be submitted in writing to:

[PRIVACY EMAIL ADDRESS]

A request should, where reasonably possible, include:

• The requester's full name;

• Contact details;

• Sufficient information to identify the relevant records;

• The nature of the request; and

• Any information reasonably necessary to verify identity.

Kotei Designs will consider and respond to requests within the timeframes and subject to the procedures prescribed by applicable law.

Where a request cannot be fulfilled, Kotei Designs will, where required, provide an appropriate explanation.

21. Accuracy of Personal Information

Kotei Designs aims to maintain accurate and reasonably up-to-date personal information.

Clients and other data subjects are encouraged to notify Kotei Designs if their information changes or if they believe information held by Kotei Designs is inaccurate.

Kotei Designs may rely on information supplied by the data subject unless there is reason to believe that the information is inaccurate.

22. Information We Do Not Intentionally Collect

Kotei Designs does not knowingly seek to collect personal information from children under the age of 18 in the ordinary course of its business.

If Kotei Designs becomes aware that it has inadvertently collected personal information from a child in circumstances where such collection is not permitted, it will take reasonable steps to address the situation in accordance with applicable law.

23. Third-Party Websites and Links

Our website and communications may contain links to third-party websites, platforms or services.

Kotei Designs is not responsible for the privacy practices, security or content of third-party websites.

Users should review the privacy policies of third-party services before submitting personal information to them.

24. International Processing

Some third-party technology, payment, communication, analytics, cloud-storage or software providers used by Kotei Designs may process information outside South Africa.

Where personal information is transferred to or processed in another country, Kotei Designs will take reasonable steps to ensure that the processing is conducted in accordance with applicable legal requirements and that appropriate safeguards are in place where required.

25. Changes to This Privacy Policy

Kotei Designs may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect:

• Changes to our services;

• Changes to technology;

• Changes to our information-processing practices;

• Changes to applicable law; or

• Changes to regulatory requirements.

The updated version will be published on the Kotei Designs website with an updated effective date.

Where a material change requires additional notice or consent under applicable law, Kotei Designs will take the appropriate steps.

26. Complaints and Concerns

If you believe that Kotei Designs has processed your personal information unlawfully or has otherwise infringed your privacy rights, you are encouraged to contact Kotei Designs first so that we can investigate and attempt to resolve the matter.

Privacy complaints should be submitted to:

Kotei Designs
Privacy Contact: [PRIVACY EMAIL ADDRESS]
Website: koteidesigns.site

Nothing in this section prevents a data subject from exercising any right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa where permitted by applicable law.

27. Acceptance and Acknowledgement

By using the Kotei Designs website, submitting information through our forms, communicating with Kotei Designs, subscribing to our communications, requesting services or entering into a client agreement, you acknowledge that you have had an opportunity to review this Privacy Policy.

Where applicable law requires separate consent for a particular form of processing, this Privacy Policy does not replace that consent requirement.

28. Contact

For privacy-related enquiries, requests or concerns:

Kotei Designs
South Africa
Website: koteidesigns.site
Privacy Email: info@koteidesigns.site

Last Updated: 22 August 2026