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HOW TO GET THE BUSINESS!

jobs, you'll need to start doing work that
looks or is real as soon as you leave school.

• Submit your work to design annu¬
als such as Communication Arts, HOW,
Print, AIGA, Type Directors Club, Art
Directors Club, Creativity and others.
This can cost a fair amount of money and
often your work will not be selected and
you will end up paying for the printing of
the winners' work. Still, submitting work
to certain annuals is an absolute ritual
for many designers and design firms.

• Respond when Leslie
Cabarga calls you up and

asks you to submit work to a
book he's doing. You'd be sur¬
prised that many designers,
from whom I requested work,
never got it together to
respond. True, we're all busy.
But it is no accident that certain names in
this industry show up time and time
again in design annuals and books like
this one. They are ones who understand
the value of such free publicity.

• Link to other designers on your site
so they will reciprocate. This might seem
counterproductive—potential clients
could choose a designer you linked to,
instead of you. But the reverse is also pos¬
sible, and it's good karma. Be helpful to
anyone who asks for advice. You don't
have to feel jealously competitive of other
designers. Such insecurity is generally
indicative of bad artists, not good ones. I
believe the universe rewards us for being
generous.

• Initiate projects of your own.
Seymour Chwast once told me, 'You can't
make money by sitting around waiting for
the phone to ring." Chwast's Push Pin
Studios for a time issued a magazine and
even marketed candy in beautifully
designed tins. Type foundries House
Industries and Emigré both publish mag¬
azines. One of the reasons I've authored
over two dozen books during my career is
to initiate work for myself, and not have
to take orders from a stupid client—other
than myself.

• Issue press releases to design, font
and typography magazines and websites
to announce any new fonts you've devel¬
oped or major logo or design commissions
you've bagged.

Designers seeking freelance work, or
on-staff positions, are frequently so hun¬
gry for a bite, we take any job or client
who'll accept us and neglect to consider

whether we will be happy doing the
work. John Horns explained how JHI, his
design firm, holds potential clients up to
scrutiny. "We believe in looking for com¬
panies we want to work with, that seem
to share our creative and strategic val¬
ues. We look for a good fit: not everyone
can be your client. Then we politely and
persistently pursue those we're interest¬
ed in. We design a strategy and tactics
for the pursuit process, and we've creat¬
ed promotional materials that we can
customize. Our one-on-one approach

allows the client to really get to know us
and vice versa. That's the way great
working relationships get started.

THE PRICE IS...DIFFICULT

Pricing is one of the most difficult
issues for graphic designers. Unlike at
Sears, where the refrigerator price tag
reads $499.99, it is much harder to affix
an exact price on our work because there
are so many more variables to consider,
the least of which is that we are selling an
intangible commodity: creativity.

There are a handful of refrigerator
manufacturers, but we are, perhaps,
200,000 independent contractors with
varying levels of skill and experience,
from student to old pro. And we're all
competing for the same jobs and for
clients who often can't recognize any dif¬
ference in our quality.

To get a basis for pricing, see the
Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing
& Ethical Guidelines, which is an excel¬
lent, well-researched reference book, cur¬
rently in its 10th edition. The problem
then becomes selling clients on these
prices. We constantly find ourselves faced
with clients who think of designers as
hobbyists and dilettantes whose work has
no real value because it is not hard goods
like bolts or a tractor trailor. "In this
case," suggests illustrator Laura Smith, "I
would copy pricing info from the Guild
Handbook and fax it to the client to con¬
vince him."

Following is my procedure for negotiat¬
ing price. These guidelines apply to any
piece of design, whether a logo, an adver¬
tisement, or a web site.

1. Get information before quoting.

Find out who the client is, or the end
client, if you were asked to quote by
another designer or by an advertising
agency. Ask how extensively the piece will
be used and for how long. What will be the
extent of its distribution? Ask how many
additional uses the piece will have beyond
the initial use. Ask how large it is to
appear in print. This is the same basis
upon which stock photo and art compa¬
nies determine pricing.

