Why you need to get paid...

Why you need to get paid for your Concept or ArtWork even if client do not like it.

This is for all DESIGNERs.

An idea or a concept is a working process. In reality and for commercial purposes any design will not be approved first hand. When a client say that they need to LIKE the concept first or the illustration that you’re going to present before they pay you, more likely you’re not going to get paid or you will, but not the amount that you agreed upon. On a win-win situation you’re going to get paid but you’re going to work hard for it. That is for sure, to a point that the amount of work you’ve done for the project does not equate to the monetary compensation that you ask for.

Disclaimer: Take this with a grain of salt. If one of you is likely exceptional like Henry Wolf or Paul Rand and you refute the above statement. There’s no doubt that you’re brilliant. But not all of us (mortals) can replicate your command in design and therefore your success as well. Peace.

There is a reason why Graphic Designer/Artist are being hired and people need their service. This is because business owners or marketing managers don’t have time or they cannot execute their own idea. For this reason alone that no DESIGN will be approved first hand or on your first or even 2nd presentation. At the most if they like what you created and you catch their imagination most client would want to get involved creatively so therefore more revisions to come as they would want to see what they like with your design customised within the flow of their direction.

When a client say they did not like what you created. This might be true, but consider this: From your creation basing from their direction or brief the client had formed a visual reference as to what direction that is not workable for what they want on such concept. In other words your work might be a process step closer to attain what’s the best attainable visual creation they can get for such concept. And you need to get paid for that just because for the reason that you put time, design knowledge and skills to execute it.

The fact that you’re creating something to nothing is already something to get paid for it. To think that when you copy or reproduce something you’ll definitely going to get paid. So why not get paid for a concept that your creative mind formulated and your skills help you put that into a visual form.

If you're an employee you're being paid for to come-up with a concept or make a solution to make a certain idea/concept work. The only difference between freelance and an employee is that the client does not have the luxury for multiple revisions unless it states on what you and your client agreed upon.

Considering the fact that most iconic logo like the most popular “Nike” and the likes were not rightly LIKE or approved by their CEO at that time. Yes even the Apple logo; when it was presented it does not have a bite. It was added later on for the purpose of not to be confused from a peach and subliminally add a graphical meaning to ‘byte’ in a visually smart way.

To close this. An excerpt from a story of how NIKE logo was created – Phil Knight is the Cofounder and then CEO of Nike:

However, Knight was staring down a deadline. Shoe boxes in Mexico were waiting to be printed. He needed a logo. He needed a decision. So he grabbed her rendering of the Swoosh, telling Davidson, "I don't love it, but it will grow on me."