@andycarolan creative services are really hard to price. I work with a lot of freelancers, and get sent rates from all sorts.
In London, a freelancer camera operator for TV or Film can charge £600-£800 a day without even providing their own camera.
Down here, I see freelance videographers (graduate level) offering their services for £150 a day with kit. And even experienced professionals charging £250-£550 on average. (Including myself in the mid-high end of that bracket.)
@andycarolan it really does. I feel like London almost exists within a vacuum. I wonder if it’s due to the amount of foreign investment and attention across every sector there, which drives prices up.
@rowan_johnson It does feel that way! Everything outside London likely feel irrelevant to those within... which explains a lot about the UK I guess lol.
@andycarolan I tend to hire animators for £250-£450 a day. And I would probably expect a graphic designer to be in that sort of ballpark too, since it’s a similar job and skill set.
@rowan_johnson Yup, I'm definitely in that ballpark. Some clients are fine with my pricing, others, not so much. I don't really like to quote day rates, and prefer to price per-project, but people still use day/hourly as a metric I think.
@andycarolan I get it too. A mixture of people shocked at how cheap my services are, and people who think they’re way too expensive. I feel like that’s the right sort of place to be. Weeds out the ones who don’t value the work, but doesn’t kill your business!
@andycarolan I feel graphic design can definitely be project based pricing.
“A logo costs X”, “a brochure costs Y”, etc.
I kind of have to use day rates because I physically go to site to do filming, and don’t want people thinking they can split that over multiple days etc without paying more. So it’s harder to push back. But maybe I should try it more some time. 🤔
@rowan_johnson I think it works for some industries/professions and not for others. Filming isn't something you can do any quicker no matter how skilled and experienced you are I imagine? It takes as long as it takes.
Post processing, maybe that's different and could be project based 🤔
@andycarolan For a whole day, more like $800-1000 USD, possibly more. Highly dependent on what an hourly rate would be, but when grouping in day increments the hourly rate can be reduced. Trades often do this too (like plumbers/electricians) and an hourly rate is more if less than a half a day.
@anniegreens Thanks, yes... that sounds like a reasonable price. It's all very well quoting that, but I don't think my current clients would entertain such prices lol.
@andycarolan Over here in Denmark I would expect to pay at least $700 to $800 a day but not be surprised if it goes to $1100 a day. This is based on that the (pretty big) consultancy I worked for (as a web developer) charged $1100 a day as standard.
@andycarolan haha, yeah, that is always a concern. The big clients often got discounts though. I think another angle might to be look at what craftsmen cost per day. I feel like if you are the same or above skilled craftsmen (which you are) you should be able to argue for your price. The prices we charged our big clients were not much higher than what a plumber charges here.
@andycarolan I can’t imagine an experienced professional making much less than $100/hr, but I live in the most expensive area in the US so I may be biased!
@foon It's very interesting to hear how budgets differ between region and industry. As someone who works remotely, it’s impossible to have a static price list.
@liz It's a really difficult thing to quantify isn't it. Personally, I've found much difference geographically, between industries, the level of entry (eg, startup etc).
I value working on fun projects, and those that have potential for positive real-world impact. Everyone's budget differs, and I feel that it's important to remain flexible.
Also, I try to not quote time-based prices such as day/hour, but soooooo many people ask for them lol
@liz Oh for sure, it's entirely subjective. Depending on the type of project, it also depends on what return the design investment will bring. Sometimes, free, simple and boring will be just enough to get the point across... perhaps that’s the cheese sandwich of design haha.
I don't find it frustrating as such, just... interesting. I've worked with individuals and companies at many levels, and I find the best approach is to discuss budget expectations early in the conversation.
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