Ah, yes. This is the age old question that has boggled the mind of many a talented designers. It has been something that has constantly gotten the best of me.
As a full time Senior Graphic Designer and as a freelance designer, I am always looking for clients. And in today's tumultuous economy, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find new clients willing to put out the extra investment to get their message across and to convince my existing clientele to continue to spend on advertising. I focus on the smaller companies and right now, advertising is not the most important thing on their plate.
On a weekly basis, I peruse the internet, design blogs and news to get a read on what my current market worth is as a Senior Designer as well as where I stand as far as what I should be charging to my clients for all types of design services as a freelancer. As you can imagine, suggestions and pricing is all over the board, depending upon your expertise, what part of the country (or world) you are in, and what size clientele you specialize in. If you're new to this, I'm going to cover just a few of the important topics , taken from my own experiences, that you should focus on.
ASK OTHER DESIGNERS!
It's as simple as that. If you're a designer, I'm sure that you have friends, acquaintances or even co-workers who have gone through or are going through the same conundrum you are. Write down as many questions as possible and ask them. Usually they are willing to give you answers. Some more general, others more in depth. Some important questions to ask:
As a full time Senior Graphic Designer and as a freelance designer, I am always looking for clients. And in today's tumultuous economy, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find new clients willing to put out the extra investment to get their message across and to convince my existing clientele to continue to spend on advertising. I focus on the smaller companies and right now, advertising is not the most important thing on their plate.
On a weekly basis, I peruse the internet, design blogs and news to get a read on what my current market worth is as a Senior Designer as well as where I stand as far as what I should be charging to my clients for all types of design services as a freelancer. As you can imagine, suggestions and pricing is all over the board, depending upon your expertise, what part of the country (or world) you are in, and what size clientele you specialize in. If you're new to this, I'm going to cover just a few of the important topics , taken from my own experiences, that you should focus on.
ASK OTHER DESIGNERS!
It's as simple as that. If you're a designer, I'm sure that you have friends, acquaintances or even co-workers who have gone through or are going through the same conundrum you are. Write down as many questions as possible and ask them. Usually they are willing to give you answers. Some more general, others more in depth. Some important questions to ask:
- How do I figure my rate?
- How should I figure my overhead costs?
- Should I do "spec" or "pro bono" work?
I'll do my best to answer each of the questions above as completely as possible speaking from my own experiences.
FIGURE YOUR RATE
There are several factors that go into deciding what to charge.
The two most important are what you think your time and talent are worth and also, what is the size of the client, the value they place on your expertise and talent and how much the current market willing to bear. Remember that as a designer, you've probably spent alot of time and energy perfecting your talent and honing your knowledge. A good place to start is to join the Graphic Artist Guild (www.gag.org) or some other design group. From there they usually have a section that lists current going rates, usually divided by region and/or specialty. This is where I get my base rate from.
First, decide what the job is worth to you. Is it for a client or cause that you really believe in? If so then that will be a large determinate in the equation. Usually for me, if it's something or someone that I really believe in or is a job that I know I will gain more technical expertise in while working, I'll probably charge a little less.
Next, try to estimate how long you think the job will take. This will depend on a couple things. Most importantly it will depend on what the client wants. You can only determine this by preferably sitting down with the client face-to-face or over the phone, and asking as many questions as possible about the project from the outset. This is probably the most invaluable and most important part of the whole working process. Also, be as specific as possible as to what you are capable of providing to the client in a reasonable amount of time. This would include corrections, revisions, pdfs, cds, dvds, final color proofs, actual prints, number of prints, etc. I like to keep the number of revisions down to three revisions/corrections. If the client goes beyond that number, I inform them up front and in writing in the contract that I will charge on a per revision basis. Remember, any changes they request beyond those contracted means MORE OF YOUR TIME AND MONEY! Once all the details have been agreed upon, PUT THEM IN WRITING AND HAVE THE FINAL QUOTE SIGNED BY BOTH YOU AND THE CLIENT!
When coming up with a final pricing structure, remember that usually the project will take longer and will cost more than you initially figured, so take that into consideration as well.
