How Much Do YOU Charge?

[Cathy]

I am a junior graphic design student currently working part-time at a small newspaper designing ads and am just beginning to take on freelance work. I am sure that this question gets asked quite frequently, but how much does one charge for a freelance job?

For instance, I am currently developing a logo for a new business, along with matching business cards & letterhead. I know there are several things that probably factor into pricing such as experience, skill, and so forth. I guess I am just wondering what other freelancers tend to charge and/or what sort of formula you might use to help come up with pricing for a project.

Again, I don't do this full time and, as of now, I don't have too much of my own money tied up in doing freelance work. (Nothing more that I wouldn't already need for school at least, so I don't feel like I need to worry about overhead costs at this time.)

I really appreciate any sort of feedback you can give me.

Thanks again!
Cathy

[3howards]

well most freelancers, the good ones that is, base their pricing on overhead and living expenses. i do. some freelancers charge by the hour or by project. it all depends on what would benefit you i guess. for me, i charge by the hour. i get a brief for the project and estimate how much time it would take to complete it. i take into account time for reasearch, sketching, development, changes and fine tuning, and materials used during proofing and consultations. if they want me to handle the printing, i add 20% of the printing costs to that. most of the time my clients just want the artwork sent to their printer.

remember that, as you stated in your post, fees are determined by experience and skill. some designers charge $10/hr and then others that charge $150/hr. i'd say if you don't have any overhead and you're doing it on the side, you'd be somewhere in the first 1/4 of that range. if you plan at any time to go out on your own, remember that it's a lot harder to raise prices with existing clients.

this link should help too, http://www.creativepublic.com/pricing_your_projects.php

i hope this helps ...

[Cathy]

Great - That really does help a lot. I definitely don't want to overcharge - I'm really concerned about getting the experience right now more than anything. Good point about pricing affecting the future, not just the 'now'.

Thanks for the advice!

[Vikia]

I found a great resource that gives guidelines for setting your price:
www.americandesignawards.com/article-03-02-pricing.html (http://www.americandesignawards.com/article-03-02-pricing.html)

http://www.vikianderson.com/graphics/valogo.gif
www.vikianderson.com (http://www.vikianderson.com)
Corporate Communications, Graphics & Design

[3howards]

hey, i'm right on if i go by that article ... cool

[Cathy]

Thanks, that helps!

[Allen Harkleroad]

$65.00 to $85.00 an hour, depending on what is required, and this is in a smallish town. In atlanta my minimum was $125.00 an hour for design, $95.00 for pre-press and $85.00 an hour for any thing else. Of course it help if your pooh-pooh don't dont' smell and the client knows it (/IJ).
Allen


Allen "the infinitely frustrated" Harkleroad
"I live in my own little world. But it's OK. They know me here."

Get inside my head at www.DontFear.com (http://www.DontFear.com)

Visit Our Magazine: www.TIEMdesign.com (http://www.TIEMdesign.com)

Have Frontier or CitizensDSL or Dial-up? Does your service suck?
Then post your frustrations here
http://FrontierCommunicationsSucks.com/forum/
or
http://FrontierTelephoneSucks.com/forum/