What is it, you may ask?
"What is the biggest topic talked about by graphic designers?"
It is when other non-designers do not know how much effort, knowledge and skill it takes to be a designer, and they don't want to pay a fair wage, or any at all.
There are TWO big misconceptions that some non-designers think about graphic design. They think the work is "easy" or "doesn't take very long to do."
Ask any designer, he or she has been asked to do free work - countless times!
Based solely on the fact that those people think it's so easy to do.
Meaning, some people, for some reason, think that a designer should not get paid for his or her hard work. "Use it in your portfolio." They say. "I'll tell everyone who you are so you get some jobs if you do mine for free." They say - Designers - Don't do it!
You deserve to be paid for your time.
Some of you paid to go to school to learn how to design, and you cannot afford to do work for free.
Every other profession gets paid for work they do. Will I hire a plumber and ask him to fix my plumbing for free, NO. Why designers?
"What's so hard about making a simple flyer?"
They might ask.
"I'll tell you."
Now I am going to explain the process it take for me to make your "simple" flyer.
Sometimes a seemingly simple design is not so easy to create. Sometimes, I hear people tell me, "Its just a flyer, how hard can it be?" Now - for the first time ever, I am writing about this topic. Most of the time, my clients are more than happy to pay me the wage I ask for, but sometimes, people don't understand actually how much work goes into a project - and I completely understand that. They haven't walked in a designer's shoes before - and besides, I make it look easy... :) So I will say it now, in this paragraph. (This is a giant topic in the graphic design industry) I get told sometimes, in a passing manner, that what I do doesn't require skill and it is easy to do - and just because it is something that they think is simple, I don't need to get paid for my knowledge, overhead and time.
Now I will explain to you, in a simple way, the process it takes to create something like a flyer...
A flyer consists of many things, and it takes time to do those things. Laying out a design like a flyer takes a lot of patience and attention to detail. Finding the right images to use can take a pretty long time -- and at this point I haven't even began designing the flyer. Now, most of the time, I add in shapes and things like swirls, or even full blown illustrations I create myself. This takes another few hours - or much more depending on the complexity. Then, I have to input all the literature the client provided - depending on what it is, inputting text can take a long time. Especially when I am told to create my own paragraph with just some bullet points. For example, my client might need a paragraph written for their webpage, but only give me some ideas of what to write. Also, many catalogs have SKU numbers to input each in its own text file. Then, I have to decide the font(s). I got through my list of 1000+ fonts and choose about 25 that I really like, to narrow it down. Then, I hone in on about 5. Placing it where I think it should go in the design. Then, I change my mind, try a new font, and maybe once or ten times more. Most of the time, I have to search and download new fonts that I don't have to fit a particular project. There goes another half-hour or more, just on font selection! But if you want a nice finished project, you'll be happy to have me choose the perfect font -- because after all, don't you want the perfect piece of art you hired me to accomplish?
Then, from there, I go on to opening, placing and sizing all the images - most of the time one by one, adding new images to the design as I see fit. Choosing some to get rid of and more to place again-- and now more decisions have to be made. Then I have to choose a color scheme that flows perfectly with the original idea the client had-- not too many people realize how much of a big role colors play in a design. Colors choose the mood of an image - is it bright and cheery? or dark and gloomy? or somewhere in between? Now I have all the images, text & color scheme figured out - for now. Now I need to decide - like a puzzle - how to fit all of this together and it look brilliant at the same time. It can take a pretty long time to get the feng shui perfect - the perfect balance in the image, so one side doesn't look too weighed down. Also, how to bring your eye through the image so I make you see every important piece, without you even realizing I did certain things on purpose to make that happen. Finally after all that work, there is a well thought out piece of art ready to be proofed by my client. 9 out of 10, they 'Love it, but they want to make some small change'. Rarely do I get asked to redo something completely or even half way. As a matter of fact, I have NEVER been asked to redo something.
So a simple "flyer" to some people, is not so simple to me. I know I am worth my wage because my knowledge and skill play a big part in my designs. That's why I like to charge a fair wage so both of us, the client and myself, can be happy and work together again in the future. I aim to please. Now, I will be totally honest - I usually take more time to make a graphic than I charge. Probably about 1/3 of my total time I do not charge the client. I love designing and I want to create the best possible piece of art you could ever hope for. I don't care if I have to be up all night working - until now, I have secretly been working on projects more than the time I charge. I spend more time than I get paid for because my biggest reward is putting out a quality product for my client. That's my PASSION. <3
For all of you designers out there reading this,
don't give in to client pressure!
KNOW YOUR WORTH!
---Until next time...
"Strive to have internal peace, and a piece of cake."
Contact Me
Holly Nelson
Freelance Graphic Designer
Portfolio Website: Galacticgraphics23.wix.com/galacticgraphics
Facebook: facebook.com/galacticgraphics
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