The Graphic Designers Guide to Pricing, Estimating & Budgeting – Book Giveaway **updated with winners**
This comprehensive guide to graphic design is packed with useful, creative methods for creating a profitable graphic design business. Veteran designer Theo Stephen Williams covers all of the details, from setting rates and dealing with competitors’ pricing to establishing and managing budgets and positioning the brand of the firm. This third edition has also been updated to include additional material on time management, expanded coverage of Web and multimedia pricing, and numerous new interviews with leading designers.
Readers will discover how to:
- Prepare estimates
- Negotiate with clients
- draft proposals
- determine an hourly rate
- use different pricing methods
- choose financial management software
- establish a productive work environment
The Graphic Designer’s Guide to Pricing, Estimating, and Budgeting features clearly written advice and first-hand experiences that will be indispensable to both professional and aspiring designers.
Comprehensive and comprehensible! Recent graudates, freelance designers, those about to go “on their own,” and veteran designers who have never truly understood how to put a value on their work will benefit from this excellent book. Personal business anecdotes give life to information that often causes the eyes of “creatives” to glaze over. This could be the most valuable book in your design library.
-Fred Niles, Chair of the department of Visual Arts, University of Dayton
Straightforward, sprinkled with just the right amount of humour, and packed full of clear, useable information, Theo Williams’ pearls of wisdom belong in every graphic designer’s bookcase, right next to Graphic Art Guild Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines. This is a gold mine of information from the frontlines and behind the scenes of the graphic design industry.
-Linda Souders, Souders Engst Design
How to win:
Tell us the reason you think you deserve a copy. We love real answers. “I really need this book to further my design career by helping me price my work”. Something like that is always a winner over “OMFG I NEED THIS BOOK NAOWZ”.
When do I know?
Winners will be chosen next Monday (September 14th 2010)
Published by Allworth Press
Winners
Let me preface this by saying I read every comment and I was overwhelmed by the response, sincerity of the replies and the passion everyone has to succeed. I tried to determine how to pick a winner after reading through all the comments. I let a completely random number generator pick between 1-180. I came out with 4 winners for the 4 books. If the winners would email me their address at chad(at)fuelyourcreativity.com I can have them shipped to you! Thank you all for leaving heartfelt, compassionate comments. I was truly humbled.
1. Amanda Farough – VioletMinded.com
2. Corey – BullmanDesign.com
3. Marquis M.
4. Jason Gross – JasonGross.com
Chad Engle is currently slaying pixels @BoomtownROI. He abides in coastal Charleston, SC and enjoys living on an island. You should follow, harass or chat to him on twitter @chadengle and @fuelcreativity .
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The lack of knowledge of this topic is the only thing keeping me from per-suing my career. Please help! I have the passion and the drive, all I need is a little push in the right direction when it comes to pricing.
I am a freshman in college trying to major in Computer Science and also in Web Design. More and more I find myself trying to pull up that obscure reference I found somewhere online, or bookmarked. As someone who really benefits from having a tangible item in front of me, I think this book would be an invaluable addition to my tiny arsenal of reference books. Know that if I win, I would place it in the RRSS of my desk (really really special section) for future use. Thanks!
I would love to learn how to appropriately price myself, as a recent graduate I haven’t been able to find a design job yet and I usually charge an hourly rate but I feel like sometimes I’m not being fair to myself, but on the flip side of that sometimes I feel like I’m not being fair to my client. Also since I’m living by myself for the first time in 21 years I also need to figure out how to better budget my money and manage my freelance career. Thanks!
I’ve been taking some design classes and I’d really love to do some freelance work, but I have no idea about the business end of things. This book would be a real help to me!
I have started to dip my toes into the freelance world for the past four months now, and like many have mentioned, still have no idea what I should be charging.
When it comes to the business aspect of freelancing I am at some what of a loss…ok ok a total loss. I’ve poured over tutorials from every which way to help me out, and I still feel I need some major guidance.
This book could be just the answer I have been looking for. The sooner I get help the better, as I definitely plan on opening my own design studio some day. :)
This book would be a great tool for me to improve my estimating skills, for that is the 1st step to win a freelance project which I greatly need because we’re expecting another baby in the family. I need all the help I can get.
Good luck to us all and God Bless.
I just started my freelance career 1 week ago. I do not have any idea on how to pricing, estimating or budgeting for my first project. in fact i think my first proyect must be knowing how to do that.
I have asked many people about what rules i must follow but everyone has his tricks and really it’s a mess to pick the basic ideas from different people.
