New designers (and even not-so-new) often ask "What's a good price to charge for ... ?" when faced with putting a price tag on their design services. Truth is, a good price is a moving target and it's not the same for everyone. You may have been born with an innate talent for design, an eye for design, but putting a price on that talent is something you have to learn.
"...every designer needs to develop his or her own method for pricing, and even if you do make your own rules, you probably won't be able to follow the same rule on every project. It is better to not only have your own formulas of costing but these should also be extremely flexible, highly variable and according to the project." -- Arfa Mizra
"...all designers need to work smarter in independently determining what their talent, skill and expertise are worth and charge the client accordingly - without question or apology." -- Jeff Fisher
Although you have to do it yourself, there is help. There are some general guidelines and methods that most designers use. You just need to adapt them to your own situation. So, get out your calculator. But first, read up on pricing from some different angles:
- Some Facts About Design Costing -- Arfa Mizra lists and discusses common facts associated with knowing what to charge including acknowledging that new designers generally will have to charge less for their services, at least in the beginning and that uncertainty is inevitable.
- Pricing and Estimating --Learn how to set hourly and flat (project) fees. You have to supply the specific numbers to plug into these formulas.
- How Much Do I Charge to Design a Newsletter? -- Charging for newsletter design is much like setting your rates for any other type of desktop publishing or graphic design project. You need to know what tasks are involved and how long they will take.
- How Much Should I Charge? -- Jeff Fisher answers this question with a long list of questions that you need to answer. Plus he offers resources to help you get at the answers.
- Top 5 Ways Not to Get Paid -- Even if you've tackled the pricing dilemma you need to heed this advice in order to make any money.
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