question for graphic designers

amother

Thu, May 17 2012, 8:48 pm

what would be or how do you calculate a reasonable release fee for original files?

meaning the original layered file you designed in as opposed to a printable version.

faigyl

Thu, May 17 2012, 8:50 pm

We never give it out.

tzila

Thu, May 17 2012, 11:04 pm

agreed, I would never give out the original file.

sunspot

Fri, May 18 2012, 2:16 am

Just throwing in interesting food for thought: If they are paying you for the time involved to create the design for them, why not?

amother

Fri, May 18 2012, 2:24 am

tzila and feigle I don't want to give it out, I just thought the proper thing to do would be to offer them to buy it with the copyrights.

webdesignermom wrote:

Just throwing in interesting food for thought: If they are paying you for the time involved to create the design for them, why not?

well if all they are paying you for is the the time involved then you don't have to give them anything at all:wink:
kidding aside, you charge for the time and work involved and the finished product.
The finished product being either printable pdf or the hard copy printouts along with the pdf.
the original file however is your intellectual property. You don't need them seeing the steps and layers you took to create the design.

I just thought it might be appropriate to offer them if they really want the file to pay for it. I mean if they aren't coming to me anymore anyway but still want something from me, I might as well earn something out of it, no?

Fri, May 18 2012, 5:01 am

I don't know what I would charge, but even if I would give out my original files for them to edit, I would do my best to flatten what I could - meaning if I have a few images placed, I'd first export them together as a pdf, so that all they're getting is pdf of the background, and outline any text I could get away with outlining...

Why wouldn't I? Because I don't need people knowing how I did things, and I actually rather spend 10 minutes working for free changing the date of a letter or something like that a for a client, than give them the file. Like that, a year later, even if I'm not getting paid from them, they are remembering me. And then, 3 months later when they have another file, they'll think - hey, remember the letter kb did for us last year? She was so accommodating this year about doing those changes for free! I think lets try using her for this project too... And then I will make some more money.

e1234

Fri, May 18 2012, 5:08 am

Quote:

Just throwing in interesting food for thought: If they are paying you for the time involved to create the design for them, why not?

I feel this way also

crl

Fri, May 18 2012, 6:18 am

I never give out original files, but if someone had a good reason to ask, I'd charge them not only for deaign, but for the right to own/edit it.

Ilovechoumous

Fri, May 18 2012, 6:23 am

when I have worked with graphic designers before, upfront I tell them I would like the psd files so that I could edit them later. I've paid different things to different graphic designers (depending on their experience/talent)

I am editing to include that the last graphic designer I worked with I was over charged and I will not work with him again on principle.

Fri, May 18 2012, 7:08 am

I'm trying to think of a comparable thing to giving out the actual work files, rather than just a print-ready file.

I used to work in an accounting office and did a lot of financial statements. We had a pretty complicated excel file where, for example, the income on page 3, was pulled into the letter on page 5. The date, name and so forth was put in once and was automatically threaded throughout the file.

When we sent someone a financial statement, we sent a pdf. Saying: this is your income, these are your expenses, etc. We did not send them the excel file with the formulas and equations and stuff. No one ever expected us to give them the excel file - that's the accountant's office's file. You asked for a financial statement, you get a financial statement.

Somehow I feel that people don't really 'value' or even 'understand' what is involved in graphic design. The indesign, photoshop, and other files are mine. My work. You asked for a poster, you get a poster. And I keep my files that I used to produce your poster. I don't see why people would think differently.

I used to work for a marketing company, and did some design work for some big companies. Once, they asked for the actual file. I'm sure they were charged for it, but before sending it out, you bet I flattened the photoshop file as much as possible...

tzila

Fri, May 18 2012, 9:23 am

ok, I'm new here, so I have no idea how to quote a topic, but first of all, I really agree with kb- the clients are paying for and want the finished product. Even if they did want the original, I wouldn't give it out, specifically, for the reason Ilovechoumus wrote- I do not want my clients editing my work when so much time and effort went into it. Even if it's a small thing that will only take a minute, I'd rather I do it (for free, like kb).

crl

Fri, May 18 2012, 9:44 am

Ilovechoumous wrote:

If you ask up front and they agree, that's totally fine -- but I personally would have told you that it's my policy not to give them out. I understand it's infinitely easier to edit a date yourself on an original document than have to ask the graphic designer again (and depending on amount of edits, I'd either do it for free, or charge a nominal fee to do changes) but on the other hand, what's then stopping the client from sending MY psd with all of my layers, effects, tricks and technique information (which every designer does differently, so it's not "standard" in any way) from sending it to another designer, who can them claim credit for "designing"? Or, lets say the client then change the colors, text, and one of the photos. Regardless of how long it took them, that is a new poster built on MY work, and it's a job I won't be getting, even if the quality of the work is diminished. It makes my work more accessible and out there in the world, which I am uncomfortable with.

And, I agree wholeheartedly with kb. People do undervalue graphic design work; they believe that it's easy -- just slap a picture and text together and boom, graphic. I've seen so many ads looking for a designer saying "I need a logo, business card and brochure, but it's very simple so it should only take you an hour of work." when, EVERYTHING, every job, however "simple" it is, takes TIME, and giving away files gives away billable time. (Again, I've had to edit/redo posters that have taken anywhere from 5 minutes to full redesigns (within the same file) which took me 2 hours -- something I will not do for free)

I'm not saying it's not wrong to overcharge and I'm sorry you experienced that -- I usually don't start billing until I start working, but work could be research, subsequent discussions with a client after initial agreement, actual designing, editing, collaborating, etc. It's not a simple process, therefore, giving out original files cheapens the work and the need for a designer at all.

sunspot

Fri, May 18 2012, 11:03 am

I agree with you all--there is 1 time that I give out the files gladly, when the client is extremely difficult to work with and so much agmas nefesh comes out of it (extremely extremely rare). I just want to finish with it!

crl

Fri, May 18 2012, 11:50 am

Here is an interesting article about pricing your work: http://www.jessicahische.is/ob.....tpaid

I think it gives everyone (not only designers) a good idea of the design process and how charging works and what it's based on.

Also, this woman is extremely talented. Smile

(Warning: Cursing)

Last edited by crl on Fri, May 18 2012, 1:36 pm; edited 1 time in total

Rubber Ducky

Fri, May 18 2012, 1:06 pm

Unfortunately, considerable cursing. But valuable information. I'm copying the article and editing out the colorful language and metaphors for my students at Maalot.

amother

Sat, May 19 2012, 9:08 pm

OP here,
I'm so glad I posted here asking my question because I was insecure in my decision not to give out original files (I've rarely been asked, this is only the second time) and I'm glad to see that I'm not being unreasonable. You all expressed exactly the reasons I didn't want to give them out.

Like someone else wrote graphic design is undervalued and clients don't understand the steps involved in creating even simple designs.