So if this book is as good as you say i would like to have one, and follow a coherent path.
Just that simple, no big deal ( i do not try you to feel sorry ) just want to know how to start : it will really help me.
After two years of unemployment I decided that both I and my family have had enough. I’ve been for job after job after job, being turned down everytime and not getting anywhere that I’d almost given up. More recently several friends and family have been encouraging to take my talents and work for myself. With a recent financial gifting from a family member I’ve decided to take the plunge and delve into designing for myself and… well this all scares the hell out of me. Any support I can source is embraced with the deepest of gratitude!
I’d like to get this book to help advance my freelancing career. Learning to set appropriate values to my work builds my credibility and maintains the integrity of the entire design community. I’ve found plenty of resources that stress the importance of placing value on design work, but I’ve yet to find an authoritative source to explain how.
If I’m not chosen for the free copy, I’m headed to the bookstore.
I am a fresh out of graphic design school trying to make it to the top one step at a time to become an experienced creative director. Every day, I wake up with the dream of starting my own business and building a strong freelance career in event design and management. This book would serve as an inspiration to me in my career and teach me the business side of design. I am a strong believer that “DESIGN CAN SAVE THE WORLD” and every young individual is one more opportunity to make a difference!
I just recently posted a poll on my blog asking how much other designers charge in their field of work. Of course it’s always hard to get accurate responses because design covers so many different territories and it also depends on the industry you are working for, the area you are in, etc. I often feel like I’m under pricing myself, and the topic of money is always hard to talk to about even with other like minded people.
This book would be a GREAT help because it would help me to figure out that “magic number” for myself a little easier. I constantly struggle with asking for money, and would love a guide that was more accurate in giving quotes. I bought a book similar to this a few years back, and it seemed like those prices were more for a different audience. Perhaps this will help me to feel more confident when giving a price, and being able to back it up and not feel bad that I can only buy a candy bar at the end of a project!
I’ve been working over the past couple weeks to start my own business, Ubiquitous Designs, which combines all small business communications into one firm. I’m hoping to help small business owners in my town and surrounding area to compete against the bigger businesses with a fraction of the advertising budget through new media outlets, online media and solid branding that people can come to recognize in town over the larger competition. One of the biggest challenges has been pricing. How can I charge enough to make a living, but still help those small business owners to succeed? I don’t want to charge too much, but I also want to make sure that those business owners know they are getting a premium service that in the end will help them grow and prosper. I’ve got my first couple business owners that I’m working with, so whether I get the book or not, please wish me, and them, luck!
This book will help ensure that I don’t constantly overwork and get underpaid. In other words, be more confident in the value of design!
I always feel, I’m pricing wrong. I have troubles creating perfect estimates/invoices, etc.
I’m sure this book would help me a ton to progress with my freelancing career!
One thing many young designers, especially from India, do not know is, how and what to ask for the services and designs they provide to their clients because of two major reasons. one, that they are new two the profession and do not know the nitty-gritty’s of it. and other that they do not know what their work is worth of. So in such case a book like this can surely help in clearing these two doubts.
I’d love to get this book. Books is what got me here, because I’m a self taught designer. I’ve been doing this for several years, but this is because I’m just in the early 20s. Pricing really is my greatest weakness, since I only worked with clients, never for a studio, and being self taught makes it so hard to evaluate one’s value. I always set low rates, probably because I’m not very daring and because I never want to miss a chance of drawing something. That’s why I’d love a copy of this….
No doubt this will help improve my business productivity. As a designer, the creativity is fun and my specialty. To improve and learn more on the business side, this book will help me become more efficient. Good luck to all with their quotes and pricing!
I am the CEO of a Mexican startup specialized on videogame development. Some of the services we provide are outsourcing of art assets and creation of advergames. South of the border, very good professional tutoring is available in technicalities of graphical design and art, but the creation of business models around them is not well documented. This book will help the company create a sound business plan with professional intake in one of the most important factors: Pricing. Currently we work on experience gathered from several other industries, but the opportunity to professionalize our work must never get left behind.
follow me @mike_alebrije
I’m recently put back into the world on my own, and am growing seasoned gray hairs searching for what to value my pricing structure at. In addition, what to charge 501c3 non-profits that are inquiring.
I am the CEO of a Mexican startup specialized on videogame development. Some of the services we provide are outsourcing of art assets and creation of advergames. South of the border, very good professional tutoring is available in technicalities of graphical design and art, but the creation of business models around them is not well documented. This book will help the company create a sound business plan with professional intake in one of the most important factors: Pricing. Currently we work on experience gathered from several other industries, but the opportunity to professionalize our work must never get left behind.
