Whether freelancer, small GbR or large agency, everyone has to calculate their services and this is associated with a number of pitfalls. The VTV Design makes it possible to calculate design orders simply, individually and, above all, legally compliant. The calculator was developed by the Alliance of German Designers and is now also available as a web app. AGD members and existing subscribers can still use and test the calculator free of charge until February 1.
The VTV Design has been around since 1977 and has also been available as a web app since March 2021. The guide helps creative professionals to calculate their workload and design services. VTV Design covers all common design services from twelve design disciplines, and the workload can be calculated for each - in small, medium and large versions. This gives designers much better orientation, especially for unfamiliar projects. This applies even more to newcomers to the profession. All values are based on the results of surveys of freelance designers - and therefore on real projects.
Since July, the app has also had a catalog function that allows you to browse through design projects and find inspiration. The categories have also been adapted and now better meet the requirements of today's design tasks.
The calculator
Another completely new service is the professional calculation. Individual, differentiated and even complex calculations can be created efficiently and error-free with VTV Design. The calculator guides you through the process and doesn't forget anything.
users can enter their hourly rate and are then guided through the various tasks involved in a project. It's not just about "design" or "final artwork", but also about services such as "target definition" and "research, analysis and synthesis". AGD Managing Director Victoria Ringleb says: "It is important that the structure is based on modern design processes. Services such as 'goal setting' and 'research' are much more frequently part of a designer's field of activity today than they were a few years ago, but are often not taken into account in the calculation. Our calculator provides for them; not everything has to be filled in, but all work should always be kept in view."
Calculating usage rights with legal certainty
The user enters the intended number of hours for each service and multiplies it by the hourly rate of their choice. Now he can assign rights of use in various scopes - provided that the corresponding service entitles him to do so. This is not the case for research work, for example, so the service is marked accordingly and rights of use cannot be entered. This ensures that an offer based on the calculation is error-free and legally compliant.
"We don't just want to use the calculator to help with calculations, we also want to improve the workflow," says Victoria Ringleb. "The calculation can be saved, printed or exported and used very conveniently as a basis for quotations."
Free for AGD members and subscribers until February 1
Next year, the calculator will be part of the "VTV Design Profi" package. AGD members will subscribe to this package for 3 euros, all others for 7 euros per month. However, the calculator will remain part of "VTV Design Free+" until February 1, 2022. AGD members and existing subscribers will pay nothing for this subscription until then. "This is our way of thanking our existing subscribers and members for their loyalty," concludes Victoria Ringleb.
Membership of a design association is always a good idea, not least to be able to use offers such as the VTV Design calculator. Anyone who has to calculate complex quotations more frequently will certainly appreciate the calculator - seven euros a month is a much better investment.
Here you can find more about VTV Design ...
If you can stomach a little lighter fare after so much calculation, we recommend our interview with design master Dieter Rams - he also has a few tips up his sleeve.
