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Designers - do you expect to be paid if your work isn't used?

Voice your concerns to him. Let him know that you appreciate the time and effort he put into the design but they weren't very good for your application and see if you can work down the price. There was no contract so you don't have to pay him. But if he did take time you should. I outsource my work and get great results for very low price..
 
Its like everything in life you need to use people you trust. Also his design Meta could be lightyears ahead of yours. But normally you would have a couple of logos to pick from. A brand ID is also much more than just a logo. I would compromise and pay him $125 as a gesture of good will.
 
Replying in general. If someone have done or completed the given task, he/she deserves the payment. Now it's up to person who assigned the task, whether to use it or not.

But if the task is not properly completed or is not as you described, you have the right to request him to complete the task.

In case of designing :
My brother is a designer and he only gets paid when his work gets approved.
 
I wouldn't pay.

If it's crap, it's crap. For all you know he could have taken 10 seconds to do that.

I don't agree you 'pay for the person's time.'

If I told someone working on my car/yard/whatever that I wanted something specific, gave examples, and they did nothing of the sort, why should I pay him?
 
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That example doesn't look like the work of a professional designer. Sometimes you get what you pay for. You could have kept banging away with this guy for another 10 revisions of your logo and I can guarantee it would still look s***. Unfortunately some folk sell themselves as designers but really they aren't.

Live and learn and next time hire a professional.
 
Mildredop said:
His invoice has come through and still includes the £250 for the logo. I appreciate the designer did some mock-ups, but do you think I should be paying for a logo I'm not using?
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no wonder no one ca afford an ipad pro! typically its 50% to start and 50% on completion.
 
kapolani said:
I wouldn't pay.

If it's crap, it's crap. For all you know he could have taken 10 seconds to do that.

I don't agree you 'pay for the person's time.'

If I told someone working on my car/yard/whatever that I wanted something specific, gave examples, and they did nothing of the sort, why should I pay him?
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Unfortunately, I paid in full.

But it's ultimately backfired on the web designer who recommended him. I've had several people ask who did my site and I've not wanted to recommend him, so I've said I did it myself. I've even removed the "site designed by" footer.
 
Mildredop said:
Unfortunately, I paid in full.

But it's ultimately backfired on the web designer who recommended him. I've had several people ask who did my site and I've not wanted to recommend him, so I've said I did it myself. I've even removed the "site designed by" footer.
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I would be interested to see how your site looks? do you have a link?
 
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Thanks for sharing your site, Mildredop. I was expecting an outdated-looking layout circa 2000 with the contents off to the left of the page LOL… It’s very trendy-attractive, and shows off your impressive creds at a glance. I think the web designer has succeeded by all accounts in producing a simple and professional web presence for you.

I’m not sure I understand the resentment and spite towards the web designer? It seems like you’re holding him responsible for recommending to you what you deemed an incompetent (and very cheap) graphic designer? Did he pressure you into going with the graphic designer...?

As most have said, it’s a responsibility of the client to ask to see the graphic designer’s portfolio before committing to any agreement, as informal as it may seemed to have been. Most designers will have a PDF-ready book to email to you— if not a website. It’s also the graphic designer's responsibility to provide a book— whether digital, website or a physical portfolio (if meeting in person) to potential clients. Never just go by the word of the individual recommending— since taste is so subjective. In this day of virtual communication, I can’t understand how either party would not provide, and ask for, such important reference before agreeing to the job.

For those that “don’t agree you pay for the person’s time”— then please don’t hire professional designers and agencies. Because logo design does take time, and professionals designers will work with a client until they’re satisfied, no matter how difficult the client may be.
 
