Lee has a lot of experience, and knows what he’s talking about. He’s given you some great advice again. You factor the cost of fonts into what the client pays, whether you’re buying a new family, or using one you bought in the past.

I typed “fonts clients” into the search box on my blog, scrolled down the results a little, and found your question had already been answered in the comments of my Henri Ehrhart post. The people who read my blog are pretty unbelievable when it comes to offering advice, and with 15,000+ comments on my posts, I’m sure you’ll get some more help using the search box. If you don’t, though, feel free to leave questions as a comment on a relevant post.

Pricing isn’t straightforward, that’s for sure. And there are a lot of factors involved.

So Ian, my advice if you are starting out is:

NEVER work for free. Even for friends. It doesn’t means a hefty fee up front, you could get at least a favour in return, or a royalty, a deferred fee etc. Always let the client know how much work costs for work like this. Don’t say it’s 24x£80 per hour. Say to design something like this for a client like you I charge x amount. Clients should pay us for our expertise. Unfortunately they are viewing us in the same way as someone selling paperclips. Always round quotes, never say it’s x amount and 24 pence. That means the amount is accountable. CLients always quibble over the $50 bill, the small things. Never the large amounts. I’m not saying that you should rip clients off, just make sure that the creative part of the process has a value. It’s not really a x amount of hours fee. Artwork however is.

Secondly, always be transparent what the client is getting for that fee. Then over deliver. So stage 1 (creative) they will get research, 3 concepts on x packs or logo design, stationery, shop sign for instance. This means that when the client wants other items you can charge extra as it wasn’t included in the quote. The creative stage also includes 2 sets of client revisions. This stops the client from changing the design endlessly. If they do that they have to pay more.

When you present, tell them the idea BEFORE showing them what it looks like. Get them to agree with the concept. Then if they don’t like execution of the idea you still have a really good steer on one route. It also stops you looking like you design wallpaper. There is a reason why you have done something.

Good luck Ian

Lee

I came across our website just by chance last night, and spent hours, reading your design processes on the logo designs. It really is very generous of you to allow other people an insight into how you arrive at an idea, and how you execute that idea into a professional logo. You have really gave me some much needed inspiration and motivation.

I’m from Belfast, but have been living in France for 2 years now, so it’s fantastic to see a fellow Norn Irn’er making a real success of his talents, and being kind enough to share that talent with others.

Thank you again and I wish you continued success in your career.

ps. Is Bangor REALLY top of your list after travelling the world?! :-)

I am thinking of starting up my own company but I have a lot of questions in my head (and not a lot of money) and I don’t seem to be able to find a reliable or knowledgeable enough source to get the answers….. until now!

Regarding the fonts again. So does it mean that each time I want to use a font I need to purchase it? I have been looking at some sites and the prices are hundreds of euros for each font family! How can an individual starting up afford that? and that’s just for one font!

Also, if you are creating ideas for a client and are experimenting with fonts, what do you do? Is there an option of taking a free sample for proofing and then if the client likes it then you buy it?

And finally (for now), IF the font used costed you 300 euros to buy, do you charge the client this directly, or is it a cost that you need to cover yourself?

Thank you thank you thank you for this website! It is a real treasure with people who actually know what they’re taking about.

You can’t use them commercially, they are for private use only (most of the time). This means you can’t use them for a client, paid or otherwise which renders them useless.

They are a pain and often don’t work or corrupt.

Stick to websites like myfonts.com or fontfont etc

There are sites out there offering free fonts, and others where you need to buy the font.

Is there any legal problems that you are aware of if you were to use a free font, or even use a font without buying it for your corporate logo?

Great web site with great information! Just discovered it tonight :-)

http://www.counterfeitchic.com/Images/I_Heart_NancY.jpg