Why Is Freelance Graphic Design So Expensive?

I am breaking down exactly what goes into a good design process & why that expense is something absolutely worthwhile when it comes to the success of your business.

As my past experience I have seen clients telling me that your charges are too high, and some guy/company is giving me the same service for half to half of your design rates, when I send them a design quotation. Some clients and people believe graphic design is just “Slapping text and image together” in order to make any print material or online graphics like flyer, poster, banner or even websites.

People think it’s just to set in front of the screen, open Adobe Photoshop/Adobe Illustrator and drag an image put some text and magic happen and work is done, so also believe that graphic design is not a real job! As a designer, I will say that it’s not just sitting in front of the screen but its blend of research, hard work, and creativity with lots of time spent. Freelancer designers are usually a one-man show, who look for new clients and act not only as a creative as own secretary, salesperson, research assistant, accountant and customer service representative. And that’s what I do, and it’s included my charges.

The price of each designer charge per hour also varies according to their skill level, education and professional experience. A freelance graphic designer will, therefore, estimate how many hours your project will take them to complete, including usually a few revisions and consultations, and will multiply it by their hourly rate.

Good design takes time, always.

Here is a designer secret, we cannot design something, without spending hours, days, months designing things that don’t work. There is no magic wand for us designers to know what will or won’t work to solve a problem. Instead we’re masters of something called iteration.

We are constantly making changes, and little by little, and big bit by big bit, making adjustments to get something right. It’s not a mechanical, straight forward process. Instead it’s an exploration of ideas, constantly evolving, and stepping back and seeing where we’re at. There is no way around that, it just takes time. There’s no shortcut to good design.

As a service based business, my prices have to take into account how much money I need to live off of each month. Income Tax , Business Fees , Rents, Bills, Retirement Savings…Etc. Basically, I have the almost the same types monthly expenses as most of you out there.

Business Fees – This sounds a bit fancier than it is, but basically there are expenses I have each month that allow me to do my job. A big one is my Adobe Creative Cloud subscription, which gives me access to all of my design software. I’ve also got website hosting, my email account, any hardware that breaks or needs fixing like my computer, and other physical materials I use in my process like pens, paper, ect. When you work in an office printer paper just exists there, when you run your own business, you come to realise how much those little costs add up.

Rent & Bills – The largest sum from each fee needs to go go to pay my rent and bills, so I can live! That’s pretty self explanatory, I need to eat, I need to travel & I need meet clients.

There is no escaping it, you are surrounded by design everyday. From physical design like bus stops to the flyer you get handed when you walk into an event, design is everywhere. On the surface, design looks like taking information and making it looks pretty. But at the heart of design is problem solving. The first question I ask a client who comes to me is ‘what do you hope to get out of this?’ ‘What problem will this solve for you?’ This question sometimes trips people up, but it’s so important.

Whether a designer is self taught or went to design school, we spend our time studying the art of communication, and we’re constantly keeping up with the changes in our field.

Just as you are an expert at what you do, so are we. This has to affect price. A first year designer is going to charge a different amount to a 10 year designer, because the value they are bringing to you through their knowledge and skill is immensely more. Because with each project, a designer grows their skillset, hones their craft and then they bring that to the next project.

Not to mention, to continue growing we’re paying for conference fees, workshop fees, class fees, ect. We’ve got to keep growing our skills, so we can keep serving people better.

An good design packs a powerful punch of creativity that has been perfected and refined through a continuous improvement process. I think about all the ways that you would benefit with this design, how to keep it consistent with you branding, future designs etc. There is lots of trials & error before you even receive the 1st draft. For those clients that has worked with me, they know that sometimes before they reply to the 1st draft, they get another email from me about 1st Draft Version 1.1.. The brain never stops.

Design works because it’s got reasons. Otherwise it’d be art. Nothing wrong with art for art’s sake, but adding a little reason and strategy to the mix is why people pay for the work I do. Every font, pixel, size, and color are all based on things like the golden ratio, grid systems, color theory, layout principles, and even marketing strategies. Those don’t come in a single font or template you buy.

When someone invests in a logo, they are investing in a symbol that is going to be used to identify and promote their business across all mediums, for years to come. That is huge, that one logo is going to go EVERYWHERE. It’s going to be a beacon, calling people in, helping them to recognise your business. That is a highly valuable thing to invest in.

**Disclaimer: Instead of writing my own articles, I would be sourcing out articles or explanations from worldwide experts that best explains the particular concept.

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