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What to charge

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  • 05-04-2010 10:09am
    #1
    John_Cultane
    Closed Accounts Posts: 41 ✭


    I have been asked by my cousin to design a website and logo. I am OK with what I am doing with the website and have no real fears of that. The logo and graphics have been a real nightmare to get right. The problem is it took me a while to do due to my inexperience. I'd say I spent about 30-40 hours getting the logo right. It was always going to be paid for but I want to give him a fair price and exclude my learning curve time. Any ideas what I should charge?

    What do you think of the logo?


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    #2
    Axwell
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 10,461 Mod ✭✭✭✭Axwell


    Personally I dont like the font or how plain it looks. The water drop and flames have shading and gradients while the text looks like its just dropped on top with nothing added to it and the font doesnt look right at all. To be honest it looks like the flame and water drop were taken from somewhere else and the text just stuck on top as there is a huge difference in the design of both parts.

    Id use a better more legible font and if you are going to have effects and detail on the image part then it should carry somewhat to the text aswell.


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    #3
    tricky D
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,700 ✭✭✭tricky D


    Too much going on. Font is too fancy. Orange text over orange flame??? It won't work well when printed in black and white. The motifs seem a bit off to me - too much flame (out of control) and water drop reminds me of a leak. Make it simpler, then it's easier to recognise and remember.

    As far as charging is concerned, at the moment I'd go back to the drawing board and write off most of what you've done.

    Excuse the harshness but just being honest.


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    #4
    abouttobebanned
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,943 ✭✭✭abouttobebanned


    Some good advice there for ya.

    Someone on boards recently told me a good analogy, and I've used it a million times since. Imagine taking your car to 2 mechanics...the first one takes 3 hourse to figure out whats wrong and a half hour to fix it. The next guy sees the problem straight away and takes a half hour to fix it. It really doesn't matter how long it took you to do it, it's the finished product that you have to price.

    I've never liked doing work for relatives - you're expected to do them a favour but I mean it should work both ways...you're family so they should be paying you what you deserve. If you're designing a site and logos, I wouldn't be looking at any less than 1k.


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    #5
    John_Cultane
    Closed Accounts Posts: 41 ✭John_Cultane


    The logo looks like he wanted I had it a lot more plain . Considering some think it is to plain and others too fancy I'll put it down to personal taste and not really what I was looking for. The main concern is price I obviously don't want to charge for my learning curve and just want a standard price for a logo and website.

    I could care less what it looks like as it is what he wants so being overly eagle eyed on detail might miss the point that a plumber can't do it himself! It is not for an IT company so some of what has been said really is just a bit pointless. How much is a website and logo is the real question


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    #6
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    How much is a website and logo is the real question

    How long is a piece of string?

    We still know nothing about the site you are making. How many pages? Content management system? E-commerce? Special requirements (galleries, flash, jQuery features, etc.). It's completely impossible to price a site without much more info.

    On a general note, if the logo took you 40 hours (which is to be expected as you are learning everything), then, by extrapolation, the site may take you several hundred hours to get the other graphical and design requirements right (assuming you already have your css/html chops). The tenth time you do a site, you'll probably manage in it a fraction of the time. But the first time, while you pick up the skills, it may be fairer to get a quote from a few established companies and base your pricing on that. You'll be working for €1.23 an hour, but you be pricing fairly and gaining some skills....

    Apologies, if I'm not picking up on your overall skill level correctly.


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    #7
    John_Cultane
    Closed Accounts Posts: 41 ✭John_Cultane


    I have the web skills I just didn't have the skills with graphics. The site is mostly done and 4 pages long. The site in general is quite garish due to the requirements. Designed GUI for about 3 years but never needed to create logos or anything fancy. The site is very basic overall only real interaction is the contact page and would not expect it to be used that often.

    There isn't enough money in web design for me to do it as a full earner. I would guess the cost of such a site would be around €500 to €1000. The real issue was if he was an actual client I would not have taken such a loose spec. or allowed the change of requirements without charging. The logo took so long mostly due to the change of mind about what was wanted.


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    #8
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    I'd say you're not far out with your guesstimates. I'd advise that you draw a line in the sand now though and nail down the exact specifications of the site, to prevent further feature creep and to ensure realistic expectations.


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