What You Should Do When Relatives Ask For Free Work

Web design and development professionals are often approached by relatives and friends who need some type of work done. Let's say your sister keeps a WordPress blog that she would like to improve with a floating menu or some fancy social media sharing buttons; this is a reasonable request that you would probably have no qualms about fulfilling. How about when your cousin, who owns a swimming pool cleaning and supplies company, asks for a professional logo to be designed as soon as possible?

Like with any regular order for logo design, what really matters is the contract for services. The price is just one of the agreed terms; should you choose to do the job for free, then you know that the value of the contract is $0.00, but this is only one of the terms. You have to consider what the rest of the project involves, and the expectations of both parties must be clear in this regard. In the aforementioned example, the cousin wants a logo ASAP, but this is too vague because it does not stipulate clear time frames or potential revisions.

While there is nothing wrong with helping family members, doing professional-grade work for free can become a slippery slope if the provider fails to manage the situation adequately. The owner of a pool cleaning service should have some funds set aside for logo design and similar matters, but you can always offer to create an initial version of the logo free of charge, but with the understanding that future versions and revisions will be charged accordingly. What you want to avoid is a misunderstanding of your generosity; when the project starts taking up too much of your time, it is no longer a favor but a hindrance.

Many graphic designers know the story of the original Twitter logo, the cute and happy bluebird that sold for $20 in 2009. The British designer who created that logo had never heard of that social network at the time, but he understood that his creation was acquired through iStock, and the terms of service and copyright were clear; while he may have experienced some regret, he clearly understood the contractual transaction. For more information click here https://www.reddit.com/r/web_design/comments/ee2wsl/should_i_charge_my_cousin_for_a_logo_design/.