A good graphic design proposal is essential in order to compete and also succeed in today’s world. However, gifted freelancers know that a great offer works even better by showing potential clients that you’re a true professional right out of the gate (you could consider showing them your portfolio or your blog); more importantly, it’s an opportunity to explain precisely what the process will entail – from design and development, to your rate and delivery date.
Why A Graphic Design Proposal Is Important
A well defined plan is what the client will work with to decide whether you get the contract or not. You must convince them that you undoubtedly know what you are doing, and building your client’s confidence starts here: you want them to understand that there’s a difference between a professional designer and an amateur one, and that you’re of course the former.
What’s In A Well Crafted Offer?
A great offer contains several key components, and each time you should customize it for the specific job you’re bidding on; for example a publishing company might need something completely different from an established business wanting to renew their corporate identity on the market. In fact, it’s best to use a fixed template that you will change depending on the situation, but no matter how you decide to go about it, here are eight things to include.
Introduction and Presentation
Introduce yourself and/or your company in a brief paragraph. Let the client know you’re more than capable of completing the job to their satisfaction. Perhaps explain the creative process that leads a project.
Project Description
In this important section, describe exactly what you are going to do for the client. This is an excellent chance to clarify that you definitely know what the client wants. Provide details about the project and what’s included with your price.
Estimated Time/ Delivery
This is of course the section where you state the date on which you can begin and how long the project will take to complete. Although, if you’re uncertain about it, at least try to provide a realistic guesstimate.
Pricing your design services
This is where you write your price for the project. Decide whether you want to give a grand total/one dollar figure, or if you want to break it down in an itemized list. You may also want to offer a few options/ ‘packages’ with different price levels.
Urgent Delivery
You might want to charge an extra fee for clients who require urgent delivery or have a tight deadline. If so, be sure to point that out in your document.
Terms and Conditions
This section is for special conditions. Let’s say you want 50% upon signing and 50% upon project completion, this is the place to stipulate that. You can also specify the method of payment that you prefer along with anything else the client should surely be aware of.
Confidentiality Clause
You may want to consider including a confidentiality clause, which is also known as an NDA/non-disclosure agreement. This will make it clear to the client that the information contained in your proposal should not be shown to others under any circumstance.
Close and Call to Action
After all the details have been clearly stated and the price has been given, consider closing with a “what’s next” paragraph. Provide the client with further instructions on what they must to do in order to move forward. If you require a payment upfront, make sure they know. You can also include a brief resume of your experience/client list.
That’s basically it! Now you know how to create a great graphic design proposal. Hopefully the next thing you’ll need is a contract. So get going – after all, who would expect anything less from a gifted freelancer!
What do you usually include in your proposals? Is there anything you think would be useful that we didn’t include?
