Comment: Double-Duty Designers Cost Less
In response to my article on adding Web design to your desktop publishing resume, Kathleen writes (***emphasis mine***):
I am a print designer but have done web design as well. I can tell you from the job boards that I’ve seen over the past couple of years, that companies are wanting BOTH print and web–***it’s certainly cheaper to pay one person instead of two***. And, from a branding/marketing standpoint, it makes it easier to keep the continuity amongst all the pieces of a company’s identity.
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Is it really cheaper to pay one person instead of two? If both the print designer and the Web designer charged the same rates there could still be an advantage to working with just one person because there would most certainly be overlap of time/brainstorming/design of common elements that would apply to both the print and Web projects. If the client was hiring just the single designer who then contracted out part of the work, there would likely be a markup that's passed along to the client.
However, if you're doing the work of two people you should be getting paid accordingly, right? If, in your area, the rates for Web design are generally more (or less) than for print work you're possibly shortchanging yourself if you don't adjust your rates to reflect those differences. The client may still be getting a bargain by hiring a double-duty designer. On the flip side, if each portion of the project required a great deal of specialized expertise is the client the one being shortchanged by working with a "jack-of-all-trades" designer?
Just some random thoughts on the subject. Add your own comments. Do you charge differently depending on the type of service you're offering? Do you market yourself as being a more cost-effective alternative to hiring separate print and Web designers? If you do strictly one or the other, what do you tell clients about why hiring you for just the print or Web work works to their advantage.
Comments
How many times in a week do you see badly designed print work?
How many times a day do you see badly designed web pages?
Too many companies don’t consider the value of a trained designer for their web pages. They would never let Joe Smith in the packing department (who does watercolours at the week end) do their print design. They would however (and often do) let him loose on their web page because he has ‘Vista’and went to a four hour training seminar.
Most companies do appreciate the importance of using a trained professional designer and as that professional it is our role to educate them as to the importance of design in all aspects of the visual world. Offering a ‘Double Duty Designer’ as Jacci puts it should really be a professional obligation.
I work in a prepress department for a small printshop and am currently in the process of completely rewriting our own website. Each week about half of the files we receive are simply not designed. Many project are obviously created by individuals who have not had the benefit of any design instruction. On the same token, many of the websites I visit are virtually illegible because of poor design choices.
The technical aspects of both print design and web design are neither the same nor equal. What will work for one will rarely work for the other. Few people are fully versed in both formats and many designers lack the technical knowledge that can create unexpected, and often expensive, mistakes. Regardless of the format, if you are looking for good design on a budget, it is also essential to make sure the designer is technically competent.