fee?
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- stringbean
sorry this question probably gets asked tons, but i wanted to ask what i should charge for a certain project.
the background: i'm starting out as a freelance print/graphic designer (graduated a year ago) and the project is to develop an identity system for a music school.
on one hand they (music school) have a limited budget but on the other hand managed to higher a really big firm to do a creative brief for upwards of $5,000.
i can give more information but i just wanted to get an answer on whether i should do per hour or per project or what. is $500 pushing it? for business card, letterhead, newsletter template?
thanks again, i really appreciate it. or if there's some other resource as not to bug you guys, i'm all ears.
cheers
- Point50
So, assuming you are creating the logo, I would definitely NOT charge less than $1,000 for the logo alone. There are so many comps and so many ideas that need to explored and drawn up in order to even come close to what is decidedly the best choice for the final icon of representation. The rest of the work (letterhead, bus card, env) should be billed seperately. It will have it's own challenges. I bill out my creative and design work at no less than $50/hr. for most freelance projects, but don't forget to bill for admin work, production time, meeting/comference time and all applicable overhead/expenses.
- stringbean0
unfortunately someone else did the logo and i'm here to piece together the print collateral.
i read somewhere that $25/hour should be the bare minimum but i have a hard time allocating hourly pay and work done. for instance, i'll sketch out quite a bit in my book before getting into Illy and getting things done - does that count? ya know?
anyway, thanks for the advice, i appreciate it.
cheers
- Point50
In my opinion, bill it all. One of my old art teachers used to tell us this:
When you estimate a job, figure out how much time you think it will take, then multiply that by 2. This way you have two choices: 1.) You finish job in half the time that the client expected and you tell them truth about how many hours it took you and you look great in their eyes because you got it done fast and under the budget that you estimated. 2.) You have a good amount of time to finish. Get the work done in a timely manner still, but milk that clock for the rest of the money. This way you can make up to twice as much as your hourly rate.
This extended time frame also helps you work around " the undexpectededs" and gives you cushion for revisions and such. You should look up hourly rates and bill accordingly. Don't cheapen yourself or your work. Stay competitive in every aspect of what you do.
- MLP0
i never thought about that point5... good call
i was gonna ask about a rate as well, so i guess i'll just post it here if you read this..
it's just a simple 4-up quarter sheet flyer, black and white, no illustration involved. i haven't done anything this simple freelance and figured i'd just bill an hour or something at 50 bucks...?
the only real source i have for rates is that GAG pricing, but it seems to focus on big company, big $$ pricing
- stringbean0
guys
i didn't ever respond to these posts and you might not check them again, but - thanks.
i appreciate the responses and they really help out a lot.
cheers