Pricing Guides

[Sevenlee]

Hey guys,

Was wondering if anyone here knew of somewhere to go to check out average pricing guides (per location or whatever) on what other designers charge for standard projects. I had a link somewhere but I've since lost it.

Anyway if you know of anything, please feel free to share! Thanks!!

[Chung Dha]

I only know in Holland you can ask 75 euro per hours rate as a designer. Got a need book from dutch design organisation about it. Not sure how much it would be for other countries.

[Sevenlee]

Thanks Chung Dha, for the feedback. I'm hoping to find maybe a resource with estimated flat rates to do your own estimate of hours. (Did that make sense? I got the music loud here so my mind is elsewhere) lol

For example: DvD cover design is yada yada.

I only know in Holland you can ask 75 euro per hours rate as a designer. Got a need book from dutch design organisation about it. Not sure how much it would be for other countries.

[TommyGun96]

Never heard of a pricing guide ... but now I feel interested!
If someone finds one ... let us know.

[JonnyHoy]

I never used hourly price structure before, but that's because I've always been freelance and didn't require the stability and security of an hourly fee.

Why don't you get a few quotes off some of the companies in the country/area in question and compare?

[baiskee]

Interesting!

yep, let us know.

[Chung Dha]

Hour rates are mostly if you are working in a design company under a boss.

Freelance often got a single price per kind of designs. However you should find if your country got a design organisation that could help you with that.

Cause here I could ask a price guide but mostly for my country.

You could look around for different designers who have a website with prices on them.

But I would doubt the companies or designers who sell the logo's for very low prices like 50 dollar. They should be worth much more than that though.

[shajib_gm]

idea of pricing guide is really interesting. i think it's really hard if you try to pay a designer on some hourly rate.cause, stress and effort varies from project to project. pricing should be based on every individual project.

[egyweza]

yeah , it's a great idea

[bschall23]

Pricing guides are a great idea but I don't think it'll ever happen. To many poor designers would try to take to much money from clients. You really just have to decide how much you're worth and go from there.

[baiskee]

From HOW Magazine... We can use this as our guide.

Designers' Hourly Rates

HOW's April 2008 issue featured a Business column on hourly rates for designers. The information was gathered by an online survey conducted in October 2007 that drew 996 responses. Here's what we learned:

Where do you work?

46% Solo design practice or full-time freelance business
17% Graphic design firm
31% In-house design department

If you work in an in-house group, does your group charge the company back for your time?

77% No
23% Yes

What is your hourly rate (blended average, for solo practitioners)?

Average Low High
Northeast $74 $37.50 $150
Midwest $65 $25 $110
West $67 $20 $150
South $68 $25 $350


What kind of hourly rate do you use?

61% Blended (a single, averaged rate for all billable functions)
32% Different rates per task (such as proofreading, design, strategy)
2% Different rates per seniority level (creative directors charge more than junior designers)
6% Other

How did you determine your hourly rate?

28% Based on a formula including overhead, salaries and other financial factors
46% Based on common rates for design in my area
37% Based on a best guess or gut feeling
13% Other

Do you share your hourly rate with clients?

82% Yes
18% No

Do you use a time-tracking system?

44% Yes
56% No

Do you have a "Pain in the A@@" upcharge?

40% Yes
60% No

Do you have a rush fee?

40% Yes
60% No

What are designers saying about their rates?

"I usually give an all inclusive estimate based on this rate, but will specify that anything beyond the scope of the estimate will be billed per hour."—Northeast

"I find clients prefer to get a quote for a job in its entirety. A per-hour fee makes them nervous, as they don’t know how many hours I will rack up. Quoting a project based on a good faith estimate of what it takes me to to the work assures I get paid fairly for my efforts. Working effectively and completing tasks in less time than I estimate is the equivalent of extra profit. This does not require a change to the original agreed upon fee, or the terms of delivery, and still allows me to meet the expectations of the client. Over the course of a year it also helps compensate for the projects which, take me longer than I expect."—West

"For the most part people freak out when they hear an hourly rate. But are fine when you tell them a project will cost $X. Costs the same either way, but it focuses them on the big picture of pricing rather than the details."—Midwest

"I don’t charge hourly rates, because it hurts the graphic design business as a whole. I charge based on the task itself, and the value of the task, based on a multitude of factors, such as how and where it will be used, and what type of licensing I am contracting to the client. Hourly charges make clients relate graphic design work to other jobs, and doesn’t include the artistic talent that is not hard-priced."—South

[monospaced]

Check out this book…it's the industry standard on the issue:

Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical guidelines.

This book will inform ANY visual artist (from web and print to illustration and fine art) on how to conduct business with any size client. Surprisingly I learned that the price of a project is directly related to how much money the client is making. I can redesign some packaging for a startup beauty product for $500 since they aren't making money yet, whereas a bigger software company can ask me to redesign their packaging and I can charge them $5,000–$10,000 since they expect to sell many copies of an expensive product.

The best advice I've learned about pricing your work is to never undervalue yourself and to write contracts on the larger projects. It can prevent a lot of issues.

monospaced

[Sevenlee]

sweet, thanks alot guys. I know there really is no standard (depending on location, name, etc.) but will check this out I think this is what I was looking for.