- [Instructor] When someone contacts me
to quote a project,
I first vet them as best as I can
to understand who they are
and what type of business they have.
Once that is done to my satisfaction,
I send them what I call,
an approach letter.
So in this movie,
I want to walk you through the content
in my approach letter
and show you how I think
when quoting a project.
So let's dive into this.
An approach letter is simply replying
to the initial contact I received
from a potential client.
They've asked me to quote
on a logo design project,
and this is how I respond to them.
It's written in such a way
that it will help them
understand the context
of everything I'm going to do.
In this case,
this is an email sent to Omar,
and Omar wants to start
a lifestyle brand.
So let's walk through each part.
The introduction is pretty self-explanatory,
introducing myself
and explaining in a general way
what's going to follow in this email,
so they understand it.
I want to show them my work.
I don't want to assume
they've visited my website
and they've seen everything
that aligns with the project
they're asking me to do,
so I provide links to examples.
This includes additional examples
and a downloadable PDF
that they can keep on their end.
I also want to explain
how I'm going to work,
and this isn't completely
included in the email,
I just provide a link once again,
back to my website
that exhaustively explains
our creative process
and design philosophy.
I want to itemize the deliverables.
Everything we determined
in the scope of work
is going to be listed here.
I also want to explain exploration,
that is, the design concepts
I'm going to create on their behalf
and the thinking behind it.
I want to hedge expectations a little.
I want the client to know exactly
what to expect
if they work for me,
and this explains that.
I'm going to, obviously,
provide a total quote
for everything listed
in this approach letter,
and also reference the future,
that I wish to support their growth.
At the bottom of this approach letter
are footer links.
I reference brand systems
inside this letter,
and so I show examples,
three specifically on that.
I also showcase a simplized style guide
and a comprehensive style guide.
This is usually determined
by the size of the company
that I'm quoting.
I also include a document
called brand marketplace
which explains that
these small businesses operate
in a world of multinational brands,
that they compete
on the same visual level.
Quoting a logo project
isn't merely a financial decision.
It's one of value.
Your time has value.
Your creative ideas have value
and the design you deliver has value.
So you need to calculate
the value you bring to a client
not just aligning with the budget
they may have.
So let me show you
how I break down a quote.
We're obviously going to be quoting
a logo design project here
but before we do,
we're going to be quoting flat rate fees.
Now, if you're not sure
how long it takes you
to do a logo project in general,
you first need to establish a rough idea
of what your hourly figure is.
For this example,
we're going to use $100
just to make the math easier.
So you want to know your hourly rate.
The first point you need to consider
is your time to do discovery
and research.
This is everything from strategy
to sketching and drawing.
And let's say you take eight hours
to do that before you ever start
your creative work, that's $800.
The time to create
the design explorations themselves
maybe it's six to eight design explorations,
that might take you a day
and a half.
In which case, 14 hours,
and the fee would be 1,400.
Time to revise
or maybe you have
to redo design explorations
because the client didn't
like some of them.
Maybe you spend four hours.
This could be more
but if it's four hours, it's $400.
Time to manage our project.
This is conference calls, phone calls.
And I even include fonts
into this line item
because at times the client might say,
I really like this font.
Can you try that
on one of the explorations?
If I don't own that font,
I don't want to pay for it.
So I include it in my cost.
In this case,
we'll estimate it as two hours
to cover those costs, that's $200.
Time to set up final brand assets.
They've approved a design.
You've picked all the final brand colors.
Now, you have to set it up
and organize these files
for the clients,
that might take three hours.
That's an additional 300.
Here's one line item that
most independent designers don't add
which I think you should.
If you work for a larger design firm
or an ad agency
and you do a logo on behalf
of their client,
they pay you everything above
this last line item
but they also pay
what's called a buyout fee.
This is the cost to buy out
your design that you came up with
and the copyright on that design.
If you created it,
by default, you own the copyright.
That's why the copyright's
included in this buyout fee.
This is usually calculated
from the time to create
the design explorations.
So in which case,
that would be $1,400.
If you double that it's 2,800.
So we're going to add that fee.
That brings the grand total
of this quote
on the logo project to 5,900.
This is usually
how I think when I quote.
A lot of this is
so second nature for me now
that I don't sit here
and write all of these down,
I can just do it in my head.
And the more you do it,
you'll be able to do the same thing.
Now, at times I also add
another line item
but it's only for specific cases.
And I call that a pain fee
because sometimes the client
will contact me
and I don't really enjoy the genre
or the specific topic,
or maybe I just don't like working
with that client that much
but they're always willing
to pay the budget
that I provide to them.
So it's a good paying gig.
I just don't want to really work on it.
In which case, I'll add a pain fee.
In this case,
we're going to say it's 1,500,
a little more than the 14 hours
that I estimate it would take me
to create it.
And in which case,
I would call a friend and say,
hey friend, I have this project.
I need to come up
with 68 logo design directions.
I have a budget of $1,500.
Can you do it?
And if they say, yes,
I'll farm it out to my friend
and I'll just manage
and art direct the project.
And the total fee to do this
would now be a $7,400.
So when it comes
to quoting a project flat rate fees,
I never quote by the hour,
I always quote using flat rate fees
on design projects.
That said, I do keep in mind
that hourly rate.
I only use an hourly rate
to calculate additional fees on a project
that has gone outside
the scope of work, for example.
That said, I'm no financial genius
when it comes to the art and science
of quoting design projects.
So let me share
an excellent resource with you.
This is Michael Janda,
he's a creative director and author.
And when I was speaking at a conference
he was also speaking
at the same conference.
I had the opportunity
to listen to his talk
and it was absolutely fabulous.
It was all based
off of his book,
The Psychology of Graphic Design Pricing
And let me tell you,
he demystifies the process
of figuring out what to quote
for any type of graphic design project;
logo or otherwise.
So Michael's book
is the best resource I've ever read
on this topic,
and I know it'll help you
figure out the best method
for pricing your work as well.