The Process

Before talking about numbers, we need to understand the process.

Clients often look for a simple design.

In reality, every design decision is not simple. It is the coalescence and convergence of a vast variety of contexts, factors, understandings, analysis, research, and years of skills and expertise, and maybe 5% talent.

Most of the time, designers will be coaching design thinking workshops, brand strategy exercises, consulting on brand positioning, auditing and evaluating brands, and rediscovering business goals throughout the process for clients. Frequently, clients are focused on features, products, finances, sales targets, KPI, funnel, and more - the outcomes, but miss out on what brings it there.

95% of consumers make purchasing decisions based on emotions. What is the true emotional and effectual core that makes your consumers and audience rally behind you. What is the brand archetype and personality and voice? What is the core essence that informs every single move you make? And then how does that translate into colours, shapes, visual language of impact? I write about my design and strategy philosophy briefly in what I call the Singularity Concept.

Designers are really experts in critical thinking and emotional communication, and with the knack for creative and abstract concepts in our blood. Think of us as your best partners.

This is an example of what a full design process might look like. Each project may require different processes.

Before talking about numbers, we need to understand the process.

Clients often look for a simple design.

In reality, every design decision is not simple. It is the coalescence and convergence of a vast variety of contexts, factors, understandings, analysis, research, and years of skills and expertise, and maybe 5% talent.

Most of the time, designers will be coaching design thinking workshops, brand strategy exercises, consulting on brand positioning, auditing and evaluating brands, and rediscovering business goals throughout the process for clients. Frequently, clients are focused on features, products, finances, sales targets, KPI, funnel, and more - the outcomes, but miss out on what brings it there.

95% of consumers make purchasing decisions based on emotions. What is the true emotional and effectual core that makes your consumers and audience rally behind you. What is the brand archetype and personality and voice? What is the core essence that informs every single move you make? And then how does that translate into colours, shapes, visual language of impact? I write about my design and strategy philosophy briefly in what I call the Singularity Concept.

Designers are really experts in critical thinking and emotional communication, and with the knack for creative and abstract concepts in our blood. Think of us as your best partners.

This is an example of what a full design process might look like. Each project may require different processes.

01 Initiation & Kick Off

Initial Client Requirements Questionnaire
Scope & Alignment Call
Project Proposal & Contract: Outline, Timeline, Deliverables, Quote Breakdown

02 Discovery

Consultation Call(s)
Audit & Evaluation of Current Designs
Market & Competitor Research
Journey Mapping, User/Consumer Personas, Pain Points
User & Consumer Research
Business Vision & Brand Strategy Development Sessions

03 Synthesis & Definition

The Singularity
Messaging & Language
Benchmarking
Creative & Design Direction
Moodboards

04 Development

Brand Guide & Design Systems
Asset Libraries
Information Architecture
User & Product Flows
Sketching, Layout, Wireframing, Prototyping
Low-fidelity Mock Ups/Drafts
High-fidelity Design
Design Specs
Team Management
Web Development & Implementation

05 Testing & QA

Testing & QA
Client Feedback
Deliverables

Hourly Rate

In order to pay the bills, everyone deserves a salary. Salaries are calculated hourly, monthly, and yearly. In freelance capacity of course, hourly is the way to go!

If charging on the lower end of the industry, or on the lower end of freelance or contractor service providers (think electricians, plumbers when you need someone to come in to fix something):

In order to pay the bills, everyone deserves a salary. Salaries are calculated hourly, monthly, and yearly. In freelance capacity of course, hourly is the way to go!

If charging on the lower end of the industry, or on the lower end of freelance or contractor service providers (think electricians, plumbers when you need someone to come in to fix something):

$40/hour x 1 week (40 hours) = $1600

One week's worth of work is about what it might take to create a single quality logo: ideation, concept sketching, drafts and iteration, design, refining, variations, deliverables. This is all without time for any surrounding work, such as consultation, collaboration, research, feedback.

Service Packaging

Every designer and agency will have different pricing structures and service packages of what they include. Most projects are calculated flat rate per project depending on scope, requirements, timeline, scale, impact, team size and seniority, company size and other factors.

Professional designers and agencies have different standards as to what constitutes as an acceptable quality of design and products to be delivered to the client.

And each client tends to have a budget in mind or at least an idea of affordability.

As an exercise, let's consider these as examples of basic services provided in the case where a client (an individual or small start up business with no current consumers or funding) wishes for a logo to be created:

Every designer and agency will have different pricing structures and service packages of what they include. Most projects are calculated flat rate per project depending on scope, requirements, timeline, scale, impact, team size and seniority, company size and other factors.

Professional designers and agencies have different standards as to what constitutes as an acceptable quality of design and products to be delivered to the client.

And each client tends to have a budget in mind or at least an idea of affordability.

As an exercise, let's consider these as examples of basic services provided in the case where a client (an individual or small start up business with no current consumers or funding) wishes for a logo to be created:

$700

I design a single logo in one go according to my professional expertise without timeline requirements. No changes or input.

I design a single logo in one go according to my professional expertise with no timeline requirements. No changes or input.

$1200

I design your logo package in one go according to my professional expertise, with one round of feedback and change, which may take two weeks or so.

$2000

You provide as much information as you can about your business through a questionnaire and consultation call, I design your logo package according to my professional expertise with min. three different versions, with the opportunity for one session of feedback and change, usually about a month.

$3000

We work through a brief discovery and definition process in collaboration. I design everything according to my expertise, followed up by one round of feedback and change, usually about a month.

$4000

A full collaborative identity design and strategy consultation process including multiple ideation and feedback rounds to perfect your branding, usually 1-2 months.

$6000+

Depending on scope, this can include full suite of applications such as business cards, flyers, press kits, letterheads, social media templates, website design and development and more.

Hopefully this helps to clarify the numbers. Each quote is customized for every project and client, according to your specific requirements and situation.