How much do YOU charge?

[Stingey]

Hi,

I'm looking into starting my own design service, and I was wondering if there was anyone out there who doesn't mind giving me a bit of advice. I'm just curious as to how much one charges for different design items such as business cards, leaflets, comp slips, posters, album artwork etc etc. I'd like to give people reasonable quotes but not necessarily charge by the hour as alot of designers do.

Can anyone send me their price list/matrix to stingeydesign@gmail.com ?

I'd really appreciate the help and any other tips, advice or cautionary tales will be more than welcome.

Fanks!

Stingey

[dedwardp]

Hi,

I'm looking into starting my own design service, and I was wondering if there was anyone out there who doesn't mind giving me a bit of advice. I'm just curious as to how much one charges for different design items such as business cards, leaflets, comp slips, posters, album artwork etc etc. I'd like to give people reasonable quotes but not necessarily charge by the hour as alot of designers do.

Can anyone send me their price list/matrix to stingeydesign@gmail.com ?

I'd really appreciate the help and any other tips, advice or cautionary tales will be more than welcome.

Fanks!

Stingey

If you want to offer a fixed fee, take your hourly rate then and work out how long each item will roughly take you.

[Stingey]

Thanks mate,
I don't even have an hourly rate to be honest. I've been an employed graphic designer for 4 years and done plenty of stuff on the side for mates, but most of the time this was free, but with things as tight as they are, I really need to start making some money from it. I know I could probably google most of this stuff, but I thought direct advice would give me a better insight into this crazy world you call freelance.

Thanks

Stingey

[Dave L]

The all-inclusve prices people quote will be based on their direct costs and the amount they need to make on top to run a viable business: as such, what other people are charging won't necessarily provide a useful guide so I think the advice above is still valid.

[pcbranding]

I agree and the fact that one person charges £X and another charges £XX isn't really much help as it depends on your set up (home studio, rent, mortgage, light and heat, consumables), expectations, skill at what you are doing, how long it will take you, levels of revisions and whether you are worth the fee you are charging!

Clients are happy to pay more for established, known designers with pedigree and a folio to back it up as they are seen as 'safer' rather than cheaper, unknown designers. Not much help depending on where you sit on the scale, but true nevertheless.

Work out your hourly rate and then look at the poll that Boss Hog has on here for general hourly rates - you can see where most people pitch themselves.

I personally quote for a job/project which is based on how long I think it will take, plus how much the going rate is for someone of my experience and then look at the overall price with regards to who the client is and my current workload.
Flexibility keeps money coming in rather than quoting and not getting any orders due to slightly unrealistic pricing. Not saying you should slash your fees just to get work, but 'flex' a little.

[Katedesign]

This blog
How Much Can you Charge for Freelance Graphic Design? | Graphic Design Blog
has a useful (if US based) calculator for charges.

[Stingey]

I agree and the fact that one person charges £X and another charges £XX isn't really much help as it depends on your set up (home studio, rent, mortgage, light and heat, consumables), expectations, skill at what you are doing, how long it will take you, levels of revisions and whether you are worth the fee you are charging!

Clients are happy to pay more for established, known designers with pedigree and a folio to back it up as they are seen as 'safer' rather than cheaper, unknown designers. Not much help depending on where you sit on the scale, but true nevertheless.

Work out your hourly rate and then look at the poll that Boss Hog has on here for general hourly rates - you can see where most people pitch themselves.

I personally quote for a job/project which is based on how long I think it will take, plus how much the going rate is for someone of my experience and then look at the overall price with regards to who the client is and my current workload.
Flexibility keeps money coming in rather than quoting and not getting any orders due to slightly unrealistic pricing. Not saying you should slash your fees just to get work, but 'flex' a little.

Cheers. I should have explained my situation a little better. I am actually employed as a graphic designer and have been for the past 4 years, so I'm not 'depending' on this venture, I just feel I need to, and also would like to make extra money by setting up a side business. I think it would be fun and challenging.

The main items I work on are magazine layouts/ advert design, flyers/leaflets, posters, annual reviews, little bit of logo design & branding and other stationery items.

As you've suggested I'll need to do some bloody good research into what other people are charging and then draft up a basic price list.

Thanks for your help. Also thanks for the link Kate.

Stingey

[djb]

And here’s the poll of what people on here charge:

The average cost of design per hour....

When I started out (much like you, employed and working in my spare time) the bare minimum I would charge would be what I got paid for overtime.

[Boss Hog]

This one may also help with regards to logo design > Pricing for Logo Design

[Stingey]

Thanks chaps and chapesses this is all very helpful!