If you are just starting out and are building up your client list and reputation, you may want to charge a little less than the going average, but don't get into the trap of charging too low a rate. Clients will almost always latch on to a low rate and you may never be able to get out of it! Negotiate! Negotiate! Negotiate! And don't sell yourself short....something I tended to do too often early on in my freelance career.
FIGURE OVERHEAD COSTS
This will vary from designer to designer and from client to client and will obviously depend upon the complexity of the project. Costs can range from software, paper and printing supplies to travel and entertainment expenses. For the most of us lowly smaller designers, it won't go beyond paying the rent, gas expense (which is a big OUCH right now!), the occasional software and hardware upgrade, paper, pens, etc.
For instance, my average base rate may be $30/hour. I will add on another 65% overhead to that rate to get my final going rate, which will look like this:
$30.00 x 65% = $19.50
I simply add the $19.50 to the $30 and get my final rate of $49.50, which I round up to $50 per hour.
And of course, we can't forget to make a profit! We'd all like to take the occasional trip to Disney World or buy that new 3G iPhone! I usually like to tack on about 20% for a decent profit margin. So, I'll take 20% of $50.00, which would look like this:
$50.00 x 20% = $10.00
Again, I'll add the $10 to the $50 rate and get my final rate of $60 per hour.
Whatever number you come up with, use this number as a bottom number for all your estimates. Don't go below that number. Don't sell yourself short! You are a talented individual whose services are needed by a large portion of the corporate world.
SHOULD I DO SPEC OR PRO BONO WORK
Be careful here. This can be a trap if you are new to the industry. If you have ever visited craigslist for example, you know there are plenty of small businesses looking for a logo done on spec.
What does spec mean? Basically it means "we want you to design this logo and if we like it we'll pay you, if we don't like it, then you've just worked 40-plus hours for nothing!" From personal experience, I advise you to totally avoid doing spec work. It does you no good. It will be a huge waste of your time and will leave a bad taste in your mouth and will most likely will precede you for any other jobs you look to take on in the future. Spec work seriously compromises the quality and underminds what we as designers stand for. For more information about spec work and it's downsides, visit NO!SPEC or AIGA (Association of International Graphic Artists).
Pro bono work consists of doing work for free or at a greatly reduced price, usually for a non-profit or cause that you really believe in, beyond making a profit. Doing pro bono graphic design work can be rewarding. However, before agreeing to do any work of this nature, it's important to ask yourself several questions.
When is it okay? Can you predict how much money you will be making to cover your costs of doing the job. How involved will you be in the project. The more you're involved, the more you should consider charging.
Are there any tax benefits? Unfortunately, any labor for non-profit purposes is not tax deductable. Instead ask the client if they will pay for the creative if you pay for the production costs. That way, you can at least offset your creative donation.
Are you and the client equally invested in the project? This may seem like a basic question. But it's an important one. The more you are invested emotionally in a project, the better it will turn out. It's just common sense. Likewise, the client should be fully invested as well. This makes working together that much easier.
Will you get recognition and will you get to network?
As human beings, it is intrinsic that we like to get recognized for a job well done. The same is true for working on a pro bono basis. In place of getting paid for a project, getting recognition and making important networking contacts in the local business community that may lead to other projects and clients is priceless.
HAPPY FREELANCING!
FIGURE YOUR RATE
There are several factors that go into deciding what to charge.
The two most important are what you think your time and talent are worth and also, what is the size of the client, the value they place on your expertise and talent and how much the current market willing to bear. Remember that as a designer, you've probably spent alot of time and energy perfecting your talent and honing your knowledge. A good place to start is to join the Graphic Artist Guild (www.gag.org) or some other design group. From there they usually have a section that lists current going rates, usually divided by region and/or specialty. This is where I get my base rate from.
First, decide what the job is worth to you. Is it for a client or cause that you really believe in? If so then that will be a large determinate in the equation. Usually for me, if it's something or someone that I really believe in or is a job that I know I will gain more technical expertise in while working, I'll probably charge a little less.
