Should I do name card + logo + menu for $200?

yesho10

New Member
Hi guys. I'm a student designer living in USA
One guy asked me to design a logo for his business for $200 (I'm not even sure if it is too expensive)

and he's asking me to make name card and menu. Should I do everything for $ 200?
(He's asking me to make the name card using the logo I designed tho.)

And for the menu, the guy gave me rough kinda ppt file. and told me to clean it up, so it looks neat when they print.

I'm a noob, have only couple experience of designing. really appreciate any help or advice.

thank you guys have a nice one

P.S if you guys wanna see my design lemme know
 
$200 (£135GBP) sounds a little low for a logo but if you're just starting out, you'll have to weigh it up.
How long do you think it will take in hours?
Divide the 200 by that and see you're clearing minimum and think if you're comfortable with it.

Extra work = extra pay.
If you're doing a name card and a menu then this will take time so bill them for that but make sure you're up front about it.
DO NOT sell yourself short.
You are a professional.

BTW. This is quite important.
Take a look at the PPT file first before agreeing anything.
More often than not, what it contains will be low res, web images and things like that and you'll often end up re-creating it from scratch causing loads more work.

Post up what you've done.
Expect a bit of a crit though. ;)
 
Same rules as any other job...

Number of hours x hourly rate = pay (please allow for experience doing said job when calculating hours)

so work out how long you're likely to take on the job and divide the $200 by it. I bet you it will be fairly low.

Also powerpoint (ppt) to print is never going to turn out well.
 
Sound advice from @scotty although just to play devils advocate, he said he is a student designer, not a professional, therefore it would make sense for him to charge a lower rate than a professional would, until he builds up the experience and expertise. That being said, it is hard to judge how much you are undercharging yourself at $200, as I don't know how far $200 can get you over in the states but £135 or even £200 can't get you very far in the UK.
 
Hi guys. I'm a student designer living in USA
One guy asked me to design a logo for his business for $200 (I'm not even sure if it is too expensive)

and he's asking me to make name card and menu. Should I do everything for $ 200?
(He's asking me to make the name card using the logo I designed tho.)

And for the menu, the guy gave me rough kinda ppt file. and told me to clean it up, so it looks neat when they print.

I'm a noob, have only couple experience of designing. really appreciate any help or advice.

thank you guys have a nice one

P.S if you guys wanna see my design lemme know


So... you were asked to design a logo for $200

So many things wrong with this.

Next time I go to the doctor I'll explain I'll need my appendix removed for $125. But I also need that pesky tumour removed at the same time and to bundle into the same job...

Or when I go out for dinner tonight with my beloved I'm going to order a starter/main course/dessert and I'm only only willing to pay $20 for the whole thing for both of us. It should be a delight for them to cook for me, and in return I'll post a social media message that my 150 friends will see.
 
So... you were asked to design a logo for $200

So many things wrong with this.

Next time I go to the doctor I'll explain I'll need my appendix removed for $125. But I also need that pesky tumour removed at the same time and to bundle into the same job...

Or when I go out for dinner tonight with my beloved I'm going to order a starter/main course/dessert and I'm only only willing to pay $20 for the whole thing for both of us. It should be a delight for them to cook for me, and in return I'll post a social media message that my 150 friends will see.

My doctor put a camera up my backside and it didn't cost me a penny.

Thanks NHS......Thanks a f@cking bunch. :(
 
@hankscorpio Maybe it was worded wrong and $200 is their budget? In which case it is up to the designer to accept or reject their budget. Not the way I do business but sometimes I like to have an idea of the clients budget, especially when they are new, as it gives me an idea as to whether to take them seriously and spend my time on them.
 
It's fairly common these days that someone says "I need this logo done by the end of the week, and I have a budget of 50 quid!"

That's my queue to exit!

Can the logo be done for $200? Yes it can - but I wouldn't break my balls to get it done to a high standard. I'd work on it for 2.5 hours, with 1 version and that's it.


Advice to the OP - get payment up front - make it clear that they 1 logo with 1 set of revisions - any changes after that will cost more.
 
Sound advice from @scotty although just to play devils advocate, he said he is a student designer, not a professional, therefore it would make sense for him to charge a lower rate than a professional would, until he builds up the experience and expertise. That being said, it is hard to judge how much you are undercharging yourself at $200, as I don't know how far $200 can get you over in the states but £135 or even £200 can't get you very far in the UK.

I know what you're saying Carl.
Thing is, once you start charging you become a professional.
As you know, there are plenty of people wanting to exploit us, especially those starting out.
I think a lesser, realistic fee considering the OP's limited experience but it's also a chance to learn about dealing with clients, spelling it out and being up front which is something many of us struggle with, especially me. ;)
 
I know what you're saying Carl.
Thing is, once you start charging you become a professional.
As you know, there are plenty of people wanting to exploit us, especially those starting out.
I think a lesser, realistic fee considering the OP's limited experience but it's also a chance to learn about dealing with clients, spelling it out and being up front which is something many of us struggle with, especially me. ;)

I agree with everything except what I've highlighted in Bold Italics (see what I did there :D).

I used to charge when I was a student in college, I was sooooo far from a professional it wasn't even funny. I had sssoooo much to learn.

I really disagree that once you start charging you become a professional. What about all the people on sites like PPH, are they all professionals? They all charge...
 

I agree with everything except what I've highlighted in Bold Italics (see what I did there :D).

I used to charge when I was a student in college, I was sooooo far from a professional it wasn't even funny. I had sssoooo much to learn.

I really disagree that once you start charging you become a professional. What about all the people on sites like PPH, are they all professionals? They all charge...

I was speaking 'technically' Carl and I also used bold italics but I also made it a larger font size, Arial and a nice burned orange colour. ;)
I used to have some freelance gigs at college and I shudder thinking back.
It's something we have to learn though.
 
@scotty, you just took the bold italics to a whole other level, I cannot beat that. You win!... Although you lose points for using Arial! I mean, how dare you?!?
 
If I was in your shoes I'd probably take the $200 and do the logo, maybe the name/business card in that price too, but as Hank said be clear that it's a tight budget so revisions are limited and additions will be extra cost.

The menu I'd quote for separately. I've done menus and they can be a real challenge as there's a lot of content to get on a page whilst keeping everything legible when it's printed.

Ultimately it will be up to you to set your rates if you wish to continue working for yourself in future so see this as a learning curve. If it takes you 3 times longer than you first thought, you know for future jobs to quote more time because it will take longer than the client thinks.
 
Menus can change over and over again. Make it clear that you are happy to work on the layout and design as 1 cost.

Finalising the menu you can do on a revision by revision basis, providing that they send bulk changes and not just change 1 item every 15 minutes as they spot them.

To recap

Layout and Design of logo = 1 set price
Revisions of content = Set price per revision
 
I've seen 'designers' produce work just like this and get paid for it, I didn't think they were professionals. Now I know I was wrong :LOL:

This is when the boundaries between design, art and religion are crossed.
I think we've all seen something quite remarkable and beautiful here today and I for one am proud to have witnessed it.
You've raised the bar Sir.
@hankscorpio, I salute you.
(Bows down and walks slowly backwards whilst doing a funny gesture thing with my hand)
 
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