There have been a variety of designers over the years. Many take on full time salary contracts from large companies, some have priced themselves so low that they can't make a living and go back to mainstream and some have issues with their company (missed deadlines, dropped projects, etc) so they disappear for several years and then come back hoping for a fresh start.
At Zuzana Designs, we ask for a 50% deposit with the rest being due before starting html (since this seems to be where many people disappear) or delivery if it’s just PSDs. Our pricing used to be much higher because we offered integration and programming but for the last couple years we’ve eliminated those things from our company to just focus on purely design so designs from us are less expensive, though you’ll still need a separate programmer for integrations. If using MechBunny, they usually just need PSDs from us and handle integration themselves.
Asking for a budget isn’t always a trap to max it out. If someone has a huge idea that I know is going to be a ton of work to organize and quote with a big price tag, I’ll ask for a general budget just to see if it’s even close. If it’s not, having a budget will help me give other options that may fit your needs at the desired price tag.
As much as I WISH every client would say just design my site any way you want, that RARELY happens so sites having outdated looks really falls on the client and not the designer. We can do our best to give ideas and try to move the project to be more modern but it all comes down to what the client wants because it’s our job to provide that to them.
If you’d ever like a quote, please hit us up at
[email protected]. We’ve worked on hundreds of tubes and sites with MechBunny and we have a solid 20 year reputation in the business.