The average cost of design per hour....

On average, what is your hourly design rate?

  • Up to £10

    Votes: 17 9.9%

  • £11 - £20

    Votes: 43 25.1%

  • £21 - £30

    Votes: 58 33.9%

  • £31 - £40

    Votes: 30 17.5%

  • £41 - £50

    Votes: 16 9.4%

  • Over £51

    Votes: 7 4.1%
  • Total voters
    171
I recently was approached to work on a project.
The budget was low but it looked fun so I said I was interested.

They then sent me a brief.
It started off with "Dear Artist, Thanks for showing an interest".
Smell a rat yet?

Then it went onto a pretty detailed brief and outlined some of their "expectations".
"Provide concepts free of charge. Blah, blah blah. Gain exposure".
Sound familiar?

It stunk of them approaching a bunch of Designer/Illustrators.
Getting them to pitch for free and picking the best.

Even without this it made me look at my decision to show interest.
£400 for what could have been weeks of work.

WAKE UP CALL!

Sometimes you have to learn to say no.
 
scotty said:
I recently was approached to work on a project.
The budget was low but it looked fun so I said I was interested.

They then sent me a brief.
It started off with "Dear Artist, Thanks for showing an interest".
Smell a rat yet?

Then it went onto a pretty detailed brief and outlined some of their "expectations".
"Provide concepts free of charge. Blah, blah blah. Gain exposure".
Sound familiar?

It stunk of them approaching a bunch of Designer/Illustrators.
Getting them to pitch for free and picking the best.

Even without this it made me look at my decision to show interest.
£400 for what could have been weeks of work.

WAKE UP CALL!

Sometimes you have to learn to say no.
Click to expand...

I always trust my gut instinct, and it hasn't let me down yet. There's been a few times when I've been excited about working for a new client only to find they're expecting something for nothing, as though they're doing me a favour by offering me these scraps. One thing I also never do is price match or beat someone else's price. I charge for expertise and service, not for a product. I had one client send a brief to myself and another designer asking for us both to quote on the job. It smelt like he was trying to play us off against each other to see if we'll both give low-ball prices to get the work. I told him I was busy and he should give it to the other guy. I hope he got a good price.
 
Our charges are based on overhead. Once you've established a cost per hour just to have the studio sitting there then it's easy to estimate what a project would cost to create. If your overhead is low (maybe working from home rather than renting office space etc) then you can afford to have a lower hourly rate and perhaps pick up work that a larger Agency can't cost low enough for.

Don't forget it's a business. If you're god at what you do then you will take your client's budget and create something that makes them money. A strong return on investment is what people businesses are looking for.
 
Cost depends on the graphic designer, and what you're actually asking them to do, if you're asking them to actually build the new website instead of just making banners, icons, etc it will obviously cost a lot more. it really does depend on the designer and the experience.
 
I had this a short while back from a client : "The attached flyer is the one I mentioned last week. If you are prepared to create logo for free he will be ordering these this week. I do think it's worth you considering as I believe he will be successful and this will mean lots of printing of not just brochures and stationery but clothings, banners and stands, obviously, up to you if you want to or not. If you do, I am giving him a presetation tomorrow afternoon so if I could have a few suggestions by then that would be great. If you don't want to do it, please just let me know."

I declined and gave my reasons. The client didn't agree with my reasons and went elsewhere. A day later she came back: "I have decided that I will pay your fee as I don't like what they are suggesting."

Always stick to your guns!
 
Price is a tricky one, I would rather keep the customers happy instead of missing out on opportunities. Even a small project with a small budget can have good returns, in the long term. Your customers will also progress and improve their business over time so if they are happy with your services today, they will surely return in a years time with a bigger project and more money.

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Sirotics: Product design company (https://sirotics.com)
 
The average cost of the design per hour depends upon the client and one's experience.
Moreover, It also depends on your competition, how much you need to survive. The
odd thing about hourly rates is no one knows how many hours it will take so you can
bid low then charge them twice as many hours as it took. I always preferred a total price.
 
The average cost per hour depends on you - you set the price. If they don't want to pay it move on to someone else who is worthwhile.
You can negotiate a lower rate - but why would you?
I know exactly how many hours any particular task is going to take - you get that with experience. All my estimates are accurate and I always include a line to say - if we are going over the estimated hour you will be notified.
Charging twice as long at a cheaper rate is a bit of a sleazy move. I wouldn't advocate people work like this - work honestly, fair prices and transparently.
 
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