In this chapter we will outline:
- The value of a well-run design project
- Getting the most for your money
- What to expect from your designer
- Planning for extra costs
Spending money on a well-run design project is an investment in your company, not a commodity cost. If you’re running a business which has never previously commissioned design it may be hard to see it that way. But it’s likely to make for a smoother, more productive (and possibly cheaper) project if everyone involved views the expenditure as an investment, with positive effects for your business. For some people, this may require a shift in mindset and it may fall to someone in your business to champion the design project to other members of staff and management.
‘The really big shift, mentally, is to see the project as having a definite business case and not just a load of old arty stuff.’
Initial discussions about budgets and costs ought to take place at the first meeting. If you have absolutely no idea what you need to spend then it may be a case of requesting three proposals or quotes, as you might with a plumber. Either way, it is beneficial for everyone to be up-front about your available budget.
The designers may not be able to give a completely accurate estimate of costs until they have a more structured brief in place, but once they know your requirements and how much money you have they can prepare a proposal for you to look at and consider.
- Agree with your designers how they inform you about any additional costs they may incur
- Design fees are usually quoted as an estimate, fixed price or on a ‘price-not-to-exceed’ basis
Although some of the bigger design consultancies may have a minimum project fee, many designers can - and often will - accommodate smaller budgets rather than dismiss a project entirely. But it will help if everyone has a clear understanding of how much money is available and a realistic idea of what could be achieved with it.
Equally, you should expect any proposals from your designers to include a detailed breakdown of all their charges, including standard day rates, possible additional fees and what is and isn’t included, as Harriet Plyler, editor of Good Schools Guide International, explains:
For our website, (design consultancy) CogApp gave us a total proposal and we took some elements out to stay within our budget, but overall design was not sacrificed at all. The consultancy stayed on budget really well and kept me abreast of what was going on. Then we would negotiate as we went through the project and they would do each bit.
Read the Good Schools Guide International case study.
It may also be worth reserving some of your total budget for additional requirements that could develop either during or at the end of the design project.
Things such as marketing, public relations and production costs will not typically be part of the design fee but may be a necessary corollary of the design work you’re undertaking. For example, a full company rebrand will require the production of new stationery, business cards, marketing materials and so on. Alternatively, a new product development may require significant changes to a production or manufacturing process. Such costs would fall outside the creative design work itself (unless you’ve agreed otherwise and the consultancy can do it for you), so think about this early on if possible.
‘There was a tight budget of around £4000 and we set this out at the start. The designers then explained to us what all the extra costs might be, such as building the website, using public relations and so on. So I was able to work out how much I needed to invest initially and how much would be needed at later stages too. But we stayed on budget all the way through.’
Read the Gillies Jones case study.
Your designers may well have the expertise to offer different ways of keeping your production costs down too, as design consultancy CogApp did for Good Schools Guide International:
‘For our marketing materials I said “Can you do it for this amount of money?” and the designers said “No”. So I shopped around and got some low prices, but in the end CogApp advised me on how to keep my costs down using their knowledge of printing. I did a lot of the legwork and checked out paper stock, brochures and websites and so on. This kept the costs down and allowed me to use CogApp for the marketing materials as well as the website.’
Read the Good Schools Guide International case study.
The Design Business Association breaks down design costs into three areas:
- Design fees - quoted in advance; usually related to the amount of time a consultancy will spend on a project and probably charged at a daily rate
- Expenses - costs such as travel and accommodation incurred by the consultancy in connection with the job
- Implementation costs - payment for materials and services used to complete the project (this could include printing, and costs from suppliers such as photographers or shop fitters)