Graphic Design Fees??? How much??? Desperate to know.

And when there is an illustrator as well, how much should the graphic designer generally get working with an illustrator?

Both questions assume graphic design for a board, box design, a 20pg or so rule book, tiles and cards.

******This is not an easy question because there are so many factors including your own experience level.

With me, a designer who is the graphic designer, doesn't get extra money - his royalty takes care of the design and graphics: since I'm publishing his game, and he wants the best game out there, it seems fair to include this into the royalty.

As a separate illustrator, or graphic designer, as I said, experience counts for something. In this industry, there aren't too many 10K run games looking for such work: these people are probably taken and busy with the few games of that ilk out there.

So when you get to a smaller run, then the company has to objectively look at its budget and decide what it can afford to pay a designer or illustrator.

If I pay, say, $1000 for a graphic design job (as stated by you - box, board, rules) and I'm planning a run of 5K, I just added 20 cents to the cost of the game. That might not seem like much but when you look at everything else, including what you can sell the game for (and hope it sells well), that 20 cents could break your budget or at least stop you form making the profit you need to do another game.

But $1000 seems to be a good price point for such a bang up job of several components. Again, depending on your experience and complexity of design $1000 might be too little or too much.

There isn't a right answer - it's what will make you and the company happy. If you're both happy, whether it's money on the back end, or a huge chunk up front, then it's a good deal.

I probably rambled a bit but it is a hard question to answer since there are no set rates.

Hi

With regards to how much should I charge for design work is a tricky one, as you don't want to under charge as you'll look to cheap and you don';t want to over charge because no one will hire you.

You will have to take into account several areas with regards to your pricing;

First and foremost is this going to be your only source of income, becuase if it is then youn will have to charge professional prices. If you are already working and this is additional pocket money work then you can afford to price your self at a lower cost.

Second: what are your over heads?? You will need to cover these as well as make some money for yourself.

Third: How any hours to produce a standard piece of work, ie a how long does it take for you to produce a brochure. You set your self an hourly rate which takes into account the time taken and your overheads, especially if this is going to provide a roof over your head.

Take time to look around at other freelancers in your area, to get a feel for costing.

I'm a freelancer in the UK and charge anything from £15-45 an hour depending on the job, though I have done some work for friends and associates for less including free, but I can afford to as I also work as Teacher part time. If you are planning on making aliving in this area then you will have to make sure that you can cover all of your costs.

Set hourly rates for particular projects:

ie Logo design £15 per hour
Brochure design £15-30 etc etc

With regards to illustration for games companies, the only advice I can give you is to look at the D20 Gaming Companies as they have set rates for illustrations.

Also one crucial area to remeber when embarking into this arena, is contracts, make sure you have a contract for any job you start. If a potential client won't sign a contract then my advice is drop them like a lead balloon. If a client won't sign then the chances are they won't pay, a hard lesson I learnt when I first became a freelancer 8 years ago.

Anyway good luck, your work is excellent and you should have no problem picking up some work.

Cheers Jason
need any more advice you can contact me at Jason.b.hubbard@gmail.com