Find a Graphic Designer near you
The average rating for Bark Graphic Designers is 4.91, based on 236,838 reviews
5/5
based on 236,838 reviews
Need a graphic designer to help turn your design dream into a reality but not sure how much it’ll set you back? Read our handy guide to find out how much your graphic designer will cost for the likes of logo design, business cards, and similar services.
The average price of a graphic designer is $125 per hour. This figure varies based on the complexity of the project, your designer’s location in the USA, and how quickly you need the task completed.
Based on the most recent figures, there’s approximately 300,000 graphic designers across the USA. This industry has a slightly younger age range than others, with Data USA suggesting it’s 39.7 years for males and 37.1 years for females.
You can reach out to a graphic designer for a range of different projects. These include:
Logo design
Book cover
Brochure design
Business cards
Signage
Social media pictures
This list doesn’t even scratch the surface of all the things you could hire a graphic designer for. There’s no denying that they can be an extremely valuable resource for your company. But finding the best one, at the right price range, is slightly more challenging.
Take a look at our webpage below for stats about graphic designer costs in the USA. Keep in mind that all figures listed on this page are based on our data and research. If you want a personalized quotation, get in touch with a graphic designer near you.
| Number of hours | Expected price |
| 1 | $125 |
| 3 | $375 |
| 5 | $625 |
| 10 | $1,250 |
| 15 | $1,875 |
| 20 | $2,500 |
| 30 | $3,750 |
A graphic designer creates visual concepts for all types of projects. This might be a company website, social media post, a logo, or even a printed brochure. Their goal is to make everything look as aesthetically pleasing as possible, while ensuring your message is clear throughout.
The best graphic designers can help you to:
Create strong branding
Communicate an important message
Appeal to your target consumers
Stand out from the crowd
Look fabulous on all platforms and devices
You’ll typically see graphic designers creating their visuals using software such as Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, or Dreamweaver. They use these platforms at speed to create an excellent end-result with enormous attention to detail. This saves you from having to learn these skills yourself.
You can hire a graphic designer in dozens of different areas. Each type of design is priced differently, so you should keep this in mind.
The average price for a logo design is $700. The more expensive designers should give you several variations – i.e. different file types, and with various background colors (white, black, and transparent).
If you want a book cover design, expect to pay $450. Once again, this price can be pushed into the higher brackets if you need multiple variations for hardback, softback, and different page sizes.
A brochure design is undoubtedly one of the more expensive services. Formatting an entire brochure, while considering printed colors and how they translate from screen to paper, is not simple. This is around $500 on average but can vary significantly based on the size of your brochure, and how much work your graphic designer must do.
Business cards are one of the more affordable services. You’ll find many graphic designers that offer this service for around $125. Make sure they consider your branding colors and create a design that covers both sides of the card. More expensive designers might play with texture and 3D elements.
Signage costs $500 on average. This varies significantly based on the size and complexity of the design. Graphic designers need to ensure it scales up and that their chosen features translate into a printed sign. This might require collaboration with the printers themselves.
A social media banner, for Twitter page or LinkedIn profile, is very low cost. Most designers offer this for $75 per item. It’s often a one-time-cost, too.
If you want to get a poster made, prices average at $200. This may go up if you need it in various formats, and with plenty of revisions. But if your graphic designer uses a template, it might not be as pricey.
A letterhead is a relatively simple project. You’ll expect to pay around $100 for this, and not much more. And if you want complex graphic designing done on your packaging, this is a major task. The average cost is roughly $650, but it can go much higher in some cases.
You can see a full list of graphic design services, and the corresponding prices, below.
| Type of graphic design | Average price |
| Logo design | $700 |
| Book cover | $450 |
| Brochure design | $500 |
| Business card | $125 |
| Signage | $500 |
| Social media banner | $75 |
| Poster | $200 |
| Letterhead | $100 |
| Packaging | $650 |
Not every graphic designer charges on an hourly basis. You’ll find plenty that consider several others factors too. These include:
Type of graphic design
Complexity of design
Experience of designer
Location
Number of revisions
Project scope
How quickly you need the design completed
Pay careful attention to all these elements and ask your graphic designer for insight on how they reach their prices.
There are dozens of different types of graphic design projects. We’ve outlined many of these further above. Each one requires its own in-depth knowledge of ‘best practice’. It can involve different software and might involve collaboration with a printer too.
Some graphic designs are more complex than others. If you’re hiring a professional to create a book cover, you’ll need to think about what’s involved. If they must design everything from scratch, and draw mythical creatures that’ll appear on the front, this is more complicated than using a ready-made template. The same idea applies to all graphic design projects.
You usually pay more for a graphic designer with more experience. This is because it can sometimes translate into a higher quality result, due to their experience with a variety of projects.
