FAQs
How much do you charge?
Will you be willing to do this for free?
Person X charges less than you, and takes less time…
How long does it take?
How soon can you start on the project?
I need this project done urgently! Can you put a priority on it?
Do you work weekends / all night?
What kind of payment options do you entertain?
The Design Process
I’m not sure you’re right for the job, can I see some samples first?
Will you work with my design / marketing team?
Do you have your own contacts for production?
What can I expect from you during the project?
What can I expect from you at the end of the project?
Can we talk before I make a decision?
What do you need from me/us before you start?
The Work
What software do you use?
What programming languages do you work with?
How do you describe your style of design?
How about communication between us during the project?
CHARGES & TIMING
Since I work on several different types of projects, it’s impossible to provide a figure here. However, I do understand the importance of a rough ballpark figure in making further business decisions. Drop me an email with any description of the project that you can provide, and I will revert to you with a estimated charge. Do note that while I make every effort to provide an accurate estimate, the official exact charge may differ as I find out more about the project.
Will you be willing to do this for free?
Being a freelancer means a constant balancing act between creative expression and business sense. This means that while I do charge for most of my projects, occasionally I will take on a project on a pro-bono basis for self-fulfillment. Usually these projects deal with charities or non-profit groups. If you feel that your project should be done for free, send me an email describing the project. I can’t promise I’ll agree, but I definitely promise to get back to you about it.
Person X charges less than you, and takes less time…
An oft-heard sentence in the freelancing business. Most clients that ask me this are expecting an answer based on solid facts that they can use as a yardstick. Choosing a designer or a programmer is much like buying a car. Some cars sell purely based on solid facts (e.g. good space, good mileage), while some cars sell on the quality of the drive, which cannot be expressed on paper. Your top priority in hiring a designer should be the quality of the work, and while cost and time estimates should definitely be considered, you should also give some thought to factors like the ease of working with the designer and communication clarity.
Roughly 3-5 weeks for logos, packaging, and other non-branding print design. For a complete branding package (e.g. logos, name cards, letterheads, and envelopes), it can take up to 3 months for the project to complete. For web-based projects, the time estimate can vary from as little as two weeks to several months, depending on the complexity of the project. Two factors must be considered here: (a) these estimates include a buffer time in case of any problems during the project, and (b) these estimates do not include the turnaround time on your side. The latter point is especially important as clients tend to overlook the time spent while their marketing team or directors consider the design. If you take 4 weeks to revert to me on a design, you cannot expect me to have it fully programmed by the next day.
How soon can you start on the project?
It really depends on what my current project lineup is. Drop me an email and I’ll get back to you on this.
I need this project done urgently! Can you put a priority on it?
As with the pro-bono projects mentioned above, I occasionally take on a project with an urgent priority if I find it appealing or a valuable addition to my portfolio. However, existing clients need not be alarmed: I do NOT compromise your deadlines; I instead use my own personal time for these urgent projects.
Do you work weekends / all night?
Only for the urgent projects mentioned above.
What kind of payment options do you entertain?
To this point, all of my clients have been local, and thus I have handled my payments via check or bank transfer. I do, however, intend to set up a PayPal account in the future to handle international transactions.
THE DESIGN PROCESS
I’m not sure you’re right for the job, can I see some samples first?
If you mean samples or sketches for your project, then I’m afraid not. However, I can show you some previous work (also viewable here) during our meeting. If you would like to see a sample of a particular type of paper (for name card printing, perhaps), I can probably arrange for that.
Will you work with my design/marketing team?
Absolutely! I have no problems working with members of your team for a project. However, if you have not done this before, I must warn you: previous experiences have taught me that bringing in more heads into the discussion can slow down the project considerably, as it’ll take longer for everyone to agree to anything. It’s more effective to appoint a single person in your team as liaison for this project, and have the rest of the team confer with him/her.
Do you have your own contacts for production?
I do have one or two regular printers that I utilize if my client requests a production run.
What can I expect from you during the project?
During the project, I will maintain regular contact with you regarding the status of the project. I will provide you with samples of the design for you to consider, and once you have agreed on a design, I will then proceed to the next step.
What can I expect from you at the end of the project?
At the end of the project, once the final payment has been made, I will present to you a CD containing all relevant files for this project. For design projects, these are usually the source files (an .AI or .EPS file, or a .PSD file), previews of the artwork in various conditions (B/W, full color, etc), as well as scanned copies of all documents related to the project. For programming projects, these are usually the source files for the designs, as well as scanned copies of all documents related to the project.
Can we talk before I make a decision?
I’d love to! If you would like to know more about working with me, or even if you have any questions about design/programming in general, I’d love to meet you and discuss them, no charges involved. I find this to be a very important step in programming projects, as sometimes you may not be aware of what is possible and what is not possible for your project.
What do you need from me/us before you start?
When we first meet to start the project, I’ll ask you a number of questions regarding your company/business and this project, such as the target audience, competition, and platforms. You can prepare by getting the list of usual questions here, and preparing the answers before our meeting.
THE WORK
I work primarily using the Adobe range of software for rendering my work, while I do my sketch work on good ol’ pencil and paper :)
What programming languages do you work with?
HTML, CSS, PHP, MySQL, and JavaScript, primarily. And while I would not consider myself a Flash or ActionScript expert, I know enough about it to satisfy most basic projects.
How do you describe your style of design?
I try not to contain my design in any one style, as I feel it limits what I can provide to the client.
How about communication between us during the project?
You can contact me anytime during normal working hours for a progress update, and I’m usually also reachable anytime from 10AM to 8PM daily (for non-Malaysian readers, Malaysia’s timezone is GMT+8, so that’d be 2AM to 12PM GMT). However, if this concerns amendments or corrections to the project, I’m likely to ask you to send an email about it to me, for reference later on to confirm that I amended all the required elements. This means that if you’re about to call me regarding changes to the project, save yourself the trouble and send me an email.
