Profile for stubby43 - commisioning work how to do it properly?

stubby43 aka Phil is a 25.42 year old boy, has been a member since December 22, 2006, has scored 3,809 submissions, giving an average score of 2.65, helping 191 designs get printed.

URL: http://www.travellingcameraclub.com/
AIM: stubbyloves

Apr 14 '09 by stubby43
13 Comments
Watch this
Share:

commisioning work how to do it properly?

I was wondering how do I go about commisioning work without acting like a dick?

Odds on at some point in the future I'll be needing a design work done (cause I dont have the skills to do it myself) and I dont want to fuck people over like an un named band that messed Papapr around.

blog

I read the article by go media posted in that blog (about not being a whore)

link

But some of it I thought seemed a bit odd/confusing mainly it infered that I'd have to pay for every single change made to the design.

Is this true?

From my point of view I'm putting x amount of cash up for a design and if its an unsatefactory design it should be changed.

If you go to a restaurant and they bring cold food out to you, the very least you expect is for them to bring out a new meal thats hot and you dont pay for the same meal twice.

How do I get the changes I want without getting ripped off (I'm sure some designers do it, nobodies perfect).

Please dont rip me a new one, I have no experience with commissioning work which is why I'm trying to learn how to do it properly so we all have the best experience possible.

squatterjohn on Apr 14 '09 at 8:24am

I don't know, but I can sympathise with the designers. I think the designer would quote you based on how much work they anticipate and if you need to make changes then the designer has to go back and x more hours of work which keeps them from doing other work for other paying clients so you'd have to pay more. But at the same time you'd probably have a case like with the cold food if they did an absolutely shit job which is probably where all these conflicts arise from.

fatheed on Apr 14 '09 at 8:24am

'Changes' usually mean changes that weren't specified in the original brief and you pay for them (within reason).

If you ask me to draw a policeman and I come back to you with a drawing of a fireman then you are within your rights to demand what you asked for without paying any more.

If I come back to you with a picture of a policeman, but you wanted you think it would look better if he was waving a truncheon (!) then you can pay for the edit.

If you think it needs changing because my drawing is not good enough, you can ask and I might try to neaten it up - but I can also tell you to fuck off because you hire a designer based on their existing work and you take a risk in the same way that a designer takes a risk working for a client (see PapaPrime).

Also expect to pay 50% upfront.

toopersent on Apr 14 '09 at 8:27am

For the design work that I have done, I'm always included in the letter of understanding that they will get X number of revisions. Any more and they will have to pay per hour for any thing else.

Yes, expect to sign some sort of contract AND/OR pay a deposit.

toopersent on Apr 14 '09 at 8:27am

*I'm = I've

fatheed on Apr 14 '09 at 8:28am

That's also fair ^ revisions as part of the agreement

stubby43 on Apr 14 '09 at 8:34am

Arrow08 on Apr 14 '09 at 8:39am

I will work on it and revise until the client and I are happy for a flat rate per design. But I suppose there is a line there somewhere though.

toopersent on Apr 14 '09 at 8:42am

Also, I include an estimate in my letter (which is a binding legal contract BTW) and make a note that the estimate is exactly that...an ESTIMATE. However, I do make a guarantee that the estimate will not be exceeded by 20% unless the customer needs significant changes made not stated in the letter.

I would request that as a buyer of services, that they guarantee something like this if you are being charged per hour. If you are paying a flat rate, this shouldn't matter.

toopersent on Apr 14 '09 at 8:43am

Ok that makes more sense, its just theres alot of info written from the designers point of view and not a whole lot from the people commisioning the work.

I can see the situation where the comissioner feels the design isnt good enough being a part where conflict arise's, I mean there must be days where you guys really dont feel inspired by an idea.

this is why you should look at a designers porfolio and judge from previous works. If the work you paid for is obviously lower quality than the majority of the deisgners past work then you can have beef.

gumbolimbo on Apr 14 '09 at 8:45am

Basically, what Fatheed said. A lot of trouble can be avoided when you are being clear in advantage about what the design should do and which conditions apply.

gumbolimbo on Apr 14 '09 at 8:50am

And in restaurant analogy: You can expect a new meal when the beef you ordered served is cold, or when you get a trout.

But not when you say: well, yeah, I ordered beef, but It's not exactly how I imagined it would taste, and my mom would have made the side salad different.

stubby43 on Apr 14 '09 at 11:24am

Ok cool, p.s good use of the restaurant analogy.

stubby43 on Apr 14 '09 at 2:14pm

bump for more perspectives.

You must be logged in to leave a comment.

My gallery photos

→ All of my 2 photos

All about me

Too Many Choices - Threadless, Best T-shirts Ever

Login to Threadless!

My gallery photos

All about me