Calling my creative career people...

hey guys, so i have always done chalkboard advertisements and the like for the different jobs ive had. ive always been creative and have done calligraphy since i was a little girl. even though i was very creative and artistic, i was also good at math and science so the creative arts were never really nurtured for me. rather i was told that there was no future in it which led me to pursue other interests that i did well in, yet have not really settled on anything longterm bc i never felt a true passion in them. creating and helping people are my purposes in life.

so having said all this, now that im an adult im considering going back to school for graphic design and advertising. i have an offer from one of my managers to do signage for one of the bars he runs. i definitely want to explore this avenue for work as i think it would feel good to be compensated directly for my artistic work.

my question is, how do you charge for such work? by the hour, size of piece, what? i want to give him an idea of what I'll want to be compensated but i really have no clue right now. they are going to provide all the materials i need so thats a huge plus. any input is appreciated. im very excited to explore this part of myself more.

Posted by Deadpoop
You charge by hour, for most graphic work. A reasonable rate is 30 $ an hour if you're good (not great). Since this is your first gig and it is your friend you can use your discretion and charge less if you want but you gotta make sure your work is good enough for you to receive word of mouth for the discounted compensation. You don't really need to go to school for it if you are freelance. If you wanna work for a company than yeah you have to which i think is still stupid. What is the size of the signage? What i she DPI being used? How many colors? You will also have to mock up a few designs as well which you must factor into the cost as well. You could 10 $ per mock up which is not expensive at all because you will be spending time on it. You also have to see what fonts they like and if that font is copyrighted you have to by a license which will also come into cost. I do freelance on the side it can be both fun and a bitch lol

thank you thank you thank you! i will pass on the mock up idea for sure!

Posted by Deadpoop

Posted by AbbyNormal

Posted by Deadpoop
You charge by hour, for most graphic work. A reasonable rate is 30 $ an hour if you're good (not great). Since this is your first gig and it is your friend you can use your discretion and charge less if you want but you gotta make sure your work is good enough for you to receive word of mouth for the discounted compensation. You don't really need to go to school for it if you are freelance. If you wanna work for a company than yeah you have to which i think is still stupid. What is the size of the signage? What i she DPI being used? How many colors? You will also have to mock up a few designs as well which you must factor into the cost as well. You could 10 $ per mock up which is not expensive at all because you will be spending time on it. You also have to see what fonts they like and if that font is copyrighted you have to by a license which will also come into cost. I do freelance on the side it can be both fun and a bitch lol

thank you thank you thank you! i will pass on the mock up idea for sure!

No problem! What program are you using? The best program to use for logo and signage design is Illustrator, followed by Photoshop. If you know how to use the pen tool you are golden.

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this is actually just hand done. its just spurring an interest in graphic design. i have absolutely no experience with that. here is an example of my latest signage for my current job. mind you, very limited materials and time.

don't waste your time going to school. Learn on the job.

Only go to school if you really have some free time, but make sure you actually learn things there and don't wast time.

The best thng you can learn about this is not about the art part, but about monetizing your work.

Posted by Deadpoop

Posted by hydorah
don't waste your time going to school. Learn on the job.

Only go to school if you really have some free time, but make sure you actually learn things there and don't wast time.

The best thng you can learn about this is not about the art part, but about monetizing your work.

To add to this. If you feel like you really need some academic learning you can always take graphic design courses, or graphic software learning courses at Udemy which is an excellent course site for any field, it's pretty affordable and it's convenient. You can also go to freelancer.com and check out local projects take site certifications which will help you land gigs and also help you build your portfolio. Your portfolio is the heart of you work.

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ive come to realize the importance of the portfolio. i really wish i had some pictures from old phones of past work. but its not too late to start. there are some pics of past signs for work i need to email myself for my portfolio. i was thinking of saving the posts i create for our social media too which seem to be a hit. ive had someone even steal a piece i did on instagram so i was thinking of developing my own watermark or something... i just use a free collage app but ive done some neat work that seems to gain us attention.

Posted by hydorah
don't waste your time going to school. Learn on the job.

Only go to school if you really have some free time, but make sure you actually learn things there and don't wast time.

