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"Elements of a Freelance Design Contract
Artisan Talent Tip: A good contract protects the freelance graphic artist by setting out the work to be done, the schedule of work to be delivered, and the schedule of payments to be made. A graphic designer should have a standard contract available for clients to sign, and should not do any work without a signed contract. You should also include a clause reserving the right to display a copy of the completed work as part of your portfolio.
Graphic Designers: The Difficult Client
If you are going to be a freelance graphic artist, eventually you will encounter a difficult client. Having a plan in place to deal with this type of person can really help minimize aggravation and conflict. Here are some great tips for keeping things cool:
- Recognize the warning signs. If you are getting multiple voicemails with last-minute details or unreasonable time-frame requests in the beginning, pay attention to this and try and head things off at the pass before the situation worsens.
- Realize that the situation is temporary. Even if a client is being impossible, eventually the project will come to an end. Keep that in mind.
- Prepare yourself for interaction. Make sure that before you talk to the client, you have the project specs in front of you so that you can refer to them if needed.
- Build in a set amount of revisions for your projects. A client that can endlessly revise your work can be a real problem. Set a certain amount of revisions and then charge for those that go over.
- Avoid losing your temper. This can be hard to do, but even if the client is totally off-base in his requests, losing your temper is unprofessional. Take deep breaths. Work out before your meeting. Do what you need to do to keep your cool
Elements of a Freelance Design Contract
Here are some other issues that should be covered in a contract for freelance design work:
- How many rounds of changes is the client allowed?
- Who owns the work?
- If you can't meet deadline because the client was late signing off on the prototype, what happens?
- Will there be a "kill fee" if the project is canceled?
- What expenses (software? printing of prototypes? Travel? Postage?) will the client cover outside of the design fee?
Artisan Talent Tip: To protect themselves and get proper compensation for their work and skills, many designers recommend a series of milestones and payments. For instance, a partnership of New York designers might bill 30% of the final fee on completion of the prototype, 30% on completion of the first draft, and 40% after two rounds of changes. Only after the invoices are paid are the final files provided to the client.
Logos As A Specialty
If you're looking for freelance graphic work, one exciting area that you can focus on is logo creation. This specialized field requires a good ear as well as a good eye. Successful graphic designers know how to listen to a client to find out what they are looking for—and then deliver something amazing that exceeds expectations.
Many designers think that for a logo to be great it has to be complex, but many of the best are very simple. The logo needs to communicate with the viewer, and the graphic designer's job is to marry that concept with the direction the company wants to go with the look. This can be more difficult than people think. Truth is—it takes a lot of practice.
The good news is that the more logos you do, the more information and experience you will have. You may want to create logos for charities as a way of practicing. Once you have a portfolio together of sample logos, it will be far easier to sell your work as a freelance designer.
Artisan Talent Tip: At the mockup stage, it's easy to add features, switch elements, and even redo the whole look of the product. These changes get a lot more difficult when you're working with the real product. A team of Chicago designers might use a standard contract that includes at least one round of alterations at the mockup stage, to emphasize to the client that now is the time to change one's mind.
Track Your Hours
To be taken seriously as a freelance graphic artist, you need to charge for the time you spend working on client projects. Whether you charge by the project or by the hour, your rate should reflect the cost of your time, including the equipment you need to do your work.
The Graphic Artists Guild publishes a handbook on pricing and ethical issues which may be of use in setting up your rates. You probably will also want to be aware of what your competitors are charging. You probably won't succeed by competing on price alone -- that will only attract bottom-feeder clients. Instead, develop your sales skills to position yourself as uniquely suited to solve the client's problems through great design.
At the same time, you'll want to develop a clear notion of how long it takes you to complete a given project or part of a project. You'll also want to develop a reliable system for tracking your work hours, so you can do a better job of estimating projects in the future.
As a freelance graphic design pro, you're not just a designer -- you're a business owner. You're in charge of obtaining new work, managing your time, budgeting your money and prioritizing the projects most likely to bring you profits.
One of the important skills a freelance graphic artist can develop is the ability to determine which potential clients can afford your services. Sales professionals call this "qualifying prospects."
Money shouldn't be the first thing you talk about, of course. Just as in a job interview, your focus should first be on the value you can add to the organization with your work. At the same time, you don't want to waste a lot of time selling someone who can't buy.
In your initial conversations, ask good questions to develop a sense of what the client needs. Once you understand the project that's on the table, you can ask about budget and indicate a range into which you think the cost will fall.
Most clients will of course try to get something for less. This is normal human behavior. Respond by offering to do a lesser amount of work for that price.
Client Communication
A great many issues between graphic designers and clients might be prevented by establishing better communication at the beginning of the process.
After choosing someone to do freelance design work, a client should expect to spend some time communicating the purpose and image of the organization, the market for its products, and the specific mission of the project being assigned.
The designer should ask questions, take all this information in and incorporate it into whatever final work is produced. If the client asks, "Why did you do it that way?" the answer should refer back to the data gathered during the initial discussions.
While some designers prefer to create their work on their own, the most successful designs are often those that are created with ongoing communication between client and designer. For this reason, some Web developers create two development servers, one for creating products and the other as a demonstration site to show the client the current stage of the work.
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