How Much Will it Cost!?

We hear that a lot. Many people are astounded at how much a good designer charges. Profit Magazine, in their recent hunt for the perfect business card, pointed out that your business card and your identity speak volumes. Sure, you can get cards made up at your local office supply store for $24.99. But what does it say about you? Probably that you are unimaginative, cheap and place little value in quality. Is that what you wanted to say? We don't think so.

Your identity and the marketing materials you use are an investment in your business. Start off right. Show your clients, contacts, colleagues and prospects that you mean business by investing in a professionally produced identity and marketing materials. Without a doubt, they will help your business grow by delivering a consistent message that reflects your business. Even discount chains hire professionals to craft their message in a way that appeals to their intended market. Nothing is left to chance.

How do we decide on a price? Consider the costs that go into every project we work on:

• Development time: Like virtually every other industry, the biggest expense we have is our human resources; the creative thinkers. Some designs look so simple, as if a few little things were just laid down on paper. But just as an Olympic figure skater makes spins and jumps look effortless, good designers make the hard stuff look easy. Your designer has spent time understanding who you are, who your market is, what feeling you want to convey, and what your message is. Then the thinking begins. Ideas come and get tossed even before anything is put to paper. Then the concept is planned, sketched, and tried out in a number of variations. Then there is a testing and refinement process that makes sure it will work in practical applications and is an accurate portrayal of your passion. Afterwards there are the revisions that the client suggests. Then, once the client has given the OK, the artwork has to be prepared for production and converted to formats that can be used in a variety of situations.
• Overhead: We have telephone, electricity, heating and rent to pay, just like everyone else.
• Computer systems: Up to date and efficient computer systems are vital to a competitive communications business. Nobody wants to pay for the time a designer has to wait for the computer to process a file. Also, the industry is constantly evolving. Each new generation of software introduces new features that increase the capability of the designer and improve productivity. And professional design software is expensive. Remaining competitive depends on keeping our systems upgraded.

Rates in the industry vary considerably. And there will almost always be someone who can do it for less. But remember the old adage: "You get what you pay for."