How much to charge for a menu design (4 pages double sided) and a logo for a pizzeria and a newspaper ad.

This is a tough question. Charge as much as you can.

This rates calculator (freelanceswitch.com) will help you work out what you need to charge per hour. From there you can just need to work out how many hours of work there are in the project.

It's all to easy to come up with ballpark figures that don't do justice to the work, and time you put in. Although quoting low can be part of a strategy for building a client base, it can also be a great way of devaluing yourself and getting exactly the kind of projects you don't want to work on.

Quote accurately and fairly, and talk through exactly why a quote is as it is, both in terms of time and cost. If the client turns it down because it is out of budget, then you are in a great position to talk over other options with them that might fall within their budget (or to walk away).

Charge based on your time, not the size of their business! Examine your bills. Examine your skills. Basically take 1/2 off the top for your expenses, training and materials and equipment and that's your real hourly rate.

Talk to designers in your area about what they charge; make sure they've been doing it about as long as you have.

Initially, I'd say you are undercharging. I'd question any company, small or not, willing to only spend $200 on their logo. Do they want to be a $200 company?

I don't see it that way at all. Perhaps you're very, very good at what you do and are known nationwide and are in great demand. If you're not all of those things, then you must at least **consider** the size of the potential client - especially in this economy.

What most designers fail to either understand, or accept (in some cases, both) is that you need not treat every client as though they're the largest client in the world and this is the most important piece of work you'll ever touch.

If the client can only afford to pay $200 for a logo, then give them $200 worth of effort. Nobody is forcing you to put in 50 hours of research, sketching, and design into a logo design. We all know damn well that it's possible to create a fantastic logo in a matter of hours.

Now I'm not saying that all designers should lower their rates, or that we should just accept whatever price the client is offering. But you have to take into consideration your own financial situation (how bad do you need the money), how easy or difficult the job will be based on what you know about the client and what they're asking for. And finally, do you WANT the work or NOT? I mean, is this a cool client that can potentially result in an awesome portfolio piece? Will more work come in the future as a result of doing this work? If so, maybe the $900 is worth it.

All that being said, I think $200 for a logo is a bit too low - even for someone just starting out. If they asked you to design it, it's because they like your work. I would say a minimum of $500-$700 is more appropriate.

Make it simple on yourself. If you want to make $20 per hour and you have a $200 price quote, that means you can only spend 10 hours on the whole logo - including time meeting with the client. If that's possible for you to do, then the price is right. The question you have to ask yourself is "do I want to spend 10 hours of my time for $200?" If you have the time to spend, then the answer is probably yes. If you have other opportunities out there, and already have a busy design schedule with deadlines looming, then the answer is no.

Be a smart business person. Don't base your decisions on meaningless things like award potential, atta-boys from other designers and agencies, and what you read somewhere on a design site, etc. You don't need to create a " work of art" on every job. Sometimes you just have to "pay the bills."

Mehhh, what do I know. I've been doing this for 20+ years and I still can't give you a straight answer. Ivan really said it best - it's a tough question. Charge as much as you can!

If you take one thing from what everyone has shared here, let it be this:
Your client is the one with the money, and you're the one who wants it. How bad do you want it?

Thank you so much Jim! You have really opened my eyes and I will reconsider my prices.

Please let us know how it works out for you.

Well guys, spoke with my client and he is going to pay me $400 for designing the menu, but when it comes to logo he doesn't want to spent even $250. I explained to him that the logo is very important, is the face of your business, yada yada, but he say no. For him it's more important the menu than the logo. Well, at least he wants me to do the menu. Thank you all for your comments! xxxxoooo

I told him that phrase you said.... :) but he still doesn't care. He came up with the logo himself. When I sow it, is just the name: PIAZZA I was: what the hell.....ha I explained to him that the logo will represent his business and based on that we can design the rest (menus, packaging, signs, etc)
He told that is ok! The logo will be just the name using rockwell font!

You can charge according to your market demands and needs, greater the demand of your work greater the amount and vise versa. You can charge $350 for the menu design, $250 for the logo and $450 for the ad, as you have experiences of 3+ years. 646-976

I'm just starting out, too so I understand what you're going through. Since you've already figured it out with your client, my comment will just be a sharing-of-experience at best.

