Freelance graphic design/contract

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Anyone done any freelance/contract work in graphic design especially to do with brochures, booklets and flyers? Could you please PM me please? I would be grateful for your advice.

I'm been asked by a large artists' studio to design a leaflet, booklet and flyer/door drop for an up coming show. With possibility of doing further work for further shows on a casual basis.

I can do the work but I'm not experienced with dealing with a commission/freelance of this nature. I have read some sample contracts so I will try not to waste your time.

However I'm a little unsure of the practical aspects of the contract, dealing with the client, costing/pricing for this type of work.

The guy is somewhat vague about what he wants. I have experienced this before with programming and it can cause problems later on.

I said I’d let him know by Friday.

I hope it went well for you. Whenever you deal with pricing graphic design contracts just make sure your contract spells out exactly what you're going to do for the agreed-upon amount of money. I always charge for man-hours, materials and estimate on printing costs, then I add an additional 20% on top of that to cover any unforeseen problems (printer can't do the job, have to find another printer, etc). Plus, if the client requires a lot of changes afterward, they should turn in a change order form to you, for which you will charge extra (usually an hourly fee) to make the changes. If the client knows they'll be charged for changes, they will not make as many and are less likely to nit-pick what you've done. I also charge a deposit equal to 30 - 50% of the total job cost up front. If they won't pay it, I won't do it. And NEVER give them speculative artwork without charging them for it. I've done that before, and the client promptly took it to someone who would do the work for less money.

EDIT: If you're new to freelancing, maybe it's wise to charge a lower percentage of an up-front deposit. I 'get away with' what I charge because I've been doing this for a long time in addition to my day job, so if the client doesn't want to pay me, I know I'll get other clients to replace him/her who will pay, so ultimately I've lost nothing. If you're just starting out, you may have to take a little more risk, but other than the up-front deposit, pretty much everything I've said above should still apply.

Best wishes,

Jillian

Thanks very much for replying. Nothing has been signed yet. He is yet to get back to me on the brief.

Yes I found a very effective way of doing that. Basically have SCOPE OF WORK then BILLABLE WORK where the last item is special disclaimer of everything to do with concept and design not in SCOPE OF WORK. The details of the billable work and other expenses are then spelled out in the terms. He can ask for Work Change Order (WCO) for billable work. Other expenses are billed if and when they happen.

Fortunately I don't have to find the printers. I have also decided not to walk it to the printers myself as it makes things more complicated. Approval of final design is basically it, though I've still been reading up on how to prep the files for commercial printers. I think I can do it, but because I've never done it before I'm a little uneasy. So I plan to get in contact with the printers ones they are established to make sure I prep it right.

I may pm you about setting up the formats if that's ok.



Basically a WCO. If they change the brief then thay need a new contract. Yes I have a deposit planed it is actually roughly 23% of the fee but is a nice round amount.


I've divided it into thirds. Deposit at start. Then 50% of fee plus any billable expenses occurred excluding other expenses before going to the printers. Then the remaining amount plus any billable work and expenses in 15 days. 2% service charge per month for any late payments.