2. Get the client to speak first. In the

pricing game, as has oft been
said, the loser is the one who
speaks first. Ask the client
what he's budgeted for the
project. Hopefully, he won't
respond, "I dunno, what
would you charge for it?"
Actually, he does know what
he wants to spend, but he also knows this
pricing rule, and he hopes you'll tip your
hand first. If the client tells you his budg¬
et is $1000, he's really giving you his low
end. So you put on an injured tone and
say, well I was really thinking of $2500
Then you both can compromise on $2000
But if you speak first, telling him that the
job is worth $2500, He'll assume that's
your high mark and he'll sound wounded,
start moaning, and tell you his hands are
tied, that his budget is $825 but maybe he
could squeeze $1200 out just for you.

When a client names his price, always
ask for more. Perhaps the most important
reason to make the client speak first is
that he may offer a price far higher than
you would have asked. This has happened
to me several times. And when it hap¬
pens, regain your composure and then...
ask for more. Remember, the client
always starts out on his low end. Many
times, just by having the guts to say,

"Well, I'd really like to get $____for this,"

I have upped a price by as much as 50%.

Sometimes, of course, the price a client
throws out really is his budget and there's
no negotiating. So then you have to find a
way of gracefully accepting, or refusing
the offer. Pricing is just Uke dating: Both
parties accept that there's going to be
some initial awkwardness, but you have
to be willing to work through it to con¬
summate the deal.

3. Give a pricing range. Sometimes it's
better to provide an estimate, for exam¬
ple, of between $2000 and $3000, rather
than name a fixed price. This covers you
in case of unexpected changes or addi-

The check-is-in-the-mail paradox:

The speed with which a check reaches us

is in inverse relationship to how badly

we need for it to arrive.

LOGO, FONT & LETTERING BIBLE

231

tions. It may also sound less scary to the
client because it lets him know you have
some flexibility. Years ago a client called
and asked me how much I'd charge to do
a certain logo. I told him $1000. He said,
"$1000?" I said, 'Yes, $1000." So he said,
"I'll call you back." Of course, he never
did. This is why some designers never
give a price quote on the first phone call.

What I should have done was engage
him in conversation about the project and
perhaps even discuss ideas in order to
begin building a relationship, getting him
feeling comfortable with me, finding out
we both love cocker-spaniels, etc. After
finally naming my price and listening to
him swallow hard on the other end of the
line, I might have added, "Is that within
your budget?" or "I usually charge $1500.
for something like this, but I'm really
excited [bored] about your project [really
stupid] and would love [not!] to work with
you [or whoever!] on this [to get paid], so
I will accept $1000." (It's okay to think,
but don't actually say, the stuff I put in
brackets.) Now the client sees that you
are honest, thrifty, kind, reverent, an ani¬
mal lover, and willing to work with him to
meet his needs because you really under¬
stand where he's coming from [yawn!].

4. Explain your terms up front. You'll
require a fee for initial sketches or comps,
so that if the job is killed
at this stage, you will
have been compensated
for your efforts. There'll
be the fee for the execu¬
tion of the job itself.
There will be additional
charges if the client
changes his mind after you've done the
job according to approved sketches, or if
he wants additions not called for in the
initial job description. And, there'll be a
"kill fee" if the job is cancelled, for some
reason, before completion. If you finish a
job to the client's satisfaction, but he
later decides not to use it, you should
still receive the agreed-upon fee because
you never agreed to work for free and if
he doesn't use your work that's his prob¬
lem. After terms are discussed, e-mail
your understanding of the verbal agree¬
ment to the client just to make sure his
understanding is the same as yours.