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bobbydaz said:
Your site looks strong. Who ended up doing your final logo as looks OK to me?
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I think my logo looks great - a friend of mine did it on Photoshop. Took them around 10 minutes and they didn't charge me a penny.
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suburbia said:
I’m not sure I understand the resentment and spite towards the web designer? It seems like you’re holding him responsible for recommending to you what you deemed an incompetent (and very cheap) graphic designer? Did he pressure you into going with the graphic designer...?
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He didn't pressure me, but he said this guy designs all of his logos. From the sites the designer had sent me as examples of his work, the logos were great (as was the web designer's own logo), so I was surprised to see the amateurish logos he did for me. There's also the fact that the designer still chose to charge me. If a client of mine was unhappy, I wouldn't just gloss over the subject and charge them anyway.

Ultimately I got a great logo and the two designers got all their money, so all's fine. This thread was just to find out what the norm was, purely to satisfy my interest.
 
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[QUOTE="

Ultimately I got a great logo and the two designers got all their money, so all's fine. This thread was just to find out what the norm was, purely to satisfy my interest.[/QUOTE]

Just something to consider going forward...I hire a ton of vendors for major projects. Each one has to sign a contract, which give both sides fair treatment.

I work in a payment schedule with some up front, sometimes a payment in the middle, and the balance on delivery.

If a vendor isn't up to the task assigned, I have an out and only pay them up to the point of the work they created.

If they have the skill but I ask for multiple revisions and changes beyond the agreed scope of work, I pay.
 
I've done logos for people and I've found it is very hit & miss - to the point I generally don't do logos anymore and instead stick to the website design/buildout. My contract quires payment, whether the logo is used or not. With that said, I've always worked with someone if they are unhappy and they're reasonable - no matter if it is a logo, website, etc. To me, websites are easier as there is usually multiple sign-offs as it is completed in phases and approvals at each phase. With logos I typically do rounds of three drafts and then a draft is polished to become the final versions. Thus, it is $x per round and then another $y to flush out one of the design drafts into the final product. So, your quote would be something like $500/round and $250 for final rendering/deliverables (vector original w/ various common jpeg sizes, etc.). You could do as many rounds as you wanted, but each one is an additional $500.
 
Mildredop said:
Unfortunately, I paid in full.

But it's ultimately backfired on the web designer who recommended him. I've had several people ask who did my site and I've not wanted to recommend him, so I've said I did it myself. I've even removed the "site designed by" footer.
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Strange. You're happy with the web site design, but to 'punish' the designer for the quality of work done by someone *else*, you've taken credit for it yourself, and stripped off the bit of the site that says who *actually* did the work on your web site.

Remind me to never do business with you, if that's how you treat the people who do work for you.

He was mistaken about the logo-designer's quality, but you didn't bother asking for samples. Lack of due diligence is on you, not him.
 
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imhereareyou said:
Voice your concerns to him. Let him know that you appreciate the time and effort he put into the design but they weren't very good for your application and see if you can work down the price. There was no contract so you don't have to pay him. But if he did take time you should. I outsource my work and get great results for very low price..
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Doesn't really matter if there's a contract or not. If you discussed price in writing, that kind of serves as a contract. Aka, email communication.

He could take you to small claims court if you don't pay, but given that this was just for 250 bucks, I doubt that would be in his best interest. It would cost him more to get in front of a judge!
 
My wife and a business partner of hers did some corporate identity work for a client. They came up with several proposals. In the end the client claimed to not be satisfied but was willing to pay half of the amount for one of the designs but wanted all of the others thrown in for free. Its been a while but if I remember correctly, they declined. If she didn't like them like she claimed, why did she want them?
 
You know bstpierre, for every incompetent, unskilled, and untalented “designer”, there’s an equally shady, spiteful, impossible-to-please and/ or cheating client.

I suspect your wife’s unfortunate clientele was someone who may have wanted the mockups (did she request the vector files?) to hand over to a cheaper-rate designer (and there are always cheaper designers— both in the talent, and rate category, unfortunately) since she negotiated to pay only partial rate. I’m glad your wife refused.

It’s unfortunate to see Graphic Design being relegated to some remedial job nowadays.
 
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