Whether you’re an experienced graphic designer or just starting out, when you decide to launch your career as a freelance designer, it’s normal to suddenly find yourself wondering how to calculate the rates you should charge for graphic design work.
The answer to this question isn’t so simple. There are many factors to consider.
For example, the skill level required for the design. There are also other factors, such as the degree of difficulty and time, that you’ll likely want to consider when submitting a quote.
Operating costs
Keep in mind that in addition to the labor and time you spend creating your design, there are input costs that are not always included.
Energy costs, internet, software, materials and test prints, sketches, client meetings, shipping costs… And, above all, the changes the client will surely request!
Try to estimate the cost of the inputs used so that you can use it as data when calculating the budget you present.
Also take into account the additional hours you will spend making changes once the work has been submitted.
Regarding the latter, a good idea is to limit the number of sessions to review changes that you will include as part of the service. Read more about this in this post.
Also learn how to set your hourly rate .
The urgency with which the client requires the work
Another aspect to analyze in a graphic design project is the time the client gives you, or in any case, the time it will take you to complete the work.
In this sense, you should know that, whether the work takes too long or is urgent, the cost will be higher than for a job with a standard delivery time.
As?
Well, if the work is urgent, you have to work faster. You’ll probably even spend hours at night to deliver the work on time.
On the other hand, if the project takes too long, the budget must be enough to cover that entire time.
Experience you have
If you’ve worked on projects similar to the one you’re being asked to do at a given time, your experience is valuable when it comes to providing suggestions or completing the job with the fewest errors, repetitions, etc. Therefore, your experience or technical knowledge weighs heavily and is worth a lot in charging a better price.
Don’t be afraid to let your client know that your graphic design skills are crucial to achieving an optimal result. Remember that clients, in addition to price, also look for trust and confidence that you’ll deliver good work.
Research and complexity of work
To get a clearer idea of the level of complexity the work will have, a briefing is necessary. This consists of a document containing a summary of the client’s needs. This is important, as the level of complexity varies greatly depending on the type of project. For example, an editorial design project typically requires more detail than an advertising project.
To determine these needs, you can do so through an interview with the client and some questions that you can send by email.
Another option is to create an online form. Google Forms and Office 365 are good options.
An example:
Let’s say you’re commissioned to write an ad for a campaign. Ask who the campaign is aimed at, who the target audience is.
You could also check their allocated budget and which media outlets they’ll be advertising in. Also, what the product or service being advertised offers, etc.
We share a couple of examples of how to create a creative brief:
Doing this will help you estimate the amount of work the project will require and help you get to know your client better.
Freelance design projects in El Salvador
Creation of options and number of revisions
You should estimate the maximum number of versions and revisions. Specify these in your work proposal as part of the service package.
One option might be to offer as few as three revisions. It all depends on the client’s project timeframe.
Once you’ve estimated the effort required for the project, you can determine how long it will take to complete.
Now that you have this information, it’s time to evaluate the project and determine costs. As part of the process, you should ask yourself how much you would charge if it were a monthly salary.
A formula to determine the base price of the project is:
(Monthly operating costs + estimated monthly salary)/160* = Cost per hour of work.
*8 hours a day x 5 days a week x 4 weeks a month.
To get an idea of how much to include as your “estimated monthly salary” in that formula, do some research on the fixed monthly salary of other designers who work in the same areas as you.
You multiply the result by the estimated hours of work required. This gives you the base price you can charge for the project.
A tip:
Avoid round numbers in your budget, as they encourage broader bargaining. For example, if you estimate a job at $7,000, chances are they’ll ask you to cut it to $6,000 when you negotiate. Therefore, it’s better to put something like $7,127.50, so the bargaining could be closer to exactly $7,000.
At SoyFreelancer.com, we’ve developed a tool to help you get an estimate of how much you should charge for graphic design services.
* Try our professional fee calculator.
Do the math. Make any adjustments you deem appropriate to ensure your rates are profitable and to maximize your profit and satisfaction.
Be part of our team of freelancers and register on the platform.
Author: Patricia Gutiérrez, content writer for Soyfreelancer.com
