Hot answers tagged business
21
I assume you are asking how much you should charge to design a business card. The answer to that is:
your hourly rate * the number of hours it takes you to complete the job
The key is to figure out your hourly rate. That is:
annual revenue $ / # BILLABLE hours you work per year
Your annual revenue is all the money you need to bring in to cover all ...
14
You should have a portfolio - pieces that show examples of the type of work you are able to do, the styles you work in, etc. If they're asking for a "free sample" of the page make sure you have a legal document in place to protect your work (and copyright your work before you sent them the "free sample").
There are plenty of legit people that can't imagine ...
13
Stefan has several excellent points, which I'll echo and expand upon:
Write up a contract. You don't start anything without a contract.
It took me over a week to write my first contract, but that baby is
as detailed and iron-clad as I could make it, and now I can
slice-and-dice and adapt it to future jobs. The AIGA has a ridiculously detailed sample ...
11
The Cons:
you're working for pennies
you're working for a 'client' who has committed next-to-nothing to the project
you're not designing based on any real client or business objectives/requirements
there is no proper feedback loop
you're competing with people that are likely using unlicensed software and type
you're wasting your time
The Pros:
...
9
Yes, this is a typical issue. At its core, it's a client thinking that their solution should be designed around their personal tastes rather than around particular business requirements that will meet the needs of their customers.
The key is to talk in business terms, not in subjective art terms. Be prepared. Study your customer's business, their industry, ...
9
Is one to do with visuals and the other with content?
Creative Director's Key Role
The creative director typically thinks through the early phase of the project to develop the concept. This director oversees the entire team, which includes the copy chief, photographer and art director. Many creative directors ultimately work their way up through the ranks ...
8
This time: Pekka's answer is good.
Next time: Pay attention to how many hours you're putting in. As you approach the estimate mark, you send a note to the client, saying "Hey, I quoted you for 36 hours, which was to cover services X, Y, Z, A, and B. We're only done X and part of Y, and I'm up to 30 hours already. I'm happy to continue working with you ...
7
Welcome to the World of Graphic Design... lol.. you see their mind is growing with ideas because now it's trial and error to them. You give them a time limit. You know the job takes you 10 hours to do. You tell them how long it takes without revisions, offer 2 revisions then tell them to pay per revision there after. You shouldn't have to explain why, just ...
7
Or should I re-quote them and if so, how should I go about doing that?
If it's squarely their fault, I would absolutely re-quote them. Everything else would create a bad precedent for how additional time is dealt with in the jobs to come.
The more detailed documentation you can provide along with the re-quote, the better. A work log like this (pulling ...
7
Any contract should clearly state what the client is purchasing rights to, what those rights are, and what the designer is retaining.
I never sell rights to sketches, preliminaries, notes, etc. They are always retained and the client is purchasing the final image/design/product only.
I will sell the rights to the final product if it's negotiated - this ...
7
Where a logo is concerned, or similar identity material, the client would have to be very naive, or very foolish, and the designer unethical, not to ensure that all rights in the finished design are transferred to the client upon acceptance of the finished work. As the designer, you never lose the right to display in your portfolio (including your website) a ...
7
I wouldn't necessarily be insulted. Your client is simply coming to the table with some terms. You can accept them, deny them, or counter.
I'd recommend countering with a formal contract. Typically designers do not deliver the work files for a number of reasons (the least of which is that the client usually has no use for them). But it's not unusual either. ...
6
American copyright law states that if you work for a company (not on a contractor/freelance basis, but as a registered employee of that company), anything you create while working at your job, during your hours, is owned by your employer, be that the company or a specific person in the hierarchy.
Anything you make on your own time, off hours, is owned by ...
6
Nope. You're the only one who runs into this.
The thing is, when a client comes to you (or me, or any other designer) what they're looking to do is rent specific design skills to realize their view of a particular design. Some folks may have more of a specific clue vis a vis color, layout, etc. but don't have the skills to actually put that idea onto paper. ...
6
"What does typography means"
Typography refers to type. The art and craft of setting and using type. It can also refer to lettering design, and the design of type (the letterforms) itself.
It's a little odd (but not unheard of) that they are asking for a 'developer' with 'typography skills'. Based on that, I'd say they are looking for a talented graphic ...
