To charge by the project, or by the hour?

An amusing little story that’s flying around caused a smile. It reminded us of Martin Lambie-Nairn and his rather controversial re-design of the BBC logo.

Legend has it that Pablo Picasso was sketching in the park when a bold woman approached him.

“It’s you — Picasso, the great artist! Oh, you must sketch my portrait! I insist.”

So Picasso agreed to sketch her. After studying her for a moment, he used a single pencil stroke to create her portrait. He handed the women his work of art.

“t’s perfect!” she gushed. “You managed to capture my essence with one stroke, in one moment. Thank you! How much do I owe you?“

“Five thousand dollars,” the artist replied.

“B-b-but, what?” the woman sputtered. “How could you want so much money for this picture? It only took you a second to draw it?”

To which Picasso responded, “Madame, it took me my entire life.”

A tricky one certainly, and a question that’s familiar to any freelancer. The key I suppose is to charge what you think your service is worth if you have a clear idea of how long a job will take. Just because you had a flash of inspiration and produced a superb logo design in two hours doesn’t mean you should charge £50 for it… For less defined projects (especially where the possibility of serious scope-creep is looming), it’s by-the-hour all the way…