Freelance & Client Workflow

Lesson 1Design skill alone doesn't sustain a career

Every module up to this point has focused on becoming a better designer. This module shifts to a genuinely different, equally important skill set: running design work as a sustainable practice or business — because even excellent design skill, without basic business practices around it, tends to produce inconsistent income, exhausting scope disputes, and burnout.

Lesson 2Pricing design work

• •Hourly pricing — a set rate per hour worked. Straightforward to calculate and fair when scope is genuinely uncertain, but can create a perverse incentive where working faster (a sign of skill) actually earns less, and clients sometimes find hourly billing anxiety-inducing since the final cost isn't known upfront.
• •Flat-rate/project pricing — a single fixed price for a defined deliverable, agreed before work begins. Gives the client cost certainty and rewards designer efficiency, but requires accurately estimating the work involved upfront — underestimating means effectively being paid less than intended.

Lesson 3Scope creep — what it is and how to prevent it

Scope creep is when a project's requirements gradually expand beyond what was originally agreed, often through a series of individually small, reasonable-sounding requests — “could you also just try it in blue?”, “could we add one more page?”, “could you also design the business card while you're at it?” — that collectively add substantial unpaid work.

• •Define scope explicitly and specifically in the proposal before work begins — “3 initial concepts, up to 2 rounds of revisions” rather than vaguely “a logo”
• •When a request falls outside that scope, name it directly and kindly — “That's a great addition — since it's outside our original scope, I'd suggest we treat it as a separate small add-on” is professional and non-confrontational
• •Build a small buffer into initial estimates — some minor scope flexibility is normal and healthy; the goal isn't rigid inflexibility, it's preventing unbounded, unpaid expansion

Lesson 4What clients expect as final deliverables

• •Source files — the original, editable Figma file, or an exported version the client can reference
• •Final exported files in appropriate formats — SVG for logos needing to scale, PNG for web use with transparency, PDF for print-ready materials (the Pre-Course format lesson)
• •A copy of the brand style guide, if branding work was involved (Modules 7/11)
• •Any relevant login/account access if applicable — e.g. if work was done directly within a client's own Figma account

Lesson 5Drafting a simple project proposal

A project proposal is a short document sent before work begins, confirming scope, price, timeline, and deliverables in writing — directly preventing the scope creep and deliverable-ambiguity problems from Lessons 3 and 4 by establishing clear, mutual expectations upfront.

• •Project summary — a brief restatement of what's being built
• •Deliverables — specifically what will be provided, and in what formats
• •Scope — what's included (number of concepts, revision rounds) and, implicitly or explicitly, what's not included
• •Price — the agreed rate, whether hourly or flat
• •Timeline — expected delivery date(s)