• July 17, 2013
• Branding, Case Study, Graphic Design, Logos
• brief, capped price, design process, logo
• 7

For a long time I found it difficult to set prices for my work. I would struggle with the idea of something like a logo design having a fixed price. How could I go about designing a logo for £95, for example, when some logos would surely take longer than others? Through experience, the answer eventually came, but only after some trial and improvement. I realised that the pricing of my services was a problem, and I could approach it with the same process I had been using for design itself, which at the time was something like this:

1. Analyse the problem
2. Come up with an idea for the solution
3. Identify pitfalls of said idea
4. Panic (optional)
5. Go back to step 2

So, the first idea I had was to do this:

1. Work out roughly the maximum number of hours of work that might be involved in a project and quote a corresponding price.
2. Explain to the client that this is the maximum I could imagine the work costing, and that hopefully it would be less if we could get to the endpoint quickly.
3. Ask for 50% of the quoted price as a deposit, and explain that the remaining balance to pay once the work was completed could be anything between nothing and the full remaining 50%.

Looking back, it is clear that this was a needlessly convoluted way of doing things! The model often worked fine, but it definitely put one or two clients off. I asked myself how I would feel knowing that the amount I would have to pay for a service could be anything between say £500 and £1000, and if I had to condense the answer down to one word, it would be “uncomfortable”. So, having identified the pitfalls of my solution, I decided to come up with a better way – a way that would be better both for me and for the client, and I have been happily using the same system for years now, not just for logo designs but for a lot of my work. My new process is much easier for clients to understand, and is easier for me to manage. Here’s how it works, using a logo design as an example:

1. I will quote you £95 for a logo design, but I will inform you from the off that this only covers two initial ideas, then two rounds of development/amendments. I will explain that if you then require further development there will be an additional cost.
2. Once you have understood and agreed to that, I will take your deposit and begin the work. Often I will actually come up with more than two initial ideas, but that’s fine – I’ve committed to two, if I give you more than two you’re quite happy with that – you’re getting extra value.
3. I then show you the initial ideas, you pick your favourite and we discuss how to develop it.
4. I show you some development on your chosen logo. Again, there will always be at least two options to pick from, but I may provide several. Again, we discuss what changes are required.
5. I work the logo into a final version based on the latest feedback. Often at this stage I will have a screen sharing session with you so that you can check how the logo is looking before I then send it to you in your preferred formats.

I am not claiming to have invented this method – it turns out this is a fairly standard way of doing things, but I got there independently through an effort to find a better way. Clients are always happy with this model – they understand the responsibility they have to communicate clearly what they want, and in cases where the client does want further development they are always happy to pay extra. It’s all about having clear parameters agreed at the start. Frustration and discomfort are completely avoided from both sides – I am happy and I end up with very happy clients. In fact since adopting this system I believe I have been able to provide better value for money.

Clients are aware they need to be clear with their brief so that the design time doesn’t run over what is achievable for the agreed price, and they are reminded at the stage when they only have one more chance to give feedback and request amendments. To give you an idea what all this process looks like, here’s a recent example showing the steps I took in creating the Aria Luxury Villas logo for £95:

In this example I actually provided four initial designs, my client then picked one they liked and I developed it on from there until we reached a final design. This is what Chiara, my contact at Aria, said about the work:

Henry is a quick, creative, patient and intuitive professional. Working with him was easy, pleasant and fully satisfactory. I highly recommend him!

So, that’s how I go about designing a logo for £95. It should be noted that a ‘traditional’ logo design process would take much longer, and cost much more than this. I have created logos that cost ten times as much and involve months of research, testing and validation, but for many people that’s just not possible or necessary.