How much to charge for design work

[mops]

hi guys

my apologies if this thread is in the wrong place, i wasnt sure where to put it

here's my query:
i've just started up a new magazine which involves me sometimes having to design adverts for clients. I'm sorted with regards of how much i charge them to advertise but i'm at a loss of how much to charge for the design itself and whether i sell the copyright or not. I understand the charge will differ from design to design but i really dont know where to start.

do i charge per hour? or charge per size ? i just dont know......i'm not that clever :rolleyes:

as for copyright, do i sell the customer the design to use as they wish, but copyright remains with me, so that if there's any duplication i could sue (i wish that didnt sound so harsh) or does it mean when i sell the design i'm selling copyright also

oh my god this is all so complicated - my brain is not advanced enough for such things :confused: ;)

I'm in the uk and i know a lot of you arent, but if you can lend any suggestions my brain can convert it ....................... i think anyway ;)

anyway guys, if you can lend any suggestions that would be great, i just need a starting point to build from

mops

[Paul C]

Hi mops - If you want to know how others are handling this I would suggest trying to download some spec/rate sheets from comparable magazines or newspapers. I know that there is an extra charge for design everywhere we place ads, there's also a charge for fixing poorly executed designs, but of course since I'm a highly trained professional I have no idea how much. :)

I have no idea how they handle the copyright part. Most magazines and newspapers have downloadable PDFs of their specs/rates these days. Maybe you could find out a little more there…

peace

[Paul C]

LA Weekly has a staff of talented designers who can produce ads if these specs are beyond individual capabilities. Please talk to your sales representative to see if this is the best option for you. For ad rates, sizes or space reservation please contact your sales representative.

Classified Sales: 323.465.4433

Display Sales: 323.465.4414


This is the blurb on the local weeklies website. You could call them up (or someone closer) and pretend you wanted something designed and see what they quote you. You could also ask what their policy is on copyrights and if they give you a copy of the file.

Devious - but sales people usually love to talk…

peace

[The Repro Kid]

The copyright issue is not as tough as it seems.

In general, when someone pays you to design and produce camera ready art, they then own that art. They can then do with it what they please. You could be providing either mechanical art boards, or more currently, a CD or disk. They then own the Mechanicals, Disk or whatever, and they can take it anywhere and have anything they wish done with it. The copyright most definitely belongs to them, not you. You were paid for services rendered and they own the art.

If it is only a design, and not camera ready art, you should be providing them with sketches, art boards, or a disk, and again, they own it and can do with it what they please.

Further, you have no responsibility to care for, store, and or back up their work once you've handed it over to them, although most companies, out of goodwill, have a policy of promising their customers they will store the art for them for a reasonable amount of time, such as 3–5 years.

On top of all this, any artwork you produce as an employee belongs to your employer, not you, until your employer then sells it to their client.

Anytime you wish to retain some of the copyright when designing for a client, you must carefully spell out all the limited rights in a legal contract and have both parties sign it. This is not at all a common practice in design and camera ready art, although it is a fairly common practice in photography.

As far as fees are concerned, $90 american is a good rate if you are running a proper business with a storefront and employees. If you are running a biz out of your home you could charge less, mainly to undercut the storefront competition, our you could charge more than the storefront businesses in order to to give you home business an elitist quality.

[mops]

guys - thanks ever so much - youre brilliant

the main reason i'm asking is because i've just started up this magazine and i notice that within my competitors 'permissions & rights' stuff - they state that when a client pays for the advert (that that particular magazine has created for them), that they cannot use that design in another magazine

so from what i gather - the client pays the standard advert rate i.e. 100-00 - the design work (they state) is free - however the client cannot take this to another magazine

so, do you think i should follow in the same steps, and give the client an option of paying for the design work, then they are free to use it as they wish or is that sounding spiteful. i'm really not sure how these things work.

please dont think i'm moeny grabbing, i'm not honestly, i just want to do this professionally

thanks again chaps, hope youre all well and the sun is shining mighty fine wherever you are

;)

[The Repro Kid]

That's a different story.

If the client does not pay to have art created, then they cannot expect to own something they did not pay for.

But it must be spelled out ahead of time and should be made clear to the client, with approval signatures, before doing the work.

[mops]

that's answered it - thanks repro youre a gem ;)

[The Repro Kid]

Well yes, but now I'd better offer my disclaimers to keep me from getting in trouble!

If you are going to offer this free design service I think it would be best to use the customer discount system on your invoice along with a well displayed disclaimer if you want to be legally untouchable.

This means create a detailed invoice for project tabulating the hours and activities, such as design, typesetting, photo scanning and imaging, etc and tabulate a real charge invoice for the true amount of the work with the total indicated. Then at the bottom of the invoice have a Customer Discount section. In this section apply a "No Charge." Then at the bottom of the invoice have a disclaimer that stands out and is not hidden, use red ink, and state something legally official sounding such as: The customer agrees to give up all further rights for usage of the above artwork being purchased upon receiving a "No Charge" Customer Discount on this invoice. The customer agrees that Mops Inc owns all rights to reproduction and usage of the artwork provided and the customer retains no further rights to any future reproduction, or usage, printed or otherwise, unless explicitly agreed upon by Mops Inc, blah blah blah.

This disclaimer should be easily viewable as should all the charges and the fact that there is no final charge for the services rendered. This way clients will not have to be forced to sign the receipt in order for it to stand up in court. But signing it would, of course, further make it rock solid in court.

That will hopefully keep you safe and maybe if you pass on those No Charge receipts to your tax man he may able to make something out of it. I'm just guessing on that one, but it'd be the first thing I looked into ;)

[mops]

my god repro - where did you buy that brain of yours - i want one !
thank you ever so much, i really appreciate it, i will definetly do this, it makes so much sense. I dont know how many 'thank you's' i can fit in here:)

i've just got myself an accountant and he seems pretty spot on everything so i'll run this by him also this week

thanks again repro / thanks everyone