Thomas Kryton (bio)

At this point I recounted a story I’d read back in university about Pablo Picasso. While eating lunch one day Picasso was approached by someone who asked him to draw a portrait of them. Picasso grabbed a napkin and in a few minutes had drawn a portrait of this person. Picasso then handed the napkin to the person naming some extravagant price. At this point this person choked at the price and asked “how can you charge so much when it only took you a few minutes to draw it.” Picasso’s reply was to the effect of it may have only taken me a moment to draw it but it’s taken me a lifetime to get to this point. Obviously for me it was the wrong thing to say to the wrong prospect. Their retort was, “how can you compare yourself to Picasso?”

Needless to say I turned down the project. And, properly chagrined I began to wonder if my pricing really was out of line. I then set about doing some research in both the local and national markets. I also checked out some books such as the “Graphic Artist's Guild Handbook Pricing & Ethical Guidelines by Graphic Artists Guild” and “Pricing Web Services: How to Determine What You Should Charge by Robert C., Msee, Mssm Brenner”, plus a couple of other on-line publications. Turns out after all of this research that I’m not really that expensive to hire, more so my pricing is just about average, maybe a touch under. Which where originally I had wanted to place myself, I’m not looking to become rich overnight nor price myself out of the market but also at the time I felt my pricing would cover my expenses and such.

But, being born with a lot of preexisting guilt I began to question the validity of comparing myself to Picasso. Could I really compare my worth to his, okay, maybe I can’t charge as much as he did. Should I compare my pricing to that I’ve seen on freelance bidding boards, no, I don’t think so, I’d never eat again, and I’d have to get a second job to pay for my software and hardware. So where do I value my services and do my clients actually get value from the services I provide?

So, time for a little personal inventory. What do I possess that will add value to my clients/employers projects and help them achieve their goals?

I’ve got around twenty years of practical experience in sales and marketing from a retail/wholesale perspective. Is that of value to my clients, probably, especially if they have a product they’re trying to sell. If they don’t make money from my efforts I’m pretty well guaranteed there won’t be a repeat performance.

Hmmm, I also have a “Bachelor of Fine Arts” degree, that should add a little value to the mix. If nothing else as one of my instructors commented they’ll know “you’re a good drawer.” I’ve also continued my studies since leaving school so I’m up to date on industry trends and practices.

Let’s see, I’ve also got twelve years experience doing design in print and web. That should add some value to what I bring to the table as well. In short I’ve got a proven track record if you will, not as long as Picasso’s yet, but still a good track record.

What else can I give to my customers that will be of value to them? Well, my software’s up to date and I use industry standard software and hardware. So what I make for them will work with anyone else in the business world, that’s got to be valuable as well. Saves them time, saves them money, what a deal.

I guess that’s a pretty good inventory of stuff to bring of value to my clients, there are others, but the list is getting longer than expected.

So, after some number crunching as to costs, usual things like rent, food, hardware, software, cost of my original education and the costs of my continuing education. Factor some in for my experience and add a dash of “two weeks of holidays” and I arrived at a number that I think should be appropriate for my level of education and experience. A quick check of price guides and local market conditions and it appears that I’ve placed my services at a healthy competitive rate for my market.

Can I compare myself to Picasso, sure why not? When it comes to pricing my services like Picasso it has taken me some time and effort to get to where I am today.

This brings me to the next part of this little exercise. How do you rank yourself? Are you like a lot of designers I know, willing to cheapen yourself just to get the job? Can you look yourself in the mirror in the morning and go through your mental checklist of how you got to this place in time whether it be by education, experience or both and then look your client in the eye and ask for less than you’re worth?

There seems to be this perceived notion that price point is everything. But ask yourself honestly, is it? Relating it back to a real world example when you go shopping do you always go for the cheapest? Have you ever been burned by buying the cheapest of something and vowed never again to buy that product again or shop at this particular vendors? I know I have. Occasionally I mess up and will repeat the process, I’m a slow learner, but eventually I will get the point. So too will your clients.

Also, have you ever noticed how good or bad work is when someone is cutting their rate too far? Have you ever noticed how good or bad you work when you know you’ve cut your rate too far? Funny thing is you never see a plumber or a dentist announce that they will charge seventy to eighty percent less than the guy down the street just to get the job. If they did you’d probably wonder what was wrong with the service. So should it be with design as well.

Digital Paint Graphic and Web Design