Question: Has anyone had their work used by a High School?

[TimEOBrien]

I've recently been contacted to come up with a proposal to create new logos for a high school. Now, if this were to be accepted and used, I want to be prepared to negotiate a reasonable compensation from the high school. I'm wondering if anyone can help lend me knowledge from their experience in a similar situation. Should I ask for a big fee, a small fee, no fee at all, a percentage of merchandise sales? I just what to hear what others have to say.

There's probably a chance nothing comes from this, but if something does I want to be prepared and I don't want to come off as an ass or an incompetent buffoon to the people who may be commissioning me.

Any constructive comments, advice or anecdotes would be appreciated.

[TimEOBrien]

Thanks.

It isn't my alma mater, and I haven't been given the details on the school from the person who contacted me, but I will now look into their situation and see what the employee can tell me.

[BrandMooreArt]

yes, last year i designed a logo and uniform for a Canadian HS. i did the job for about $300 because thats what they could afford. if i charged them as a typical client it would have been closer to $2,000 worth of work, but i really wanted to help them out. what they ended up using was a hacked version i did about half way throuugh the project (their choice but that one will never see my portfolio) and they ended up going with a regular uniform template rather then my design.

negotiate the time and payment to what you're comfortable with. but dont turn in any design files until you have been paid. they probably wont be to quick to do so (some are better than others but it usually has to run through a board of people).

[deFasselle]

As already mentioned, definitely ask about their budget and expectations. A few other things to consider while creating an estimate...

• how many concepts are you willing to provide
  
• how easy do you think the client will be to work with, this can be hard to predict, but trust your gut feeling
  
• if you really want the project, consider lowering your estimate
  
• think through how many hours the concept designs, meetings, communication, revisions, and producing the final version will take
  
• assuming your estimate is approved, ask for a deposit to get started on the project (e.g. 25%, 33% or 50% of the total estimate)
  

Hope this helps.

[FFWally]

I am currently working on a rebranding project at my sons HS (I also coach there), For me its about getting rid of a god awful mishmash of college logos and hand drawn suff.

I am going to take a cut of revenues long term (basically pay for my kids athletic fees)

[TBGKon]

One thought, but to save your time uniform designs are most likely useless as high schools typically use standard templates from their suppliers rather than to have a custom design.

[CDixonDesign]

One thought, but to save your time uniform designs are most likely useless as high schools typically use standard templates from their suppliers rather than to have a custom design.

Agreed, most likely you are bound to standardized options. Even standard uniform templates, with standard block lettering, nothing too wild. Where you can get a little design savvy is the helmet elements, with striping, and the helmet logo.

Keep yourself in perspective, and try not to get too ahead, or out of the box with your ideas. Remember this isn't a college and Nike, UA, etc. This is simply a High School who, by contacting you, has an idea that good design has value. So come up with some awesome logos, wordmarks, and try and focus on what you can have high impact on:

- The Helmet, striping, logo.

- Apparel: This is your bang for your buck. Come up with solid, versatile logos, and apparel will be easy as cake to sell. Plus you could develop a long term relationship with them by simply selling apparel designs in the future by year. You may even be able to pitch a yearly "student shirt" in addition to normal designs.

- Visuals of Facilities: Endzones, Banners, Signage, Spirit Gear like car flags, decals, etc.

Keep your reach focused on those three things, and I think you could develop a solid client.

[TimEOBrien]

Thanks so much for the information, all of you. This has drastically changed my approach and I would've been flying blind without you. This is why I stick around this place. Thank you all, again.

[wILL-INI]

I rebranded my high as a senior project last year, that I talked with our school board/superintendent and worked with them in production. One thing that I kept in mind is to keep things very easy to use/work with. They are a high school, and we all have 1000 examples of where a high school messed up some good design. Make it fool proof with an extensive style guide covering a lot of the basics.