hey guys and gals... not sure if i picked the correct forum choice (requests only) so if i have can a mod please move it to the correct place.

my question is i just landed a big design job... and im not sure how to charge him for my services. most of the jobs i've done before i've charged by the hour @ a rate of 10 to 14 bucks. the others have been per design on what i feel i should get for my time spent... is there an hourly rate that some one can suggest to me for the following tasks.

most images were provided in jpeg, tiff and a few in psd formats.

one hour consult time

i didn't charge an up front fee as i know him through his girlfriend which is a good friend of mine

tasks are as followed:

1. stationary basic letter head on 8 1/2 x 11 standard paper. client wants provide logo w/ buss info in a header/ side bar layout. i spent 2 1/2 hrs creating three different layouts per his requests.

2. he wants me to change/update a created movie poster which was done by someone other than me... and add the updated movie title and then colorize the poster that was in black and white. psd was provided some layers were not updated on text.... so far i have spent 4 hours on this project.

3. take the updated poster and convert it to a buss card (image on front) info on back. ( have not started this yet but im sure it will only take minutes to do)

4. client request a layout only w/ info in a border and will later provide me w/ pictures.

so any help suggestions would be great... as im used to sitting down w/ the person and popping out a fast design to their liking but have only 5 large projects similar to this and not sure what i should charge.

thanx
-matt-

Nice job you landed here, Matt.

Personally I would charge per hour for the poster etc. and a set price for the stationary.

thanks anna for responding... i was thinking the same but am unsure as its a multi task job. and if so what would be a ball park price for this job? i don't know as i only do this stuff out side of my regular job. any one else have ideas/ rates etc?
-m-

You might as well work in India....

1. $150...at $50 an hour.
2. $200...at $50 an hour.
3. $65 bucks
4. unsure

But, like ReinMan...I have YET to have my coffee...so I'll check back a little later.

I have NOT (as DP prophesied) have my coffee yet but I will attempt to assist here, Matt.

DP pricing seems good. I'd go with that. At the top of my game in graphic design I was pulling in around $80 per hour. So $55~$65 is a good middle ground.

I don't like flat rates too much, but clients love flat rates as they know what they are gonna get billed BEFORE you do the work. Don't blame them.

So, I always worked based on my hourly rate... but a lot of the time it was transparent to the client. In other words, I'd make sure I had a very good and clear talk with them at the beginning and really figure out what they want. Then I'd go away and estimate the time (this gets easier as you do more work) it will take, I'd add 10 ~15% on top of that for "surprises", and then figure out a "flat" rate based on that. Then it was up to me to keep things ON BUDGET.

The last few years of my graphics career I could pretty much nail anything from a $200 project to a $3600 gig and not need to "adjust" costs at the end. This was from knowing my own abilities well, and understanding how to read a client accurately. (fussy clients take more time and you need to compensate yourself for their fussiness! )

Again, I'll stress (and you may have done this already by the sounds of it) how important it is to know EXACTLY what the client expects of you. Equally important is your own Self-Knowledge of how fast you work and how well you know your stuff. That, coupled with a good hourly rate (you'll need to find out what the locals are charging to make sure you are competitive) means quoting becomes a breeze and no one works in a crappy resentful nasty energy of despair and gloom!

*edit* And also, as I was overlapping my graphic design with digital image design and photography, I had two rates going. My $75~80 rate for graphics, and at the time around $150 /hr for photography and creative chopping work. I actually had two columns in my invoices / quotes at two different rates. Some cities/towns won't support this double standard, but Vancouver area does. Now, since I've hung up my "graphic designer" hat I'm based in around $225~$250 an hour for my photo art work projects.
My point here is - different work has different value in different towns... but I'd say watch out for TOO LOW rates for "GRAPHIC" work when, in a PHOTOSHOP / DIGITAL IMAGE situation, you may be worth a good chunk more as far as your talent goes. Lots of people know how to put words on pictures out there - not so many know how to CHANGE the PICTURES and do it well. That is a different skill set!

Yeah.

What he said.



And I have had my coffee and was just about to respond again...but thanks to The Power Of Reinman...looks like I don't have to!

thank you very much DP and Reindude... this was exactly the info i was looking for and was very helpful... i will take that into consideration when time comes also if anyone else would like to add more please feel free in doing so once again thanks
-matt-

Matt - you also mentioned (in our PM exchange) about it being a friend of a friend and your concerns/thoughts regarding "Friend Discounts". I'll give my answer here in case it is of value to anyone else around here (if they all stop drinking long enough to read this thread )

I give discount regularly. People LOVE discounts. I even raise my quote 15% so I can give someone a 15% discount. This is NOT strange or evil behavior, btw. This is how most of the world works... actually MOST people raise the quote 15% to give a 10% discount.

Most artists/creatives will tend to SELL THEMSELVES SHORT. Not all, but most. And many clients naturally help this issue by saying things like "oh! you charge THAT much for just doing that?". Tough poopies! YOU need to decide on your worth and the competition around you and YOU have to stick to your guns, otherwise you'll have SOME cash at the end of it, but you'll have a subtle shitty feeling around the value of your creativity.

Yet (back to my opening point) people LOVE discounts. SO.... I always put in my FULL PRICE on my invoices. I list my rate clear as a bell. And then I list the discount with THE REASON I'M GIVING IT. (sometimes it's as simple as "20% discount for quick payment" or "15% Friend-of-family discount" or "ONE TIME ONLY 16.4% discount if balance paid within 21 days". That kinda thing)

The point being, NEVER EVER HIDE YOUR DISCOUNT. Even if you verbally give a discount, but the time they are paying the final bill they will has assimilated your FINAL PRICE as your "normal" price. Not good.

Never be embarrased to ask what you feel you are worth. Never be adverse to figuring out a workable discount for someone.
Always keep everything clear and listed in the paper work.

Never give a discount for sexual favours.



(how the HELL did THAT one get in here! Must have come from DigitalPharoah's notes! )

thanks that makes sense... another question would be we talked earlier about finding out competitive rates... how or what would be the best way to determine this?

Hey, now...THAT one comes in quite handy with some clients.

Some good advice...

thanks doug for the advice... simple but true all in a gif form this is exactly why i posted the thread... for you guys... the ones i trust and admire to help a dude like me... get through shit i'm not sure how to do... so thanks

FANTASTIC! And oh so, so true!!!!!

lololol