Pricing for Logo Design

[chris_17]

I tend to charge by the hour now for any work, the problem with a fixed price structure is you end up giving a set number of revisions, then once those are used up the client just thinks 'that'll do' when it needs more work. Obviously charging by the hour can have a huge drawback as in the client will change each bit of the design and keep messing around with it, but at least they're showing more of an interest in the design process and wanting the very best for their business, and you're of course getting paid for doing this as well .

I try to give them a rough estimate of how long I think it will take to complete the project, but say that it is just an estimate (and put it in the contract).

Anyone else charge on an hourly basis?

[uberbaby]

Hi everyone
I normally go for around £100 on average, I've been professional for about a year, but I'm still not over-confident that this is the right amount to charge!
For those of you that have responded above, I was wondering if the charges you've quoted include what I normally include – that is approx. £100 total including 3-4 initial concepts, then 2-3 tweaks of the chosen design.
Any feedback would be great, many thanks! Zoe

[Ian Bonner]

I charge by the hour. I feel its the only way that suits me. I think if you can show a client what you can do and show them why you DONT charge 25 pounds for a logo then the client will realise why they are paying more. It doesn't help when people are charging these rates.

[JJS74]

Curtis,

The value of a brand has been a discussion point for years and years and has the unfortunate future calculation of what would brand might be worth to that business in say 5 years time and beyond.

You should consider 1. the amount of time you spend conceptualising it 2. the value of your experience 3. the intended exposure of the logo.

I don't produce a logo for less than £500 and I have sold a logo for 39k!!!

The irony is I spend the same amount of time and effort on the £500 logo as I did for the 39k one.

You have to consider what your logo will achieve for your client. If its a local independent shop then its value could be smaller. If its a multinational with huge web and print exposure then your logo has a considerably higher value as it is expected to visually communicate on a vast scale.

Without inspecting your work I would say you are charging too little.

Best of luck.

Best Regards,


Jordan
--
Jordan Scott
Creative Director
Logo Laureate
Logo Laureate original brand and logo design

[SparkCreative]

I'm scared by the amount of people who voted for £75-150.

[Ian Bonner]

I'm scared by the amount of people who voted for £75-150.

I agree. The point is that designers are scared to overcharge but it is seriously damaging our profession and when you couple that with free pitching what chance do we stand?

I think clients half expect to pay a fair price for high end design work, but as long as people are charging low fees they are going to keep paying them. If designers are willing to accept the fees that they are offering to the clients and also working / pitching for free then maybe they do not believe they are qualified enough to accept more.

Thats an even more worrying prospect because we are being undercut by pseudo designers. It's a hard one but I don't really see what we can do about it, apart from governing body affiliation and regulations.

[SparkCreative]

I agree. The point is that designers are scared to overcharge but it is seriously damaging our profession and when you couple that with free pitching what chance do we stand?

I think clients half expect to pay a fair price for high end design work, but as long as people are charging low fees they are going to keep paying them. If designers are willing to accept the fees that they are offering to the clients and also working / pitching for free then maybe they do not believe they are qualified enough to accept more.

Thats an even more worrying prospect because we are being undercut by pseudo designers. It's a hard one but I don't really see what we can do about it, apart from governing body affiliation and regulations.

You can't do anything about it. But hopefully the kind of clients you want can tell the difference between something with bevels nicked from the web and something with some thought and skill behind it.

[linziloop]

I'm scared by the amount of people who voted for £75-150.

Perhaps the reason so many people have voted this is because the majority of the designers on this forum (and this is just pure speculation, i haven't actually looked into this) don't get work from massive clients. Perhaps most of the designers on this forum are just doing jobs for small local businesses, company's just starting up, friends, family and such like. From what i have seen, there are a lot of designers on here in their first year of business, just trying to build up their portfolio, perhaps they need to do the cheaper work just so they have some work to do.

Which brings me back to the point of pricing according to your client. Ask the same question but amended to say "how much would you charge coca cola for a logo" and I'm pretty sure nobody would say £75-£100.

Every business needs a logo, but not every business can afford £500 when they're just starting out - and i don't think they should have to settle for a crap quality logo because they can't. Yes you may not want to do these types of jobs, and that's fine, but there are people out there who do, if only for a short while to build up their portfolio.

[john watters]

Yes! Craigman a perfect answer. Checkout how much Paul Rand charged for the original Apple logo.

[JC-Designs]

I voted £150-£250 but then again a logo for a business is the most important part so £450+ will encourage the designer to produce an amazing design because the money will motivate him/her to inspire you. Hope that makes sense, cos I got lost typing that lol.