The best thng you can learn about this is not about the art part, but about monetizing your work.

i would be a perma-student if i could afford it lol. i love to learn. i dont feel like ive explored my potential. mostly, im wanting to learn some business skills. im interested in starting a company so id like to be somewhat prepared. business sense is something i lack but a pertinent skill as an adult. id like to eventually have a family and im trying to build a good financial foundation for them. more education usually means more money. i have never been focused on finances for my own sake, but now that im older, i think of my future family and i want more for us...

Posted by AbbyNormal

Posted by hydorah
don't waste your time going to school. Learn on the job.

Only go to school if you really have some free time, but make sure you actually learn things there and don't wast time.

The best thng you can learn about this is not about the art part, but about monetizing your work.

i would be a perma-student if i could afford it lol. i love to learn. i dont feel like ive explored my potential. mostly, im wanting to learn some business skills. im interested in starting a company so id like to be somewhat prepared. business sense is something i lack but a pertinent skill as an adult. id like to eventually have a family and im trying to build a good financial foundation for them. more education usually means more money. i have never been focused on finances for my own sake, but now that im older, i think of my future family and i want more for us...

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if people thought about finance before family nobody would have kids. Only the people who are already rich can afford this kind of thinking.

This writing thing you're doing can let you start a small scale business, but it can only be a stepping stone so you'll have to find other local opportunities.

My advice : keep the small scale/hometown mindset and don't be lured by business advice that might not be adapted to your situation initially.

Posted by hydorah

Posted by AbbyNormal

Posted by hydorah
don't waste your time going to school. Learn on the job.

Only go to school if you really have some free time, but make sure you actually learn things there and don't wast time.

The best thng you can learn about this is not about the art part, but about monetizing your work.

i would be a perma-student if i could afford it lol. i love to learn. i dont feel like ive explored my potential. mostly, im wanting to learn some business skills. im interested in starting a company so id like to be somewhat prepared. business sense is something i lack but a pertinent skill as an adult. id like to eventually have a family and im trying to build a good financial foundation for them. more education usually means more money. i have never been focused on finances for my own sake, but now that im older, i think of my future family and i want more for us...

if people thought about finance before family nobody would have kids. Only the people who are already rich can afford this kind of thinking.

This writing thing you're doing can let you start a small scale business, but it can only be a stepping stone so you'll have to find other local opportunities.

My advice : keep the small scale/hometown mindset and don't be lured by business advice that might not be adapted to your situation initially.

click to expand

haha hence i have none (yet) and might not ever although i hope so. thank you for the sound advice!

Posted by Aurora8Luna
Good on you for making something out of your creativity!!. Creative companies are highly underestimated. I'm just starting an illustration and design collective right now actually; we have an illustrator and mixed media artist and a typographer and textiles artist.

In my opinion, you only need a degree if you want to be employed for a large company. For freelance work like the project you've been offered; all people will care about is your talent, so you build your portfolio up. As far as Adobe Creative software like Illustrator; you will find video tutorials on Adobe's website. That's how I learnt because I needed to learn fast (for t-shirt designing and fabric pattern making).

Now, I live in Australia but if I were you I'd recommend you charge by the hour. The size of the piece and the amount of detail (and possibly any research you need to do as far as looking up reference images) will determine how many hours you'll take to complete it. As far as price goes people will pay for quality if they're getting value. They want work done and done well, if they hound you about your prices then they're the wrong client. Don't feel bad about your pricing.

Generally speaking, I don't think you should undercut for friends, friends should pay what others would because they're there to support you. Up to you tho. I've read $ 45 p/h is the median price for a graphic designer, $ 30 p/h for a junior. I'd recommend increasing your price as you gain traction. And don't charge less because you havent studied graphic design yet. Charge based on your skill level. Maybe $ 40 since they are providing the materials. In future, once you build up your own material supply, you just include the estimated price of the amount of materials for that project into the hourly cost. The artists I manage charge $ 50- $ 100 an hour; without degrees, only portfolios and talent (that most of them hid away for 10-20 years). So don't undercut yourself.

As far as business; you just need to be good with people, ready for criticism and don't underestimate marketing. I take care of business and write the creative content for my creative collective. If you have any questions about business specifics you can PM me.

Good luck! How exciting! Your typography is slick, my fonts are terrible lol

thanks so much for the thorough advice! im very excited to see where this leads if anywhere. hes a pisces so we'll see if it ever actually happens lol dont hit me!! ?