They can give you samples to choose between, and they’ll understand the complexities of getting designs on a screen to translate into real-life print.
When you choose a designer with less experience and knowledge, it can seem attractive if you’re on a budget. But you’ll sometimes pay for this through the quality (or lack) of the design.
Pay careful attention to where your graphic designer is based. Professionals living in expensive parts of the USA tend to have higher prices, due to the increased cost of living.
Data from the World Population Review found that prices tend to be higher in:
Hawaii – 79% higher than average
Massachusetts – 48% higher than average
California – 35% higher than average
New York – 25% higher than average
Alaska – 24% higher than average
Meanwhile, the most affordable states are Mississippi (15% less expensive than average), Oklahoma (14%), Kansas (12%) and Missouri (11%).
Keep in mind that since graphic design is a digital service, these figures could be balanced out somewhat. Professionals aren’t as affected by local ‘overheads’ when they’re working online.
You should discuss the number of revisions you’re allowed with your graphic designer, before you hire them. This is an extremely important detail. If two graphic designers charge you a $200 flat rate, but one allows limitless changes and the other doesn’t allow any, then one is more cost effective than the other.
Project scope is undeniably one of the biggest factors influencing your overall price. It’s important to be clear about how much work you need your graphic designer to do so that they can give you a reasonable quote based on that.
It’s best not to tell them how long you think the work will take, as no two designers are the same. Even if a project is quick to turnaround, it could well be the case that it’s because the designer is extremely experienced, and with that wisdom comes an increased price.
How many of the graphics do you need your designer to produce? For example, work out whether you’re asking them to design one brochure, or ten separate ones. If you add more items as the work progresses, this’ll push your price up too.
Even when a graphic designer charges an hourly rate, the turnaround time is important. If you need something complicated done within a 24-hour period, your designer will almost certainly increase their fee. But if you’re giving them several weeks to complete it, you’ll get their ‘typical’ rate.
You should remember that graphic designers are available all over the world. It’s an extremely popular profession that doesn’t need an in-person presence. So, is there an advantage to hiring someone overseas?
It depends on your project. If you’re making something for a local market, it’s far better to have someone with experience in your area. They’ll understand the nearby consumers, can visualize where it’ll go, and may have contacts in your location to assist with the project too.
For small projects, there could be some merit to exploring options overseas. Your expert might not need local knowledge, and the brief could be very simple, and thus less likely to be misunderstood.
Local graphic designers will work on your time zone and charge in your currency. There’s less likely to be misunderstandings about the project, caused by different languages. Furthermore, if you’re unsatisfied with the result, an overseas designer might not be subject to US laws – which can impact whether you’re able to take action.
If it’s important that your visuals look high-quality, it’s highly recommended that you hire an expert. A professional can reach a standard that the average person can’t. This is due to their in-depth knowledge of technical software, color schemes, grading, typography, print and more.
You might be able to take on the simplest tasks yourself. Some platforms have templates that you can use for leaflets, posters, or logos. But this can create a ‘generic’ look that isn’t customized to your needs.
Hiring an expert isn’t just about the outstanding end-result. They can also turnaround work on a much faster schedule. And if they’ve completed similar work in the past, they can draw on the ‘dos and don’ts’ of this experience.
Doing graphic design yourself can seem less expensive in the short-term. But if you make a mistake, it’ll be far more costly. It’s almost always better to bring in a professional.
Ask them. Some agencies offer this as part of their overall services. This could mean they have an in-house graphic designer.
Others could outsource this work or say they don’t offer it at all. You’ll still be able to find a graphic designer near you though. There’s even some dedicated graphic design agencies that could be worth reaching out to.
It depends on the project. The simplest tasks can be completed within 24 hours, such as designing a business card or making a basic logo. But complex graphics in large quantities, such as an event programme or signage, can take months. Speak to your graphic designer at the start of the project for their opinion on how long it’ll take.
Each graphic designer has their own rules. Some professionals allow limitless revisions until you’re happy, but this correlates to a much higher price. Others might say that no revisions are allowed. This latter scenario is dangerous territory, and you should avoid it, if possible. The best graphic designers often allow a few rounds of revision.
When it comes to your business, marketing materials is an area where you shouldn’t cut corners. If your design is shabby or your core message isn’t clear enough, you could lose business in the blink of an eye.
Even if your project isn’t business-related, having the skilful eye of a graphic designer to produce the work is worthile. After all, graphic designers study for years and are constantly refining their technique. They understand color, layout, and typography and will ultimately give you a better outcome versus an untrained eye attempting the same.
The average rating for Bark Graphic Designers is 4.91, based on 236,838 reviews
5/5
based on 236,838 reviews
