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Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
*mxpx*
I noticed you're a graphic designer.. I have a question! Do you do any contract/freelance work, and if so, what's your hourly rate?
I just recently started doing a lot of freelance work and was wanting opinions from other designers. TIA!
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Re: *mxpx*
I noticed you too!
I do VERY part-time freelance work that's literally FREE... I mean, most of the time it is just for friends or friends of family/friends just so I can uppity my resume/portfolio.
BUT, If I were to charge someone I didn't know, it would have to be atleast $25/hour, sorry, I know that's a lot to ask for, but people need to take my time seriously. I'm tired of people trying to get you for something major/important for their business for just a few bucks. I work full-time at a small company Mon.-Fri., so that's my major income, the freelance is more for fun and sharpening my skills.
What about you? I'm sure you charge differently since you live in a different state.. got any work I can look at?
ETA: Sometimes I'll do some free, easy stuff for bumpies that need it here. I remembering photoshopping a photo for someone, can't remember their name anymore..
I will do free work for family and friends, too. Often times though they will insist on paying me anyway, so I am related to/know some awesome people!
I have been charging $25 hourly also! However a lot of times I'll charge one lump sum for the whole project, depending on what it is.
Totally agree- people want FREE design fast... It's like, OK, do you want something shiitily done and just thrown at you? Go to logomaker.com or do it yourself! It's really hard to find time to do work outside of taking care of LO, especially since DH is gone a lot! But it's seriously getting crazy with the amount of extra work I've been getting!
This was one of my senior projects for school:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/55257388@N03/sets/72157625290487800/show/
What about you?
Yeah, sometimes it just makes sense to charge by the project vs. the hourly, but that sounds like the average rate to be charging someone you don't know personally.
Is it dorky that I actually snorted when you said that people want cheap/free designs INSTANTLY? This is how our world works, right?.. our work is so saturated and not appreciated.. and often sent elsewhere to be done for lower wage. It almost seems like a career that is slowly disappearing due to the fact that most of it is based off of print, and now everything is geared towards web design, or that you have to be a design guru of all types in order to get that $10-$12/hr. job. That's my rant.
Your DH is gone alot? Didn't you say he was a police officer or fire fighter. Damn my memory. I need to check on yesterday's post.
Your project looks amazing, I'll PM you my sorry ass website with my work but I'm not gonna post it here since everyone will find out my true identity... (hahaa not I'm not an AE, just don't my personal stuff where crazies can find it). Be prepared to laugh though, it's all old work from college, I don't have anything recent on it. PM in 2 shakes of a lamb's tail.
Sorry to go off on such a tangent from your original question, but that is what I'd charge per hour for freelance.
ETA: Doh, that's right, you said he's a paramedic..
You are fine!! It's such a relief to talk to other designers- they all say the same thing!
The icing on the shiit cake for me is that our current governor in Kansas (where I live) is proposing to cut state funding for the arts. I am livid. I am so sick of the mentality that art is just "fluff" or that it contributes nothing to society. KS would be the only state without a state funded arts agency if this goes through!
I agree about the "design guru" phenomenon as well. My formal training had very little to do with web programming. I do do web design, just am not 100% at the programming side of it. Most job openings I've seen lately are looking for someone who can proverbially "do it all".
I have been looking into what it would cost to take some additional courses on programming. Ultimately that's where it's all going, right? It's kind of a catch 22- some of the freelance designers catch that work that brings them extra income, when larger companies don't want to pay an ad/creative agency to do it, however... lowering rates and standards makes it worse for all of us!
That project was from 2 years ago, too... I'm like you, I haven't had time to take pretty pictures of my recent work. There's just too much of it and I'm too busy! I'm sure your website is great! Thanks sooo much for talking with me about all this.