Mastering the Art of Pricing for Graphic Designers

Because your price isn’t just a number—it’s a mirror of your confidence.

Let’s talk about the part of freelancing no one prepped us for: pricing.
If you’ve ever stared at a quote, second-guessing yourself… wondering if you’re asking too much—or way too little—you’re not alone.

In this episode, I’m getting real about how I went from R300 logos to building a pricing system that feels aligned, confident, and sustainable. We’ll walk through hourly rates, project fees, retainers, value-based pricing, and even the magic of design days. Plus—what to do when clients want discounts, free work, or “quick” favours.

Because pricing isn’t just about money—it’s about boundaries, energy, and the kind of business you want to build.🎧 Come behind the scenes with me, and if you want the tools to back it all up—quotes, invoice templates, revision policies, and payment schedules—you’ll find them in the Playbook and Playbook Desk.

🖤 Want to dive deeper or explore the tools I mentioned? Head to the show notes.

Thanks for listening to BEYOND Design ✨

If this episode spoke to you, here are a few ways to keep the conversation going:

Website & Resources → kunshuis.com
Shop creative tools → The Kunshuis Collective
Show notes & blogs → kunshuis.com/blog

Free support for creatives:

• 21-Day Creative Reset Challenge
• Download: Asking Better Questions (Client Guide)
  
  

🖤 My favourite tools for life + business:

• The Playbook Planner
  — your creative sidekick for focus + flow
• The Playbook Desk
  — a Notion-powered space to run your freelance business with ease

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Because design is only 20%… the rest is life.
Thanks for being here, friend. You’re not alone in this journey—let’s design it together.