Follow me @mike_alebrije
I’m currently a student , studying Graphic design and from time to time I do work for friends, or friends of friends and I never knew how much money to ask, or for how long it’s ok to do the project and it seems there is no one to ask about it, because in Bulgaria is not very popular to work as freelancer and no one really knows how is everything happening.
I’d really make a good use of the book and It’ll be very helpful.
I’ve been a freelancer for a long time already, and I never had any problems learning new applications, developing, designing, brainstorming or anything related to creativity/practical problems. When it comes to estimates, and pretty much everything related to payments for my work, I feel like it is the first time I am doing it. As much as I worked and still work, I always find it difficult to give the client a “satisfying” estimate, or a final price for the work that will make us both happy, and maintain a fruitful relation with that specific client.
In any case, those things are not carved in stone, but I would definitely look forward to advice from other professionals that managed to find easy or easier ways when it comes to payments.
I’m trying to break into the freelance gig, and my biggest obstacle so far has been a lack of know-how about pricing.
This book would be a perfect addition to my growing library of books for creatives. I know the information in the book will help me and my colleagues review our current pricing guides, and open the opportunity to revamp our current methods of pricing.
Keeping the book available in our library will also help our clients understand what is involved in costs and fees charged by designers.
I would like to get this book in order to make a new chapter in my professional career.
Hope this will help me achieve an easy balance between creativity and professionalism.
I’m a renegade artist with an imagination that reaches the milky way and I’d love to harness the power of this god-given creativity into visual form – and learn how to market my stuff in the real world. The thing is that I don’t have the time to go back to another two or four years of study specializing on graphic arts and I’m mostly a scavenger on the Web, having learned what I do right now through intensive self study and research. That book will be my new BFF ( best friends forever )… other than Google. It will be a privilege to own a copy :-)
i dropped out of art school. twice.
however, i still love design and practice and follow religiously. however, being of one closer to the artistic side and less business side, I rely on books to help me figure out the evasive strategy for actually living off my craft.
i hope this book will help me develop that business aspect of graphic design.
Been looking all over for something like this… could seriously use this yesterday :) Have no idea how to charge, what’s a fair price in hard economic times, etc. Friends vs. referrals or “strangers” prices, etc. Please help!
I am a server side programmer but looking forward to learn estimation techniques from designer point of view. This books seems to be a good resource for this topic.
I’ve been a working freelancer for over 2 years now and my pricing system is built around smaller independent businesses. I can estimate and invoice well on those levels. However, a UX/Developer and I decided to join forces and go after bigger fish. More regional and larger clients (local banks, small corporations, larger companies in general) and we were looking for some assistance in adjusting our current pricing and systems for larger clients. I was researching this book the other day and it seemed like a valuable tool to add to my collection of great design books.
I was just thrust from a long-term Design gig into the Freelance world because the company I worked for went out of business. So now I’m stuck treading water on my own. Unfortunately I am in Canada and this book is probably based on the US market, but it would still give me an idea of which direction to go in.
I am a graphic designer (I work for a company) but I am currently in school getting my degree. I would like to win this book so I can finally get some freelance work to help pay for my school costs! Plus I am a nerd and just love to read any and all books related to graphic design.
I need this book because I’m just starting out in my freelance design career, and I’m a self-taught designer – having a book like this to lay out the accounting-oriented tasks (aka the ones I’m not so good at) would be so helpful! Thanks for the chance to win!
My wicked cool business has come to a point where the pricing is not matching the services but I don’t want to lose customers with a price hike. I want to remain competitive and fair to the customer and myself and I don’t know what to do. Also, with the addition of employees it has become apparent that this price hike will have to be fair for their pay as well mine so I need some way of determining a pay range for our different design packages. This would help my business grow and in the right direction.
I have been Art Directing an International Magazine for a while, but also do quite a bit of freelance work, I would like to check with my neighbors to the south, and see that our rates are similar, and make sure, for my clients and myself that everyone is getting a fair deal.
I do alot of work for a very low price to make sure that work keeps flowing my way, and i have extra spending money, but i want to make sure that im not giving my 10 years of design skill out for something a Jr. would be getting, or ill have to farm out the work to jr.s and take a cut.
word.
