Friday, April 22, 2016

Paying In to a design contest??

Let me ask you a fairly simple question. Does it make sense to pay into a design contest as a designer?
I was just contacted by an individual asking me if I'd like to participate in a contest to design a logo for a local band. The winner of the contest would receive a $100 cash reward. Sounds like a decent deal right? So I bit. I told him I was interested. He began to tell me some of the rules and regulations. The one that caught my attention was the minor detail that there are going to be 5 designers and they must each submit 2-3 logo designs. Anybody that has designed a professional looking logo knows how long it is going to take to submit 2-3 good quality logos. Each designer must pay $20 to take part in the contest and the winning designer will be rewarded the $100 cash payment. Let me say that again. EACH DESIGNER MUST PAY $20 TO TAKE PART IN THE CONTEST. Now... I'm no rocket scientist, just a designer with a little common sense, but doesn't it seem fishy that I would be required to pay a fee to design 2-3 logo designs so that they could pick the best one and then take MY money plus the other three designers money and give it to the winning designer? Or in other words, why should I pay $20 so this band can get a free logo?
I can see the motive behind this contest where the band would like to get the community involved and run a contest to get a great logo, but don't make the designer pay!!! Give out a $100 cash prize to the best design of anyone that wants or knows how to design!!!
Maybe it is just me but this sounds a little weird! Thoughts??


- Jacob Reno

Sunday, April 3, 2016

The Price of Design

The other day I was scrolling through a photography group on Facebook. There was a certain person who asked a question inquiring about what one should pay to have a logo designed. She said that she was quoted somewhere around $150 for a simple design. She could not understand why it would cost so much for such a simple design. Oh boy did she start quite the heated conversation about the price of graphic design. She had all kinds of remarks stating what I have stated before. "You get what you pay for"! People where getting angry with her wondering why she would even ask such a question. Seeing that she was an up and coming photographer they assumed she should know the value of ones time. So. . . I sent her a pm. I told her that all designers are different. You will not find two designers that charge the same price for the same thing. Some are an hourly rate while others charge a flat price. There are all kinds of factors that come with designing a logo. Revisions being one of them. This is where the hourly rate gets expensive where as a set price usually gets you 2 revisions. I gave her my hourly rate and the files that she would receive and she was very grateful that I wasn't over the top expensive. I live by the rule that I am not out to get rich off of one person. But I've also got to look out for me and my family! I can guarantee you that I am cheaper than most designers out there and I can also guarantee you that my work is equally as professional! With that information she entrusted me with her business logo and turned me loose. I came up with a simple design and to both of us it was perfect. To think that others would charge $150 for this amazes me. But, it also makes me sit back and wonder if maybe I am to cheap.
Over the last couple of days I have wondered if the fact that I do keep my prices affordable is the reason that I don't get a ton of business. Do people look at my prices and think that I don't know what I am doing because graphic design is supposed to be expensive? What do you think?


- Jacob Reno