6
That depends on what was agreed upon.
But most designers sell their finished artwork with all the files neccesary to produce the design. For example: a logo should always be handed over in vector format, but you can flatten it and clean it up so your drafts, alternatives and fonts aren't in the file anymore. For a website it depends on how it is made. ...
5
The only pros are for the people who ask you to do spec work. You do the work, they get the work. They will be cherry picking meaning your work may be used and combined (sometimes without your knowledge).
The thing I find is the worst property of spec work: no good and no direct interaction with the client and as such you're more into producing work on the ...
5
I agree with DA01's answer. In addition:
Having typography skills means things like: understanding the difference between serif and sans serif typefaces; knowing which typefaces to use for headlines, which might be great for blockquotes, etc. Which fonts go together well (for headlines and body).
Knowing the major categories of typefaces: oldstyle, ...
5
A portfolio should sum up the work you have done and the impression you are trying to give. Generally speaking ,if you are a web designer, a portfolio fo print work would be less relevant than your web design work so you would promote your web design work over your print work.
Think of it like a colourful CV/resume. You would taylor it to the job you are ...
5
Stand your ground. Don't do SPEC work.
The client is interested in you (based on your portfolio, or word-of-mouth) - capitalize on that.
Offer "X" comps for the job AFTER the contract has been signed. That way you're both protected. They get their comps, you get the work (and paid). And no one will feel cheated, or slighted in the exchange.
5
I would highly recommend taking a look at the AIGA Standard Form of Agreement for Design Services. It is a very extensive agreement that somewhat favors the designer, so if you want to know how to cover your butt, this is probably the definitive document to read. I have read it many times over, and I don't see very much in there that is superfluous to even ...
4
First off, read your contract with her. Does it specify that she retains rights? If it does, you're done.
If it's a standard work-for-hire agreement (Company hires Designer to create XYZ for $$$), then I would say the designer doesn't "own" that design. You hired her to do it, she did it, you paid her, it's yours. Otherwise she could take the design she ...
4
What every designer should understand about "clients" who use crowd-sourcing, or who get their logo designed by their step-sister's nephew who knows MS Paint: you are looking at someone who views design as an expense, not an asset. If you're a designer worthy of the name, these are never going to be your clients and you should not waste a moment on them.
...
4
I work at a graphics intensive design agency.
Unfortunately, design tablets are not seen as essential hardware. Nobody here uses them, but I'm sure if I made the case that my speed and efficiency would improve with one, then a purchase may be made.
It depends entirely on the agency, but at the same time it depends entirely on the user.
4
That;s going to depend on the company. While it's by no means unheard of it's not what a typical office manager at a typical (non-creative type office) would see as a normal computer peripheral, so you may have to make a case for having your office purchase it.
If you're working at a very graphics-intensive shop, however, it probably would be considered ...
4
"F*ck you, pay me."
Maybe not quite in those words in all possible situations, but you need to always make sure you are in a position where if you had to, you could say exactly that, and back it up.
The quote comes from the title line of a presentation given by Mike Monteiro, which EVERY independent contractor should see: ...
4
I can't speak for the differences between working at a larger firm vs freelance, but here are things that I typically specify:
Product Definition
What constitutes a final product?
Who will own the final product?
Assets
Do we need any assets from the client to do our work?
When must the client deliver the necessary assets?
What happens if the client ...
4
Farray and DA01 have pretty much nailed the key points. My nickel's worth (inflation, don't y'know) speaks to the freelance vs. large firm part of the question.
Larger firms tend to deal with larger clients, and should already have carefully-crafted boilerplate to cover the legalities. The sums involved and potential liabilities are often large, so the ...
4
I don't know that there a "standard." I think it's whatever some people feel they can get away with.
I use 20% here. But that 20% covers only the money out of my pocket. Time in finding, editing, and/or testing are all billable hours to me. Above and beyond the actual cost of the product.
4
Client wants to purchase only stock image from my design mockup instead of my design. How to handle?
If it's a stock photo available on the web, they'll find it eventually. Especially if they know it's merely a stock photo. If you can't resell it, then your choices are clear - give a link or tell them no.
The bigger question is how important is the client? Especially compared to the value of the stock photo? Trying to hold on to clients with an iron grip ...
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