hi, just wanna drop my opinion about this pricing system.

for freelancers:

- pricing almost must be cheaper than a graphic company or else you will easily fail to land any job
- pricing too low (etc logo for rm10), will definitely killing off design market & it'll be so hard for all of us & you to 'cari mkn'
- you can't compare work & price with printing shop, yes their price for design work is very2 cheap but they've got different target market from freelancer & design company. their customer mostly from 'walk-in' customer, the design work take around 10min-1hour to setel & etc. so, you got the picture right?
- skill level is also very important for freelancer. they will heavily determine on how much client willing to pay you when they see your portfolio
- you must have your own business target. how much profit do you want from one month? do you need only one job to reach your target or you need to do multiple jobs to hit the target. it depends on YOU.
- like printing shop, you need to have a target market. targeting those big company & you'll get paid huge money & vice versa

this is just my opinion & from my experience only. i may do wrong but it serve me well for this time being. i once a freelancer and experimenting a lot with my pricing system. the result? there is no standard system for me. it really depends on several factors between you as a designer, your client and our own Malaysian design market. cheers!

u guys are wasting your time, if u're got no credentials to target corporate markets, u'll never have a proper career. Design is dead in Malaysia.

somewhat true, the market have already been spoil by those freelancer who cannot compete with their artwork, but instead keep lowering their price

Regarding design pricing. I think many designers miss the most important thing about business. Being a better designer doesn't mean he will get better income. Don't mix up design quality and income. Have a closer look at the market supply and demand.

There isn't much client that emphasize on idea & design. The demand for quality design is low. The culture doesn't demand graphic designer whose main value is in the idea and design part.

Most client just want something fancy and catchy. They prefer immediate effect and cost very cheap, so all the money go into their pocket instead of yours. They don't give a shit about design, you copy from whoever, can help them sell their thing or whatsoever. They have a design in their mind, designer is nothing but someone that help them click the computer, just like a typist but for graphic, a.k.a. Pixel Pusher.

From online, client can get bunch of cheap low quality designer and pay like 50 to settle their projects. Web template and free CMS, premium themes where people can just pay USD50 and get things done, with 1 year support. Normal average client won't want to pay good price for design, even u r the best of the world, they simply don't feel like paying for such service.

Design talent is over supply in this country, the demand just couldn't catch up as fast. What can a passionate designer do in this low demand market?
1. Build better skill and fight your way to grab some big clients.
2. The business model of design company itself need to evolve.

That's why u heard from many seniors, "if you want to make money, quit design or start your own design company". It is very tough, u might end up drawing and designing a lot but not getting a cent, if u know some marketing strategy that will speed up a lot. Spend more time research and check out the latest demand and see how can your skill fit into the trend.

What B-Mecha said is very true.
My friend once worked at this local company that sells food products for export and local consumption. They had in-house designer. What surprised my friend was the attitude of the business owner. All he wanted was not quality design. Not originality. In fact, he told the designer to copy the looks of overseas products. My friend showed me the products side by side, and the designs looked almost similar. Color scheme, fonts, and even illustrations. But it's not the fault of the designer, he was just following orders. When I saw it, I said that if this was in the U.S, you can expect a lawsuit very quickly for copying someone else's looks and brand identity.

There are websites that act as a source ground/middleman for clients and designers. Designers register with the website and clients from all over the world can search the database and find a designer they want for their jobs. However, many users have said that this system is not beneficial as if you are in the US or Australia, you will get beat by designers from third-world countries who offer their services for very low low prices.

I think design companies who have big corporate clients like FMCG can do very well. FMCG's are willing to pay for quality and brilliant ideas.My friend was working at an FMCG company, and back in 2009, designing a 16 page A4 newsletter excluding stock photos would cost about RM8000 plus.

Corporate season greeting cards or A5 flyer designs would range from RM1300 to RM3000. The quotation usually includes up to 2 free revisions. After that, any more revisions would cost extra.

Another very interesting I read recently was of this local designer.
She is featured in a local magazine.
She is famous for making Pocotee, a character she designed.
It is said her regular job is as artist at animation company.
But in her free time, she designed her own characters for fun and then put them up on the web as cartoon series.
She didn't expect much but it turned out as a hit.
Now, she sells her own hand made merchandises.
I read she also taught at DaVinCi art Classes.

This is one way to go about it, find other avenues to use your artistic talents. Make your own characters, own handmade crafts, cartoon strips, teach at art centres, art tuition....etc etc. Multipronged approach simultaneously if you can.

In the US, because of the economic slump, many people are holding more than job and wearing many different hats to make extra money. Gone are the days when you worked only one job. Today, you can find executives working the day at office, doing night shifts at a local bar, and mowing lawns or car wash on weekends.

A 14 year old girl in the US designs her own bottlecap magnetic necklaces. She's already a millionaire. It's not the first time I heard that art and craft has brought prosperity to young people. I read so many news reports that I can't remember them all. www.snapcapsonline.com

This post has been edited by demonhunter360: Dec 21 2011, 10:56 AM

Conclusion.

It all depand Luck. Your Luck. If u know this Japan girl (高木直子), or Taiwan BLOG Queen: Yuan yaun.??
Both also draw in simply design only. BUt very popular than many talents artist.



If depand on Luck...i rather buy TOTO hit the jackpot.

Before you rely on luck, at least u need some strategy to ensure u stand better chance in winning.

From the example you give, that's what I mean by No.2, change the business model. Both of them become famous because they know how to promote themselves (submit artwork to publisher, magazine editor, run a blog) and make themselves well known. If they only remain working for small client like usual designer, I doubt they will be as famous.

It is about building your own brand. There are more than enough books / articles talking about how to build your personal brand on the internet, try to grab one from bookstores. Explore alternative income sources other than just being a pixel pusher for small client.

Depends on luck? Then it's not fair to the designers who have practiced for years and acquired more skills than those lucky designers/peeps

This post has been edited by Gmruleme: Dec 21 2011, 03:20 PM

My frez who study bio chem,

end up as saleman. U may said who who who got offer from US & pay u 10K US permonth.

But, unfortunely not my frez.

Cheer for better tomorow. Life still need to go on. \(^ o ^)/

I normally decide on base price for the basic design and quote according to what my client wants. If they are expecting more changes and design, then it's normal that I will charge more. I always advise my clients to have a clear direction and message they want to deliver in the ad campaign.

Lim one is design for print la, pretty standard pricing range out there, yours is most likely design for identity and copyright base distribution .... that one totally different sector.