Logo required for start up B2B research agency

[Jamesmarsh]

Hi,

I'm in the process of establishing a UK business to business research agency. I need a logotype that expresses our reliable and serious service ethos but at the same time recognises we are an innovative agency with a unique business model.

I have a limited budget, and I'm looking to pay around £100 for the development of my logo (including several design concepts and a couple of revisions).

If you are interested in getting the design brief please email or PM me with your email address and possibly a sample of your work and I'll get back to you.

Thanks,
James

[Imaginative-Designs]

Hi James.

I have sent you a PM with my details.

Look forward to hearing from you

[Annette Taylor Design]

Hi James.

I have sent you a PM with my details also

Look forward to hearing from you

[sthomas]

Is it just me or does practically every job posted on here contain the words '...I have a limited budget'?

I don't wish to have a personal attack on you James but it's a bit much to expect a logo with several design concepts and revisions for £100!!

Even the design students and young designers on this forum should realise that this is exploitation.

It would be interesting to know what James plans on charging clients for the 'reliable and serious service ethos' he will be offering at his business to business research agency.

[Jamesmarsh]

Sthomas: it's no surprise most commissions on here say they have a limited budget. Nearly all small start ups genuinely do. I'm sure when you started out alone you did the things you have the skills to do yourself very well and tried to find the best value option for the rest. So you would have had a great logo and website etc, but maybe you had to negotiate to keep accountancy fees or premises costs to a minimum. Well I can do the accountancy myself but I have to keep other costs down or else I can't start my business.

For info I will be charging £35-40 per hour for research, and passing £20-25 onto my researchers.

[sthomas]

Hi James,

Thanks for taking the time to reply to my earlier post.

What I'm annoyed at is that graphic designers & web designers are constantly expected to lower their prices and rates to fit in with clients who have limited budgets.

While I can understand that everyone running a business wants to save themselves money, I don't see why people think they can hire qualified and experienced graphic designers for a fee far lower than that of many other professions.

When I set-up my business, my accountant, printer or office supplier didn't care that I was a new start-up. They all had fees that I could either pay or I'd have to look elsewhere.

In the day-to day running of my studio, I couldn't approach a photographer and say I want to use their service but I have a limited budget...while there is obviously scope to find slightly cheaper alternatives, there is still a minimum fee that I'd have to pay if I wanted to hire a photographer.

While the price you are offering for a logo is definitely not the cheapest I've noticed on this forum, you're still expecting a designer to work on a series of 3 or 4 logo options, which in my estimation will take approx 8 hours (this works out roughly at £12.50 per hour).

Therefore, the question I ask you is why can you charge £35-40 per hour for your time, but you're expecting a graphic designer to work for only approximately £12.50 an hour?

[Dave L]

Fair point: it's basically just another way of saying 'I'm not looking to pay the going rate for this job', isn't it?

[Paul Murray]

This perhaps isn't the place to discuss the matter.

Whilst I understand your frustration, it's not fair to attack James or anyone else who comes here offering paying work. I whole-heartedly agree that many posts do offer an absurdly low rate, many clients probably aren't aware of the scale of work that's involved in branding a business, no matter what the size, and ultimitley it's the fault of the designers or 'designers' who do the work and undersell themselves and devalue the industry.

[Dave L]

This perhaps isn't the place to discuss the matter.

Whilst I understand your frustration, it's not fair to attack James or anyone else who comes here offering paying work. I whole-heartedly agree that many posts do offer an absurdly low rate, many clients probably aren't aware of the scale of work that's involved in branding a business, no matter what the size, and ultimitley it's the fault of the designers or 'designers' who do the work and undersell themselves and devalue the industry.

Fair point also... although one conclusion (for another thread perhaps) is that the marketplace forum is aiding and abetting said devaluation by providing a space for exactly that kind of transaction to take place - if it's allowed to pass without comment, that is...

[sthomas]

Sorry if this appears like an attack on James and the work he's offering (it wasn't meant to be).

James just happened to be in the firing line of my frustration with designers being expected to work for far less than the going rate.

However, I have to agree with Dave L on the point he raised - the marketplace on this forum does seem to be heading in the same direction as Gumtree (in that there have been some really low paying work on offer).

I don't know what the solution is - anyone have any suggestions?