• I want to thank all the members that have upgraded your accounts. I truly appreciate your support of the site monetarily. Supporting the site keeps this site up and running as a lot of work daily goes on behind the scenes. Click to Support Signs101 ...

Hope this is not a dumb question...

psdesigns

psdesigns

New Member
So I get asked this by my clients all the time.

Hey PS can you send me a copy of that logo you designed for me? or Can you send me the artwork I need for another project I'm working on?

How do you guys deal with questions like these? I personally do a lot of design work for customers and go out of my way for them, but a lot of the time don't charge a premium price because they do Signs, Shirts, and other things with our business.

We usually just avoid the questions but some customers can be persistent. Then I tell them they have to buy out the rights from me, which pisses them off because they think my work is their stuff.

Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated!

- Anthony
PS Designs
 
psdesigns

psdesigns

New Member
ewded said:
So you design logos but won't send the source files to the client?
Click to expand...

It's a grey area, Yes I design logos and artwork for the customer but usually don't charge. But if a customer asks me to create them a business logo then yes I do give them full rights to that logo.

Its when you design other stuff around that logo do you give them the rights to that as well? That is the big question.
 
J

Jason Thomas

New Member
Here is the way I look at it. If I am providing a service to specifically create a logo for a client, usually as part of their signage project, then I would offer to provide them with all necessary formats at the end of the job. But logo creation should definitely be a separate fee or built in to the cost of their first order. If it is signage with elements including their logo, stylized fonts, imagery, etc., and they want me to send them my design files, then no I won't give them anything. I mean it's kind of gauche to ask for production files used to create a van wrap for example. To look at it from the other side of the coin; I am still amazed at how many clients have come to me with a logo that they want to use in their sign and lo and behold, they only have a crappy jpeg and have no access to the native files. It's frustrating for both of us.
 
psdesigns

psdesigns

New Member
Jason Thomas said:
Here is the way I look at it. If I am providing a service to specifically create a logo for a client, usually as part of their signage project, then I would offer to provide them with all necessary formats at the end of the job. But logo creation should definitely be a separate fee or built in to the cost of their first order. If it is signage with elements including their logo, stylized fonts, imagery, etc., and they want me to send them my design files, then no I won't give them anything. I mean it's kind of gauche to ask for production files used to create a van wrap for example. To look at it from the other side of the coin; I am still amazed at how many clients have come to me with a logo that they want to use in their sign and lo and behold, they only have a crappy jpeg and have no access to the native files. It's frustrating for both of us.
Click to expand...
100% agree!
 
Boudica

Boudica

I'm here for Educational Purposes
psdesigns said:
I will take a look. Thank you!
Click to expand...
Here is one of the more recent threads...
www.signs101.com

People asking for logos...I'm getting irritated

Small town where everyone knows everyone. There's that ONE lady in town who makes shirts out of her house for her students and random things here and there and she's a teacher at school. Well now she must be making banners too. I had 3 phone calls asking for logos for a dance team banner. I'm...
www.signs101.com www.signs101.com
 
C

CanuckSigns

Active Member
It's tricky, I've had a few occasions where I've done a sign layout that the customer started using as a makeshift logo, when they ask for the file to start using on other items I will generally ignore them for a few weeks and hope they go away, if not I will send them the layout as a 72dpi raster image.

If they need a vector I will take the raster image and save it as a PDF, just to be a dick lol.
 
Johnny Best

Johnny Best

Active Member
"Buy out the rights from me" I think that communication to your client is the problem. If I do a logo as part of doing work for someone and did not charge them for the time it took me then it is my fault for not being upfront with them at the beginning that there will be a charge for the artwork if they want to use it for other things. Most if not all customers know the drill. It seems your customers bugging you got you do something for free once then they figure you are dumb enough to get taken advantage of you again.
Its like the customer who comes into your store to buy a pair of pants. After an hour or so driving you nuts because they can't make a decision, you finally say, take the pants for free, and the customer replies, "then give me two pairs."
 
A

ArlingtonSigns

New Member
psdesigns said:
So I get asked this by my clients all the time.

Hey PS can you send me a copy of that logo you designed for me? or Can you send me the artwork I need for another project I'm working on?

How do you guys deal with questions like these? I personally do a lot of design work for customers and go out of my way for them, but a lot of the time don't charge a premium price because they do Signs, Shirts, and other things with our business.

We usually just avoid the questions but some customers can be persistent. Then I tell them they have to buy out the rights from me, which pisses them off because they think my work is their stuff.

Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated!

- Anthony
PS Designs
Click to expand...
I do sign installs for several sign shops. One is Sign-A-Rama. They charge a *non-refundable design fee* to be paid in advance, that states to their customer it is for their designers time in designing the logo. Even if the customer does not like the logo it is non-refundable.
If you failed to charge a design fee but have done some sign work for them with the logo you designed, then I would let them have the file. If you designed the logo but they have not gave you any sign business, and they just want the logo you designed then I would add up how many hours you have in the logo and charge them $60 to $80 and hour for design time. Some shops tell them they have a one hour minimum fee for design time. Even if it only takes them 30 minutes to do it they charge for 1-hour.
 
Notarealsignguy

Notarealsignguy

Arial - it's almost helvetica
Johnny Best said:
"Buy out the rights from me" I think that communication to your client is the problem. If I do a logo as part of doing work for someone and did not charge them for the time it took me then it is my fault for not being upfront with them at the beginning that there will be a charge for the artwork if they want to use it for other things. Most if not all customers know the drill. It seems your customers bugging you got you do something for free once then they figure you are dumb enough to get taken advantage of you again.
Its like the customer who comes into your store to buy a pair of pants. After an hour or so driving you nuts because they can't make a decision, you finally say, take the pants for free, and the customer replies, "then give me two pairs."
Click to expand...
Are we talking carpenter pants?
 
R

rossmosh

New Member
Part of designing a logo is the releasing the file packet & rights of use. People that don't are dirt bags. That's just taking advantage of people.

Now if you make a sign which happens to be attractive enough to use as a logo, that's a completely different story. If they want to use your sign graphic for other purposes, an additional fee and release form is relatively standard.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top