Many new designers in Ghana undercharge, forget their costs or start work without any money upfront, then end up working for free. Pricing well, quoting clearly and keeping records are what turn design from a hobby into a living. Freelance and print shop designers handle money daily, and even employed designers benefit from understanding what their time is worth.
Know your costs
Before you set a price, list what each job costs you: data, electricity or charging, transport to meet clients or printers, any paid tools, and printing samples. Then think about your time. A logo is not ten minutes of clicking; it includes questions, sketching, building, revisions and delivering files.
Three ways to price
- By time: decide what an hour of your work is worth and estimate the hours.
- By project: a fixed price for a defined job, such as one flyer with two rounds of changes. Most local clients prefer this.
- Packages: a bundle, such as a logo plus a one page brand guide plus five social media templates.
To find a fair range, ask designers and print shops near you what they charge for common jobs, and compare. Prices differ a lot between towns, client types and experience, so there is no single right number.
Example calculation
These numbers are made up for practice only and are not a guide to real prices. Say Wumpini estimates a flyer takes 3 hours including changes, and she decides her time is worth GH₵ 30 an hour while she is learning. Her data and transport for the job cost about GH₵ 15. So 3 times 30 is 90, plus 15 is 105. She quotes GH₵ 110 to keep things simple.