artists: i need advice for what to charge for advertising work, they want to buy four designs from me.?

Question

they want to buy four of my designs, to be used for handbills, tshirts, and logos. im very new to the world of economics and art, and i really need some help!
if you have any ballpark estimates, please let me know.

Answer 1

The Graphic Artist Handbook is a good basic guide. http://www.gag.org/pegs/index.php

I usually charge based on the size of the company, and the range of the distribution (ie. is it local use, regional use, national or international use.)
Here's a little hint. Try not to sell your work outright with exclusive rights. If your work is original and unique, some artists manage to license the work instead of selling it for commercial use. This grants the customer non-exclusive rights to use your work for a limited period of time and only for specific uses. This also allows you to retain ownership of the work, and the ability to license the work to someone else in the future.
Many artists have been burned by selling work outright for commercial use. The original agreement might be only for a t-shirt design or local flyer, but then a few months or years later, all of a sudden the same work is on signs, billboards, television, and other widely distributed collateral. So if you sell the work, at least specify the use and distribution size and if there are any other uses beyond those specified, additional compensation is required. This is how photography is charged too.

Answer 2

I'm not too sure about advertising prices, what kind of designs are they? computer designs? If so I'm not sure about that either. If they're paintings,sculptures, etc. you're supposed to charge for all the supplies you used (closest estimate) and then you charge for man hours and work put into the artwork, and that you should really judge on your own since you did the work. Harder work and more hours put into the project = more expensive, and so on.

Answer 3

If your that new, try a lower price with word of mouth advertisement, you can't go wrong. See what the established places charge. Then go from there. The first part of a new business, it to get a good name. Then, you can charge more.

Answer 4

or some actual non-bs professional advice:

Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines (Graphic Artists Guild Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines) (Paperback)

Answer 5

Ask your customers what they are willing to pay you for your work. They will probably offer you more than you would have 'charged' them.

Congratulations on your artistic success!