Straight to the point. Just like you'll choose your designer, I also choose my clients and only take on projects that I feel fit in with my style of work. If your heart is set on choosing me as your designer, you'll find this little 'guide' helpful. If you can give me decent answers to the things I ask for when sending me a message, the grass will be greener and the sky will be bluer. (seriously...)
How much yer charge Mr. Whizz? Please, don't just ask "How much would you charge for x?". It's almost as if the price is more important than the quality of work. Which it probably is to some clients, but if you only wanna pay beans for a final product that is gonna be beans itself, I don't want to work with you. That said though, my prices don't break the bank, but there is a limit as to how low I can go with prices (this applies to the limbo too).
I'd like to have an idea of how many pennies it's gonna cost me though... The final cost of a project varies on the size, scale and complexity of the project in hand. If you keep reading on, you'll see a list of things I'd like you to cover (if possible) in your message to moi regarding your project. This will help me build a super-duper project brief and give you a rough idea of how much the project is gonna cost yer.
Grab a hammer for the piggy bank Please do give me an idea of your budget for the project. If you can give me an idea of how much you have to spend, this will help me calculate how much work I can fit into the time quota. I will also be able to tell you if your requirements are possible with your budget.
Tick Tock Please let me know if you have a set deadline for the project. If I don't think the deadline is achievable (time needed for project + current schedule) Then I'm afraid we will be going our separate ways before any of our time is wasted.
Gimme yer money! Before a project can actually begin I usually require around a 50% deposit upfront before the project can actually go through the green light. This is mainly for my protection so you can't screw me over or whatever - it's a cruel world out there and I aint no 18 year old to be made a fool of. yer get meh? ... So yeah, 50% upfront via cash, paypal, bank transfer. (Only cheque if you can't pay me via any of the other methods - Bastarding hate cheques I do.)
Budget, check... Deadlines, check. Erm... Oh yes! Be sure to state clearly what is you're needing. Don't just put "I need a website for ..." put something like: "I need the front end of a website designing for x which is y. I/we will also need you to magically transform the design into a functional website with the magical webtape that is XHTML/CSS. We then need the website going online so if you have anywhere we can host the website then that would be just fantabulous!" Yer get meh? Cheers.
Free Doughnuts? ... Yup. If you decide to have a face-to-face consultation with the leakster, providing time/schedule/geography permits, then I'll bring some doughnuts to scoff. Or, for you to scoff. I don't like them personally, but who else doesn't?!