There were a lot of factors for me at first that led me to believe that I don't have the right to charge a higher value for the work I do. Would you believe that I started taking on projects at the rate of $2 per hour? My thinking back then is that I don't have a design degree, therefore, I don't have the school bit to back me up...I was rather hesitant calling myself a designer, actually (sometimes, I still do).

I do, however, have a decent enough portfolio (not that expansive, but at least it shows what I can do) and have learned designing all by myself through getting friends to teach me how or reading via the web. The only actual class I took was a 10-hour tutorial session one Sunday afternoon ^__^ The rest is what I would say sheer will and perseverance.

So when I first started looking for clients I really didn't know how much to charge! It was very nerve-wracking. My thinking was, as long as they're paying me, I'll take it. But after a few horrible experiences (you really do learn the hard way), I felt like I owe it to myself to charge a reasonable amount for the kind of legwork involved. There weren't any freelancers in my area, and I didn't know a lot of people, so I turned to the internet for answers. That's when I started reading and learning, at first through Freelance Switch and then recently this site :)

Then I started adjusting my prices. At best I have an hourly rate. Whenever a client asks me for a quotation, I'll try to estimate how long it'll take me to get the project done and then multiply it with my hourly rate, then add to that my overhead expenses. Some clients are okay with this, because they like to know the justification behind such price. Others don't, and would just like a fixed quote. So I give them a fixed quote - which, really, still depends on how much time I'll spend working on it. My fixed quotes are also guided by the average price other designers charge, too, based on my research.

There will be clients who will walk away. That's the hard part, but should not hinder you from charging what you think you're worth. Sometimes, there's a tendency to give in to a $100 or $200 job, even if you know it's worth $500 or more and you're afraid that you'll lose the project if you do charge them that price. This is really difficult for me, especially when the times are hard and I don't have any clients for that week or if I really need to pay the rent. When this happens it's always a risk I take.

First I charge them what I really feel is the right price, and hope that they'll agree. If not, I ask them what their budget is, and I adjust accordingly -- if they can only afford to pay me this amount, then I can also only afford to give them a service worth this amount. Sometimes they agree, and then both of us are happy -- I still get paid (although not very big) and they get what they want. Sometimes they don't, and I just have to let it go. I've been in circumstances wherein I caved and said, alright, I'd do your logo for $100 and in the end I hated myself for it because they took advantage and I let them, just because I need the money. And besides, what kind of company is content with a $100 logo? Not a very great one. The one thing I had (thankfully) in my arsenal is a degree in branding and marketing, so I know how large an effort is invested in making a logo.

Anyway, it's just not worth it to me now. I just have to foster this self-confidence and belief that if my work ethic is good and my skill is competent, I'd find clients who will be willing to pay what I'm worth. I just have to work hard to market myself and find them!

Of course, I break the rules sometimes, too ^__^ That is, when I really like the project, or the client I'm working with, or when I feel like I could take away something valuable from the project and relationship, like better knowledge, better experience, etc. -- This is when I am willing to go the extra mile to do a good job, to do more even if I'm not getting paid, to give the client something really good and beautiful even if he/she doesn't have a lot of money but is a very great and sincere person - that kind of thing.

Anyway, yeah. I know I'm not at all the best person to give an advice, but I guess I just wanted to say that I understand how it can be confusing at times. Just work on building your portfolio, learning through experience and building on confidence that yes, you can charge this amount because you know you'll do a damn good job. Oh wait, that's for me too! Haha. ^__^

- Katrina

You simply have to be happy with the work you did, ad the money you got paid to do it. It really doesn't matter what the "going rate" is, or what others are charging, or even what you yourself SHOULD be charging.

Some of the best clients are ones that you don't make a ton of money off of with each job, but they're easy to work with, you genuinely like them, and you have fun designing for them. Then there are those who pay a ton, but they're miserable pricks that you bend over backwards for, give them great work, and they're still not happy. In the end, sometimes they're just not worth the money.