No smoke and mirrors here. Know exactly what you’re getting.

Not many design studios or freelance designers advertise their project pricing and rates. Why not? Most think that openly stating pricing information puts them at a competitive disadvantage and turns the design profession into a lowest-bidder commodity. I take a different approach.

I’m looking for clients who understand the value of design beyond pretty pictures, trendy styles and  cliché solutions. Clients that get the value of good design also get that good design isn’t cheap. And they have a certain level of trust in me as a design professional to quote a fair price without haggling over every dollar or hour charged. In return for a client’s trust as a design professional, I’m completely open about my pricing. AIGA, the professional association for design, created an informative resource guide “Good Design is Good Business” to help businesses understand the value of design and how to navigate the design process. It’s a quick read, and I highly recommend it.

General Project Pricing

Each design project is different in terms of scope, schedule, complexity, administration and objectives. This makes it difficult to provide a one-size-fits-all pricing structure for design projects and still produce a high quality product. For example, a client might ask how much I charge for logo design. That depends. I don’t have a single, set price for logo design. To provide an accurate logo design price estimate, I’ll want to understand the client’s brand direction, identity application, business goals, number of design concepts needed, budget, approval process, etc. All of these components determine the price, and they are unique to each project.

Accurate estimates require a thorough understanding of all the project components on my part, and a detailed explanation of the project on the client’s part. That’s why all of my clients must complete a Pre-Project Questionnaire before I can give a price estimate. I carefully review each client response to the questionnaire and follow up with a phone conference to discuss  and clarify the project. At this point I provide a detailed pricing and project proposal for the client to  review.

If my proposal doesn’t come in at a price workable price, we discuss options to scale back  project requirements to fit within the budget. For more complex and lengthy projects I create an extensive, phased proposal if a client is: (a) already committed to hiring me for the project, and (b) has funds in place to start.

So, without further explanation, here are some flexible price ranges for various design projects.

Websites: $2500 and up. At the $2,500 end, the website will be a lightly customized template with essential functionality. I cannot deliver a quality website for less than $2500 (Note: This minimum does not include any domain registration, hosting, stock photography, illustration and font costs. Those costs are outlined in the proposal.).  Building a custom site from the ground up normally runs between $3,500 and $25,000 depending on the scale, complexity and schedule of the requirements.

Brand Strategy, Identity and Print: $500 and up. Complete brand identity work to include several logo design concepts with an illustrated mark, business card/stationary/envelope design, and identity extension to other business products or services runs between $2500-$5000 (not including printing costs) depending on the requirement complexity, scope and scale. At the $500 end, I will typically create a single logo concept of type only. On the higher end, I work with clients to create a brand strategy complete with research, competitive analysis, marketing materials, naming, etc.

Consulting and Creative Rates

I rarely quote by the hour. For small design projects, consulting and minor website maintenance an hourly rate is the most cost effective solution for clients. See my notes below for an explanation of rate structure:

• Individuals, small businesses and startups: $50/hr
• Medium to large sized companies and organizations: $75/hr
• Non-profits: $25/hr on a case by case basis

Individuals and Small Businesses

As both a small business owner and freelance graphic designer, I fully understand the budget hurdles individuals and small businesses face when undertaking new projects. You want to get the biggest and best bang for your buck. I’m with you. I’m not the least expensive designer out there, but dollar for dollar you’ll find my focused business strategy, creative design, and responsive post project support is worth the price. And I think you will find my creative rate is competitive with the industry standard for someone providing similar quality and service.

Medium to Large Sized Companies and Organizations

Working with larger organizations requires more overhead, particularly in the area of administration and coordination. There are forms, committees, conference calls, approvals, lots of revisions, etc. And as a result, projects generally take longer and become more complex. I have to charge more to cover the additional overhead. That’s why my rate for medium to large sized companies and organizations is more than my standard rate for small companies, individuals and organizations.

Startups

Startups face a host of unique challenges the least of with are obtaining initial funding and maintaining a positive cash flow. As such, I’m often asked by startups to do work at heavily discounted rates in exchange for sharing future company profits or ownership. While the venture may be promising and the potential payoff high, I’m not interested in this type of arrangement. My rate for startups is the same rate I charge for individuals and small businesses. I’m happy to help get a startup off the ground, but I expect to be paid in full and on time for my work per the project agreement.

Non-profits

One good deed deserves another, so I support non-profits by doing design work for half my normal rate. I try to work within the tight budgets non-profits often face by keeping requirements focused on results and the number of revisions to a project to a minimum. Please note, I reserve the right to notify and charge any non-profit client a full design rate at my discretion. This comes with a tradeoff–my non-profit design work takes a lower priority on my schedule than clients who are paying a full design rate for a project. If a non-profit wants their project to take top priority, let me know, and expect to pay the standard small business rate.

International

International project rates are higher than my rates for domestic clients. Why? Mainly the extra overhead and administration required to manage the project and communicate with a client half way around the world. I only accept payment from international clients in US dollars via PayPal or a check from a bank in the United States.