Transcript

Why pricing is never just a number

SPEAKER_00 0:27

Because your prize isn't just a number, it's the mirror of your confidence. Welcome. Let's talk about money. If you've ever sat staring at a quote, unsure if that's too high or way too low, same. I've been there more than once. Even now, after running my studio for 16 years, pricing still shows up both as an art and a flex. But here's what I've learned. Your price isn't just a number. It's a reflection of how you see yourself. It's a quiet, powerful signal of your energy, your worth, and your value. So today let's make it a little less scary. When I started freelancing, my pricing strategy was pricing on feeling. 300 for a logo, eight hundred if I'm feeling brave. No spreadsheets, no logic, just me trying to feel not too expensive. Until one day, my client said I didn't expect to get all of that for that price. At first I felt flattered, but later I felt flattened because I had stayed up late, skipped dinners, done the research, design, revisions, the whole story, and still I undercharged. That's kind of when I realized I wasn't running my business anymore, I was running myself into burnout. And something had to change. So I sat down with my husband, who's like my silent financial advisor, and we started figuring things out. One quote, one tender, one project at a time. Let's be clear about something. Pricing isn't math, clarity. Clarity around your time, your process, your energy, your worth. You don't need a finance degree, but you do need a plan and a belief that what you do matters. Here are five common pricing models. Let's go through them and talk a bit about the pros and the cons. So firstly, hourly pricing. How this works and it's the most common one. You build per hour for your work. The pros of this is it's easy to track, it's great for admin work or for quick updates, it's helpful when you're just starting out. And the cons it ties your income to your time and punishes you for being efficient. Think about it this way. Sometimes you work through an idea while driving a car or in the shower. You have 15 years of experience in design. All of that you bring to the work. Hourly rates does not account for that. Still, it is a good place to start when you don't know how long something will take yet. I still use hourly when I do small jobs. Number two, project-based pricing. How this works, you charge a fixed rate for a fixed amount of design items. The pros of this is it's very clear clients know what they're paying for and you know what to expect. The cons are if you underestimate your time on the scope, then you lose money and energy. A pro tip here will be always list what's included and what's not, and have a quote template. I, for example, on my project-based pricing for branding, have three different options. Option one, two, and three. One is like simple branding, and number three is extensive branding with strategy. And I know the time that goes into each. The cost reflects that. And number three. Now this one has been around for a few years. It's not well known everywhere, but I love the structure of this. It's called design days or VIP days. So how it works is a client books you for a full day or half day. You work exclusively on that project or that client for that time. The client also books their own time out for that day and half day, and you're both focused to get the job done. You quote for the job, and by the end of the day or the half day, they get the work and you get payment. The pros of this is it's super focused, no overlapping clients. You can knock out things like brochures, signage, packaging, car branding, you know, the smallest items. The cons are it's not great for full brand builds or long strategy sessions. You need structure and prep for this day. It can go sideways very fast. But what makes this magical is the client gets your full attention. There's no long timelines or back and forth. You both walk away with something done. Payment is instantly. Inside the playbook desk on my online shop, you'll find a full guide to the design days, including what to prep, how to price, and email scripts for that day. Number four is retainers. I love retainers as well, and how this work is a client pays a set monthly fee for ongoing work. The pros are it's predictable income, easier planning, ideal for long-term relationships. The cons crystal clear boundaries, otherwise it becomes an all-you-can eat buffet kind of work. My tip on this is always include a three-month review clause, check in, assess the scope and adjust if needed. And in your retainer agreement, be very clear if there's anything that's not included in this retainer. For example, I have a corporate client of mine on retainer for the day-to-day things, the smaller items. But a project like an annual report is a separate project and will be priced on its own. Because that's a lot of work. Retainers are brilliant, but only if they build on mutual trust and respect. Number five, value-based pricing. How this works is you charge based on the impact your work has, not the time it takes. So the pros of this is you're paid for the transformation, not the hours. The cons are it takes confidence and clients who understand the value you bring. It's more on the experience side, and if you have been in the industry for a while, try this one. An example of this is if your brand design helps your client bring in, for example,$200,000 in sales, charging$20,000 isn't wild, it's aligned. This is the model I lean to the most, but it took time for me to get here. So don't rush it, let yourself grow into it. If this is something that feels aligned. So how do you choose? You try, you test, you learn. Every client is different, every project has a new rhythm. The beauty of freelancing, you get to choose what works for you. Pricing is emotional and there's no one size fits all. It's tied to how we grew up, what we believe is too much, what we think people can afford. But you are not here to hustle for scraps, dear designer. You are here to do meaningful, powerful work and get paid for it. So say this with me, I'm allowed to make money without feeling guilty about it. I'm allowed to make money without feeling guilty about it. Let that truth settle into your bones. So what about free work? Not all free work is bad, but it needs boundaries. If I offer a gift to a client or client asks me for a gift for free work, it will be on my own terms. If someone asks me to do work for exposure in return, that's no, I don't do that. Same with discounts. As an added value, if the job were faster than expected or the client took an item out of the list of things to do, then I will do it. But that's an added value. And that tends to surprise clients on the invoice and they will come back again. I have worked with big corporate clients and some of them want to see discount on big projects. Then what I do is I load the discount amount onto my usual price and then add the discount at the bottom. That way I still get paid my usual amount. Listen, generosity is good, but should not be depleting. This stuff isn't boring. It's your creative safety net. The more solid your structure, the more freedom you'll feel. And as I said in the earlier episode, I am not here just to talk, I'm here to equip you, and that is why in the playbook planner and the playbook desk you'll find quoting templates, payment schedules, scope clarity guides, invoice wording and revision policies, even when to add a rush fee. Here's a gentle reminder. You're not too expensive, you're allowed to charge differently, your worth is not up for negotiation, you don't owe anyone an essay to justify your rate. So this week, pick one thing. Maybe you try a design day, maybe you rewrite your quote, maybe you just say that's outside the scope without flinching. Tiny moves, big shifts. Thanks for being here. If this episode felt like a high gone nudge you needed, come visit me on my website, kins.com. That's where the tools live, that's where I'm waiting with the silent support you didn't know you needed. Until next time, keep creating, keep standing tall, and always, always design your life wherever you are.