Logo Design Pricing?

Squevasquidge

Squevasquidge

Member
I know there have been some posts about this already. I wondered though, for those of us who are not professionals, those of us that are learning and people ask them for a logo for example. What are you charging?

I have had a few more requests for logo designs. I had to turn one down as I was worried I wouldn't be up to the job (cowardly I know but I do it in my not so spare, spare time and didn't feel I could have it done quick enough and to a high enough standard) The people that come to me freinds, family of freinds etc. I have no idea what to charge though. I feel bad for charging too as Im not professional yet and there is still so much I dont know.

So what do you professionals and those not so professionals think?

Regards,

Eva
 
I think that whilst you are learning you shouldn't be offering logo design as a paid for service, when you are up to the task this is when you should look at charging.
 
Go for it

I used to charge, even when I wasn't up to the job fully. I think it's fine. I started out charging just £50 for a logo design because I had not qualifications, experience and thus a low skill set.

I think it's fair enough if your charging is very low and they can see the 'standard' of your offering in terms of a portfolio before you start work for them. You get what you pay for and it's up to the client if they want to pay less and have a lower standard of design work!

As you get better, you charge more and more in line with your standard. This is what I did.

Amanda
www.trulyace.com
 
Thanks for the insight guys! I totally appriciate both sides. Not charging...and charging a small fee. What I might do is just play it by ear. Decide at the time depending on the client and how I feel/how skint I am. I suppose that is a bit cheeky to do that as Im not professional and I am learning but I suppose in ways I am still providing a final product that they are happy with.

Thanks again for your opinions!
 
As Boss mentioned, if you're not confident with your skills, maybe it's not time to charge for them. Do some portfolio work or sample briefs and get feedback from people on ways to improve until you're up to scratch.

On the other hand, your skills could be up to scratch but you could just be lacking in confidence.

If it's the latter, try and get some pro-bono work for charities/non-profits or do some projects for friends/family and be sure to take note of how long it takes you in total to complete a project, including ideas generation, research, revisions, etc, then work out an hourly rate and multiply the two together to get a rough idea of a fixed price you could charge.

That price should be a figure to aim for that you're comfortable asking for, happy to accept and is a reflection of your time and experience.

Be sure that you can 'sell' your services, ie. try and help a potential client understand why you're asking that price; explain what's involved in the creation of a logo, why it doesn't cost £50 and what a £50 logo would look like (poor typography, unoriginal ideas, etc) and what you can offer them that amateurs can't (correct file format/specifications for print always sounds impressive).

If they don't want to pay that much, don't lower your rate but instead try to offer them less. For example, if they want a complete branding package, perhaps agree to forget about compliment slips or custom envelopes until a later date. The pay less and you still get paid the rate you want without having to sell yourself short.

However, if they're just looking for a low price rather than quality, then forget about it and let someone else deal with them.
 
Pricing

Hey,

I was in the same position as you a few months ago, just finished uni and had friends asking for prices. I have charged between £60-£90 depending on the job at hand.

A few mates I have say charged £70 and designed a business card aswell, what ever makes you and the client happy :)
 
I think the level of work involved in logo design is very often underestimated. We certainly don't throw in logo design as a freebie when we design a site. Quite often my designer takes longer on logo design than website design.
 
Thanks for the feedback everyone. Im going to make it a new years resolution to get my finger out and stop procrastinating. I NEED to get a portfollio of work together and to get that work I dont mind doing free jobs or pretend briefs. Once again thank you for eveyone's comments!
 
Charge what you want, if people are happy to pay then I can assume you're happy to receive the money so everyone is happy! I think a discounted rate because you're still learning and wanting to build your portfolio is fine and you should never automatically think you have to give your time for free. I charged money when I was still learning although it was only something like £50 and I charged money even when I was on work experience, twice!

Anyway its unlikely that any client is going to pay loads of money to an inexperienced or unqualified person as they typically they have little or no portfolio so whatever money you get is a bonus.
 
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To be honest, logo design isnt very simple, it takes year of experience to be able to send a logo off that is perfect for the client, And as of you being worried about being up to the job, look back and think at the moment its family and friends, it can always be edited, the best advice i could give you it build yourself up a load of different designs, and when asked think if you could alter one you already have :) i have 500+ designs i have made that i can jump in and alter if need be for my clients, i have a customer base of 650 clients in my area, believe me, its useful. :icon_wink:
 
Vanquish said:
the best advice i could give you it build yourself up a load of different designs, and when asked think if you could alter one you already have :) i have 500+ designs i have made that i can jump in and alter if need be for my clients, i have a customer base of 650 clients in my area, believe me, its useful.
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Without being harsh, negative or overly critical, can I just say that's awful advice?

When a client comes to you for a logo or branding work, they're coming to you because either, they're a new company and want something new, fresh and exciting, or, because they're unhappy with what they already have. Each brand identity that you create should be unique to your client, and not just some modified altered file that you've got lying around?

People thrive on fresh and new exciting ideas, and you shouldn't be having the mentality of 'oh, a lightbulb could work for that, I already have a lightbulb saved somewhere else that I drew up a few months ago, I"ll use that.' You should be creating the identity from scratch, being client specific, and taking some their feedback on board.
 
No, i dont mind what you have to say, critics are needed, The designs i come up with and have saved are barely easy designs to alter, im merely stating that i have different images ive drawn at different angles, like a golf club for example, i have 30 different angles and designs of a golf club, if i want to alter these i pick the best on the client wished too choose, i use my designs as a catalogue, which the client views before wanting any alterations, with my designs already their for them to look at, its saving them money, and im only having to charge £20 a logo, yes its small, but that £20 increases when they contract me and pay me £8,000 per year. i believe its helpful, others may dislike how i work. but it feeds the family.
 
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