PRICE ACCORDING TO USAGE

It disturbs me to see fixed prices on

designers' websites, such as, "Logo: $250;
Web site design: $500," not only because
those prices are usually too low, but

because prices must vary according to the
type of client and the extent of usage of
our work. Some may say it is unfair to
charge one client more than another is
charged for the same type and amount of
work, just because the first client is more
affluent. Isn't that taking advantage?
Isn't that price gouging?

No, here's why designers charge AT&T
more than Giuseppi's Deli. Giuseppi may
use our work for a few ads in the neigh¬
borhood newspaper. He may print up
1000 two-color business cards and put
some flyers in car windows.

AT&T, or a company of similar size,
may spend millions of dollars just to place
the logo or ad design they purchase from
us in billboards, TV spots and advertise¬
ments in high-circulation magazines,
nationwide. The usage is greater, so the
fee is higher. Moreover, all is fair in the
pricing game because everything is nego¬
tiable and there is really no way to attach
an accurate valuation upon design,
except, maybe, to the extent that we can
gauge the response to our work in terms
of actual sales, although designers are
rarely privy to the client's account books.

I used to assume that fees for freelance
editorial illustration, which was my main
meat for many years, were set according
to fixed rates a magazine established for

We always make our worst decisions—whether

in business or in love—when we feel in need.

Never work for a client, or date someone, whom

your instincts tell you is bad news.

a full page illustration, a half page, or a
"spot" (small illustration). Then I discov¬
ered that certain artists were demanding
higher prices and getting them, so I start¬
ed doing it too, and getting results.

The capriciousness of art budgets
became clear when I found out that if a
magazine paid $1100 for a full page illus¬
tration, but then decided to use photogra¬
phy instead, it would willingly pay ten
times more to fill the same space because,
"Photographers have assistants and over¬
head, they have to hire models, and create
sets." After hearing that a few times I real¬
ized that there was no such thing as an
actual budget. Pricing is based on how lit¬
tle the client can get away with paying us,
and in how little regard he holds us.

Designer Gerard Huerta put things in
perspective for me when he pointed out,

"Time magazine pays us $3000 for cover
artwork. The back cover—the same sheet
of paper—can cost the magazine's adver¬
tisers up to $280,000." We need to
remember that the paltry few hundreds
or thousands we receive for a logo, prod¬
uct or web site design is usually grossly
disproportionate to the profits a client
may reap from our work.

In Hollywood, pricing gets down to the
level of a Middle Eastern bazaar. It's an
ego thing; It makes film people happy if
they can cheat someone out of decent pay.
Beware, especially, of the entertainment,
music, and garment industries, and polit¬
ical campaign work. Such clients seem to
pride themselves on cheating people
whenever possible. Ask for initial pay up
front and make them pay you for the final
work C.O.D. I wouldn't worry about get¬
ting paid by Warner Brothers, Sony or
BMG, for instance, but I would worry
about smaller, independent companies in
the named fields.

PLUMBING, CONTRACTS AND WFH

When you work on salary for a design
firm or agency, you will usually not make
as much money as working freelance out
of your home or small office. This is
because a designer, working alone, gets
paid in large chunks and can keep all the
money she makes on a job and list item¬
ized deductions on her
income tax (it seems to
work out better when the
1RS doesn't get to auto¬
matically grab it from
your paycheck). An em¬
ployee may only get the
same amount each week, minus taxes,
even if the company has a boom year.

However, many designers can't stomach
entrepreneurship and prefer the security
of a steady paycheck. The hardest part, of
course, is locating clients and attracting
work for which one cannot remain clois¬
tered in a studio (at least not at first) but
must be proactive, going to meetings, net¬
working, writing proposals, sending out
self promotional mailers, and so on. The
employee may simply be told what to do
and may feel relief at not being required
to express much initiative.

Admittedly, as a freelance all my life,
I've weathered many lean times, but the
flip side is having been able to accumu¬
late enough at times to take an eight-
week vacation whenever I wanted to, or
take a nap, go to the movies or do laundry
in the middle of the day.