Design Pricing

JakeS

New Member
Hello again all,

It wasnt long before I could pull a few stings and get ahold of my first proper freelance job that isnt for someone I directly know.
See now before I meet with my client who wants me to redesign his menu for his bar, I'd like to get an idea of pricing for this.

To my knowledge I dont think he wants any work on his logo or website so it would literally be just the menu and as it is a small independent bar, I assume he will be printing it digitally himself. As it would be my first time having to negotiate a price, I'd just like a bit of a heads up with the kind of figue that would usually come with this sort of job as I dont wont to get ahead of myself and come across as greedy.. But I also dont want to be undercut too much. I was thinking of doing a set price for it until I can get to a point of comfortably being able to guage a set number of hours for the workload and stick to it. Does £250 for the whole thing sound reasonable or am I way off?
 
How much do you value your knowledge and ability as a designer? Multiply that by how long you think the menu design will take and that's your answer.

However, as you've already identified, the client is a small business, and as you have no real proven record as a freelance designer, it may be easier to seal the deal if find out what he's willing to spend rather than scaring him off by demanding a big fee. A good way is to casually drop into conversation something along the lines of "Have you considered a budget for the project?". This then opens a conversation where you can gauge how deep his pockets are and how much value he puts on your time and also allows you to quote for extras such as printing, rather than just assuming he'll do it himself (by the way, if he is intending printing it himself I can guarantee you he's thinking £30 for the design).
 
For me, £250 sounds a bit too much, especially if they just want some pages styling and some type setting, though this depends on how many items/pages there, plus your own rates of course.

For £250 I'd be wanting to give them a more creative job rather than just some files to print. I'd look at options for different paper stocks, or ways to present the menus (screenprinted onto wood or another material that ties into their name/branding for example). Something that is just more exciting and memorable than just A4 pages in a folder, something that patrons will want to photograph and share on Facebook… "OMG, check out the #COOOL menus ins [BAR NAME].

Maybe offer a lower price for the standard A4 menu they can print, and a more expensive option that includes creative input?
 
It really depends on how much time and work you put into it.

Whatever you do, get a contract together on the agreed work and price. And make sure that contract 50% upfront before any work can commence.

Outline exactly what the base cost is, and break it down. Anything outside of this would be charged separately.

Also include that you will supply 3 proofs where they can make alterations for free, but any proofs thereafter are at a small set fee - this cuts down on non-sense changes, like "change from red to blue" and then back again.
 
Hahah I was off by quite a bit there.
I am only assuming that he will be printing it himself through the word of an associate who has described his as a bit slippery but I suppose that would be unfair to judge until I meet him properly.

For the price I was thinking of I would be expecting to do an awful lot to it, but by the sounds of it, it doesn't seem likely that it would be as juicier of a job as I thought it would be.

However, thanks for the advice guys. Shall discuss all this with him when we meet and see what's he's looking to spend (hopefully a bit more than a bag of peanuts). But hey, this'll be my first job in freelance so gotta start somewhere I guess.
 
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