Graphic Design, isn't that expensive? ...

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Jump to: What does it cost? | Any hidden cost? | What can you do? | Typical work for print or contact us about some design work.

Graphic design is an art that can be enjoyed in galleries and glossy books. For most of us, however, it is part of our daily life as we face it on billboards, stationery and packaging, on tv and on the web and also in magazines and newspapers. Graphic design is what makes our printed (or digital) world attractive, often so much so that we 'want to buy'. Obviously that is why so much time (and money) is spent on getting the design right.

Talented graphic designers or design agencies are expensive. That's fine for large multi-nationals, because it's you and I that will pay the bill. But when you need some stationery and a leaflet for your business or perhaps a simple invitation for your personal use, the idea of 'graphic design' doesn't seem to be an option. "Just put my name in big bold letters" or "keep it cheap" are phrases that frequently linger after a design-brief.

Good design need not be expensive and we now know that we can often do a fair job for a fraction of the cost. One way of doing this is by leaving 'the bull' on the farm, that makes a good start for most. The 'bull' adds greatly to the cost, so we use a non-bovine approach. No ties and expensive offices, just a friendly chat at your or our place. Another way we save cost is by not claiming that we are famous or talented graphic artists, because that too can add to the price. However, after thousands of jobs, we have learned some valuable lessons about what works and what doesn't in day to day graphic design. We also clearly know where our limitations lie and we won't waste your time by promising things we simply cannot offer.

Of course not all work requires a graphic approach; in fact a large part of our work only deals with text, but even then we take care to get it right.

What does it cost?

It is virtually impossible to give you fixed prices for graphic design before we have actually seen the work. However, to keep it simple, we price all our services at a flat rate of £40 per hour. We believe this is fair and in most cases very competitive. To give you a rough idea ... typesetting a simple business card or letter heading could cost as little as £20 if it doesn't involve logos or other graphic elements. [back to top]

Any Hidden costs?

Not really, but do keep in mind that we create the artwork in a digital form as a single master. We would normally send you a digital proof, supplied in a Adobe Portable Document Format (pdf). If you require the artwork for professional printing we have to prepare it in a special, printable, format which we would supply either by email or on disk (if the material is too large to send by email). There's a small charge for this. Alternatively, we can take care of the printing, as we have a long term working relationship with a local print shop. We would be happy to quote for this. [back to top]

What can you do?

Well, we're pretty flexible in what we can offer, but the main services are listed below. It's always worth a call before dismissing us on the basis of this list or from the examples on this website. We offer ...

• Type setting: The choice of typeface and the way type is used can play an important role in graphic communication. Of course this is now all done digitally, but much of the old terminology has survived. We have a substantial type collection for those looking for something different, but most of our type setting is done with easily readable type styles (fonts if you like).
• Page layout: This is a bit of a black art and, on the budget level, doesn't always get the attention it deserves. We feel it is an important part of graphic communication and do our best not to ignore this when we try to make your words and images look good on paper. For the connoisseur it is still a pleasure to browse through Josef Müller-Brookman's "Grid Systems in Graphic Design" - we do too!
• Image sourcing: Images that have an impact can be quite expensive, but there are some low cost sources we make use of. The right shot may not be expensive, but finding it may take some time.
• Photography: We have some experience in digital photography (e.g. all the mastheads at the top of these web pages are from our own collection) and would be happy to help where we can. We also make daily use of photo-editing tools such as Adobe Photoshop™ to modify imagery where this is required. Please note that we are not photographers and we would be useless for your wedding-reportage.
• Artwork: We can create bespoke artwork such as simple text logos or more involved corporate images. If your original artwork is lost and has to be remade we can usually re-master scanned material from scratch. This can be quite time consuming and of course we would need something to go by. We are not trained artists and professionally hand drawn or painted illustrations are, for the moment, only skills we dream of and greatly respect.
• Of course we also offer website design. [back to top]

Typical work for print

• Business stationery: business cards, letter headings and continuation sheets, compliment slips, business forms (single or multi-part).
• Personal stationery: calling cards, 'at home' A6 cards, letter headings (2/3 A4 and A4).
• Wedding stationery: wedding invitations (day and evening), location maps, confirmation slips, table cards, 'thank you' cards, menus.
• Postcards: full colour front and black print on back.
• Posters, pamphlets, leaflets and flyers.
• Brochures and product fact sheets.
• General invitations.
• Menus and price lists.
• Newsletters. [back to top]