The term 'freelancer' must not be taken literally. We do not work for 'free'.
We have bills and mortgages to pay, as well as having self respect and respect for others in this industry.
By offering services for free you are damaging the same industry in which you aspire to work in, as well as seriously pissing people off on this forum.
Freelancing is a profession, NOT a charity or a hobby.
If you want to work for nothing, please advertise your 'services' in the window of your local newsagent or in public phone boxes, next to the prostitute calling cards. After all, you are basically 'whoring' your talents and screwing over the industry.
Luckily I haven't had anything like Kiwi so I feel for you on that one.
This is one of the reasons why I'm a little tentative about working directly for companies and why I stick to institutions and other design agencies.
In the future you should certainly invoice at certain stages of the job (i.e. once the creative has been agreed etc). At least it will limit your losses. I know this may not help in this instance but it's a harsh lesson learnt.
The very best of luck getting your money though. Let us know how you got on.
Don't offer to do work for free. It damages the industry that you're hoping to eventually work in and also devalues your own worth.
Also, coming onto a forum for FREELANCERS WHO HAVE BILLS AND MORTGAGES TO PAY tends to rub them up the wrong way.
Try charging £10 per hour minimum. Otherwise you might as well get a paper-round. Sorry if I come across a tad harsh but you'll understand if and when you get a job in this industry or go freelance yourself.
Duncan
P.S. You'll also find that clients who pay next to nothing are the biggest cowboys going and should be avoided like the plague.
InDesign has been light years ahead of Quark for some time now. Quark have been continually shooting themselves in the foot by offering underwhelming upgrades - and the fact that you can pay a few hundred pounds extra and get superior print software PLUS Photoshop, Illustrator and Acrobat is an absolute no-brainer.
I class a 'day' as 7.5 hours which is based on years of full-time employment an having 'official' working hours between 9am to 5.30pm with an hour for lunch.
Of course I usually ended up working a lot longer than 7.5 hours a day as most people do. At least now I get paid for all my extra time. One of the true joys of being a freelancer!
I know designers who have degrees in graphic design and they are very average at best. I also know a few creative directors (one of whom is working at one of the world's largest advertising agencies) who didn't even go to college.
Experience will always count more than a certificate or letters after your name. College or University is a completely idealistic and unrealistic environment where you are given free reign to design whatever you like. Unfortunately, in the real world, most clients won't want to have a CMYK, plus 3 spot colour job, with fancy die cutting etc.
You either have a sensitivity towards graphic design or you don't.
Put it this way - The Kooks studied at a music college on how to become a successful indie band. Paul McCartney couldn't even read music…
I agree with Flair, get them to sign a contract and/or tell them that what they are asking for is paid design work.
Requesting a small fee up front is a good idea too and make sure all correspondence has copyright credit to yourself (you could even lay a watermark over each logo idea which will make it very difficult and pointless to remove).
Also, if you are creating logos from Illustrator and sending the ideas in pdf format, make sure the images are raster and NOT vector, otherwise it is very easy to resave back as an eps file. Putting a password lock on the pdf also helps.
With all due respect, your printer sounds like they have no clue what they're doing. Unless I've been sending out incorrect artwork for the past nine years 300-350dpi is the highest resolution you will EVER need for litho.
If your printer is 100% certain that they require files supplied at 1000dpi then ask them to supply you with the relevant Distiller settings. Failing that, go to a printer who knows what they are doing!
"... I'd rather be a busy fool." A dangerous rut to get into. In my experience people (and agencies) who charge so little only do themselves harm. you're not running a charity don't forget! You're dealing with businesses here and you have to treat yourself and your design skills as a business too!
I think you'll find it a lot more satisfying knowing that you're getting paid a respectable rate for your work and not because you work for next to nothing.
I wouldn't charge anything less than £15 per hour, and maybe negotiate with the client for larger jobs that may take weeks to complete.
As for the designer charging £65 an hour, are you sure? That sounds like a (small) agency rate. Maybe he knows something we don't?
Be warned though, I had a working relationship with a client and even offered them a discounted day rate, but they have stabbed me in the back somewhat, so now I'm not willing to work for anyone who won't pay my basic hourly rate (which is still competitive considering my experience).
I hope this has helped(?!?!)
Oh, and print managing is a great way to make a decent mark up. Don't forget that you will be the one liasing with the printers and organising delivery etc, so don't be afraid to add extra on the invoice for this.
Rachel_Norfolk, post: 1369 a écrit : Hi
Just started freelancing as a designer and have agreed with my first client a fixed fee for a job. (If it went on a bit we agreed that we'd review it.)
Now I realise I've no idea if this in ex or inc VAT. I'm not VAT registered but it still comes down to if the client's expecting to pay the agreed amount plus or minus VAT as I'm sure the client will be registered. What is the norm to presume please?
