I need a Graphic Design for my online business

[tommylogic]

I like mine better.. I think I'm on to something here

[L[Design]]

Thanks Paddy! Broken's totally right, I still think Tommy takes the cake.

[paddy]

Originally Posted by brokendalek

Now Paddy, you do realise that you have just undermined everything that has been said by every other member in this whole thread.

I do, but I believe in doing free stuff because I like to practice with live briefs. If CCG like what I made they are welcome to it. If they do, and their business takes off, in a few years they might wish to do a rebrand and they may come back to me. Next time it won't be free because I'll be better for having had the practice I get from doing jobs for free.

Loss leader strategy. It doesn't always work but it's a way to get your designs out there.

[blueocto]

Originally Posted by paddy

I do, but I believe in doing free stuff because I like to practice with live briefs.

It wasn't a free brief.... and assuming you do that, I assume your a student?

Originally Posted by paddy

and their business takes off,

Considering they've just said they already make money selling cards on eBay I would think they already have the money to pay a decent designer, decent wages.

Originally Posted by paddy

in a few years they might wish to do a rebrand and they may come back to me.

Yes, for another free design!

Originally Posted by paddy

It doesn't always work

I must agree on that one! lol

[L[Design]]

If you want to do free work, it's not good karma to come on a website loaded with top-notch designers and undercut them and their ability by doing something for free that had absolutely no value at all to begin with. If you want free work, seek people locally to where you are, do the work for them pro-bono, unadvertised, meaning, don't announce it to the world, and build your portfolio. Believe me, you've not set yourself up for nothing in the future, be confident in yourself and your ability, seek your style and only your style and sell yourself.

[ccgcollectibles]

Alright fine I will pay 65$ via paypal. Just I need something

[tommylogic]

what was it you sell again? and is there a website or something?

[paddy]

Originally Posted by L[Design]

If you want to do free work, it's not good karma to come on a website loaded with top-notch designers and undercut them and their ability by doing something for free that had absolutely no value at all to begin with. If you want free work, seek people locally to where you are, do the work for them pro-bono, unadvertised, meaning, don't announce it to the world, and build your portfolio. Believe me, you've not set yourself up for nothing in the future, be confident in yourself and your ability, seek your style and only your style and sell yourself.

I don't think that my design is worth a lot of money. It took me all of 15 minutes, so had I been paid $25 for it would have been more than 4 times my requested hourly rate for design jobs.

And anyway, what use is a 270px x 240px gif to a company who wish to brand themselves. Trust me, I have not given them much. They have a small image of a rectangle with type in it. An they are welcome to it.

The people who come in and scoff at the topic starter should grow up and realise that in a very accessible industry such as this, there will always be people willing to do free work, for fun and for practice.

I have recently been offered a work and a summer placement by a local design agency. Having never done any paid design work, were it not for the free jobs I've done in the past I would never have been given this opportunity. And they found me through a forum. ;)

[L[Design]]

Well, grow up, hmmmm. That's really nice word choice. Way to really turn this thing negative. The point is "Paddy", the company that requested the work for $25 was already undermining all of us designers, with their incredible offer. Then you come swinging in and throw a design together for them pro bono. The point isn't what size it is, that they can't take it to print, but that the whole thing undermines what each of us do here. When you do free work, you don't announce it to the world, keep it to yourself, that's for building your resume only. You've got a lot to learn about the business, good luck at your "summer placement."

Oh yeah, if you in all seriousness wanted to do this job, PM the client.

[paddy]

While I'm not entirely sure why you've got my name and “summer placement”
in inverted commas, I will explain, for the last time, why I do free/or cheap work.

I do graphic design for fun. I would love it to be my job but at the moment I don't believe that my design is of a high enough standard to be offended by a request for free work. In the future perhaps I will be well paid for my designing skill, but right now I'm happy just doing what I do.

I'd rather do free design for lots of people than paid design for no one. If you are lucky enough to be able to make a living out of designing then that's wonderful for you, but I doubt that a person posting a request on a design forum for a $25 logo is going to make a very good future client for you.

And to say that I am undermining all of the professional designers on the forums is a total joke. Anyone I'm paying for professional graphic design and identity work would damn well need to spend a good few hours getting to know my company, doing some real research and making some options, not spend 45 minutes dicking about in Illustrator and then give me a final product.

You get what you pay for, and this client, however happy they might be with what the thread has produced so far, clearly does not understand the value of a strong, comprehensive branding system. If they are offering $25-$65 for an identity it's probably pretty safe to say that no amount of insulting posts or **** taking will make them see that they should be spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on their branding.

So take your designer's pride, set it aside for a moment, and ask yourself “Why do I care that I am being undercut on a client I didn't want in the first place?”

EDIT: And regarding the PM comment. Why go to PM when we have a perfectly good thread right here?