Next, try to estimate how long you think the job will take. This will depend on a couple things. Most importantly it will depend on what the client wants. You can only determine this by preferably sitting down with the client face-to-face or over the phone, and asking as many questions as possible about the project from the outset. This is probably the most invaluable and most important part of the whole working process. Also, be as specific as possible as to what you are capable of providing to the client in a reasonable amount of time. This would include corrections, revisions, pdfs, cds, dvds, final color proofs, actual prints, number of prints, etc. I like to keep the number of revisions down to three revisions/corrections. If the client goes beyond that number, I inform them up front and in writing in the contract that I will charge on a per revision basis. Remember, any changes they request beyond those contracted means MORE OF YOUR TIME AND MONEY! Once all the details have been agreed upon, PUT THEM IN WRITING AND HAVE THE FINAL QUOTE SIGNED BY BOTH YOU AND THE CLIENT!
When coming up with a final pricing structure, remember that usually the project will take longer and will cost more than you initially figured, so take that into consideration as well.
If you are just starting out and are building up your client list and reputation, you may want to charge a little less than the going average, but don't get into the trap of charging too low a rate. Clients will almost always latch on to a low rate and you may never be able to get out of it! Negotiate! Negotiate! Negotiate! And don't sell yourself short....something I tended to do too often early on in my freelance career.
FIGURE OVERHEAD COSTS
This will vary from designer to designer and from client to client and will obviously depend upon the complexity of the project. Costs can range from software, paper and printing supplies to travel and entertainment expenses. For the most of us lowly smaller designers, it won't go beyond paying the rent, gas expense (which is a big OUCH right now!), the occasional software and hardware upgrade, paper, pens, etc.
For instance, my average base rate may be $30/hour. I will add on another 65% overhead to that rate to get my final going rate, which will look like this:
$30.00 x 65% = $19.50
I simply add the $19.50 to the $30 and get my final rate of $49.50, which I round up to $50 per hour.
And of course, we can't forget to make a profit! We'd all like to take the occasional trip to Disney World or buy that new 3G iPhone! I usually like to tack on about 20% for a decent profit margin. So, I'll take 20% of $50.00, which would look like this:
$50.00 x 20% = $10.00
Again, I'll add the $10 to the $50 rate and get my final rate of $60 per hour.
Whatever number you come up with, use this number as a bottom number for all your estimates. Don't go below that number. Don't sell yourself short! You are a talented individual whose services are needed by a large portion of the corporate world.
SHOULD I DO SPEC OR PRO BONO WORK
Be careful here. This can be a trap if you are new to the industry. If you have ever visited craigslist for example, you know there are plenty of small businesses looking for a logo done on spec.
What does spec mean? Basically it means "we want you to design this logo and if we like it we'll pay you, if we don't like it, then you've just worked 40-plus hours for nothing!" From personal experience, I advise you to totally avoid doing spec work. It does you no good. It will be a huge waste of your time and will leave a bad taste in your mouth and will most likely will precede you for any other jobs you look to take on in the future. Spec work seriously compromises the quality and underminds what we as designers stand for. For more information about spec work and it's downsides, visit NO!SPEC or AIGA (Association of International Graphic Artists).
Pro bono work consists of doing work for free or at a greatly reduced price, usually for a non-profit or cause that you really believe in, beyond making a profit. Doing pro bono graphic design work can be rewarding. However, before agreeing to do any work of this nature, it's important to ask yourself several questions.
When is it okay? Can you predict how much money you will be making to cover your costs of doing the job. How involved will you be in the project. The more you're involved, the more you should consider charging.
Are there any tax benefits? Unfortunately, any labor for non-profit purposes is not tax deductable. Instead ask the client if they will pay for the creative if you pay for the production costs. That way, you can at least offset your creative donation.
Are you and the client equally invested in the project? This may seem like a basic question. But it's an important one. The more you are invested emotionally in a project, the better it will turn out. It's just common sense. Likewise, the client should be fully invested as well. This makes working together that much easier.
Will you get recognition and will you get to network?
As human beings, it is intrinsic that we like to get recognized for a job well done. The same is true for working on a pro bono basis. In place of getting paid for a project, getting recognition and making important networking contacts in the local business community that may lead to other projects and clients is priceless.
HAPPY FREELANCING!
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