I'm pretty sure that if you are not VAT registered then you cannot charge VAT (as you'll need to supply a VAT number for the client's records). Usually you'd add VAT to the final price on invoice so that price agreed should be the price before VAT.
Hopefully someone else can give advice on VAT i.e. whether it is preferable to be registered VAT for the client's benefit. Personally I can't imagine it makes any difference but I may be wrong!
A little bit of friendly advice: don't say 'CHEAP', say something like 'competitive'. It's a lot less ugly and will make you look more professional (if that's what you want to be).
Hi Rach(el?) and Freddie
Welcome to the wonderful world of freelancing! I went freelance just over three years ago and, despite initial pinings for full-time job security, I have not missed the daily grind one bit and, unless a dream job arises, I'll be a freelancer for a long time.
With regards to naming your 'company' I didn't want to register myself as a company and bog myself down with extra paperwork (especially as I was starting out and finding my feet). I basically called my company 'Duncan Macphee Design' (dmd) and stated on my invoices that cheques be made payable to me. If you call your 'company' something completely different then you'll probably have to get a business account, which charges you for the privelige.
I see no problem in calling your company whatever your name is, especially if you want to remain a small business/sole trader. Once you gain confidence and clients you can always reinvent yourself.
Another option is to change your personal name by deed poll to whatever your company is called!
I made sure I got an accountant from the off. The thought of filling in a tax return form was far too daunting. Plus they know what they are doing and pretty much paid for themselves several times over.
The biggest downside is the feeling that you'll never be part of a 'team', no matter how long you work for an agency. I suppose you grow thick skinned after a while. On the plus side, you don't get wrapped up in the office politics (which was one reason I decided to try freelancing).
What I certainly don't miss is, like MickeyFinn said, the monotony of turning up to the same place, sitting at the same drab desk (despite the wacky desk accoutrements) and churning out the same old jobs because that's what the company see as your 'core strengths'.
I remember I used the phrase 'stuck in a rut' on a daily basis when I was in the last year of full time employment. Now, although the work is sporadic as I am in the process of really building my freelancer 'brand' I feel so much more satisfied, even when having to do the mundane jobs.
So, until Vaughan Oliver calls me up and asks me to work for him I think i'll stick to being my own little company.
I'm almost in my third year of freelance work and, as time passes, I find myself becoming less and less interested and seduced by full time employment.
Sure, the security is a big draw but I'm of the opinion that a good freelancer will always get work.
So, is there anyone out there fed up with not having a boss to bitch about or having to sort out the tax (thank god for accountants!). I'd love to hear your views.
Obviously try not to reply at 2am, in the middle of finishing another rush job! Level headed responses only!
Firstly, congratulations on the cover for the 'Branded' book!
I really like your site. The only issue is that the 'home page' elements shift out of position if the browser window is stretched horizontally. I'm viewing it in Firefox on a Mac, if that helps you.
SpencerUp, post: 899 a écrit : I have also been told that an understanding of how the printing business works would be crucial, what kind of information do I need to know with regards to printing? How can I get this information?
Well, if you're thinking of freelancing and doing print work then a sound knowledge of the print process is essential. Companies tend to frown upon paying people who set up jobs wrong and they'll rarely ask them back again.
I would strongly advise to anyone thinking of going freelance that they get industry experience first.
There are books available that cover printing techniques but, really, the best way to learn is to actually work on a live job.
You say that you are spending time inm a few friend's studios. What better way to learn! Ask someone if you could sit and watch them artwork a job before they send it to print, then offer to artwork a small job and get someone to check it and run through any mistakes you've made.
When I left college almost 10 years ago, a couple of very talented designers from my course and I decided to start our own company. Thankfully the idea was short lived because we would have been bankrupt after the first job!
Hope this advice helps. Freelancing isn't an easy job, even for those of us with experience.
glebe digital, post: 804 a écrit : This is good advice........and the perfect way to build that portfolio. :)
You can always pick up freelance gigs at the same time, then drop the full-time job when your client-base is big enough to keep you in socks/whisky/baked beans etc.
:)
Haha… yeah, mostly whiskey to ease the pain of late night deadlines!
Happy Easter to everyone and don't go too crazy on those eggs!
Personally, I would charge a lower rate until to get established and, hopefully, indispensible - then you can up your rate.
Just like a full time design job, the aim is to get your foot on the ladder, and that usually means taking what ever is avaliable, even if you only make enough money to pay the bills and buy the latest copy of Grafik!
Make sure you are well versed in the basics of graphic design (artworking etc) as a lot of companies wouldn't be too happy paying a freelancer who is effectively a junior designer.
Have you considered getting a full time job for a year or two and gaining industry experience before going solo?