HELP! I’ve been bitten by the recession and just lost my job as a marketing director. I want to be sure from here on out no one can just waltz into my office on a Friday and derail my life so I am setting up shop….I have been attached to my laptop writing my business plan. registering myself and getting website together….I’m very nearly ready in terms of branding but by golly….I need some mentorship…what to charge is the ultimate question! Pretty pretty please help me…..I’m scared….exhilarated…motivated…nervous….well you get the picture!
It has been a few months since I’ve really sat down and been designing but I got started again full force about a month ago after moving. I’ve been making t-shirt designs, banners, web templates, etc. I’ve recently been contacted by a number of different people asking if I can help them with a website, logo, or design of some sort. I’ve even been contacted about starting to do commissions for some of my shirt designs.
The problem is I have never actually really sold my work out like this. Sure I’ve done things for friends and people I know but I have no idea where to start my pricing for these things. Do I charge per hour? If I do how much is reasonable and how will I prove these hours? If I charge a flat fee how much is too much? I don’t want to lower the value of my work because I’m too afraid to charge the correct price. The only problem is I don’t know what the correct price is.
I am at the perfect stage right now to really launch off my career and start getting some great work under my portfolio. The only problem is, I need to make sure I can pay for school and bills still.
I will without a doubt put this book to its fullest use. Hope you consider me!
I could really use some help with pricing and negotiating. I think it’s about time to make the break from corporate america.
We are about to open a small design studio with my friend and one copy of this awesome book would be extremely helpful for us. This would be like a compass for us so we could find the right direction in preparing estimates, dealing with clients and so on.
Please give us this compass :)
When you get phone calls from clients at 11 pm and you feel underpaid at 3 am, you know something is not going exactly how you planed it. This book might just be the perfect help to turn me into a charming Don Drapper with the key to a successful freelance career. Clients, here I come…
I really need this book. I graduate next May with an Associates Degree in Visual Communications with concentration of Graphic Design.
Last semester, I attended Business Practices for Visual Artists. Although, it did help my confidence a little bit. I still feel like I am lost at how to price my work. I don’t want to hurt my future business or other designers’ businesses in my area. This book would really help me further my career choices and pricing to feel worthy of the amounts that I quote to clients.
Hi, I am a freelance designer as well as a graphic design lecturer in a college in Indonesia. In my everyday work, I surely need high quality books and this one seems like the perfect choice to have. I imagine how easy my work process will become with this book, especially things related to pricing and negotiating with clients and I will absolutely pass on this news about how important this book to my students and my peers.
Thanks.
Can anyone tell me how can i price my client? I’ve tried many methods and asking for opinions in public network forums and etc. but i’m still struggling the know how – in organized details. Anyone please? My clients needs that as much as i do as well!
As a teacher in public school. Its hard to motivate students. The one thing that motivates the masses is cash, green, dinero… I’ve found that if you give students a skill, teach them how to use that skill in the proper context and then set them loose to create for the masses they will. They will even do it better than me, I’ve been doing it for 15 years. However, when it comes to teaching the business side of design few can stay focused enough and then even fewer remember what I’ve said. It’s not about me, its about the next generation of designers.
I always find myself stuck in the pricing samsara. I could really use a guide toward the graphic designer financial management nirvana!
In 11 days, I will be moving to England to study for my bachelor in Graphic Design. I’ve been doing some freelance-work the last couple of years, and I’ve always been clueless about the price I should give my client, so I’ve ended up doing things for free. Which isn’t really good for a 18 year old student. I really need some information, so I can prepare for my dream carreer.
- Guro from Norway.
I am a small time web designer and developer from india.. i am very new here (professionally)
and i think this book will help me to serve my clients and myself better, which will also makes me straight forward, i dont think there will be a better resource than this especially for a freelancer like me!!! thank you
I recently left my steady but ultimately-going-nowhere job at a big company to start my own graphic and web design business. I know what you’re saying. “Are you crazy? With the economy the way it is.” I know, I know. But nothing worth having ever comes easy and the time was right to strike out on my own. While I feel I have an excellant handle on the design side of things, the business side could use some refinement. This book would be put to use immediately, helping me navigate through the often murky waters of the design world. Cheers!
as a freelancer, it’s nice to have a guide to consult. dealing with the business end of things can quickly become frustrating if you lack the necessary knowledge. when you know better, you do better :)
There are several reasons. Starting from most obvious – “because I can get it for free”, through regular one – “I’m dealing with this stuff everyday”, finishing on more sophisticated ones – “if someone is so clever to give away his work, one has very much to say and I want to hear it” :)