What does creative work really cost?
Estimate the time, judgment and review that go into delivering creative work with AI.
- Routine production6 h × $45 = $270.00
- Specialist execution8 h × $75 = $600.00
- Creative direction4 h × $100 = $400.00
- Planned QA and release review2 h × $75 = $150.00
- Additional correction2 h × $75 = $150.00
Project estimator
Active hours × agreed rate, per work type. Runs entirely in your browser; nothing is stored or sent.
Log hours once. After the project, record each hour a single time under the one work type it belongs to.
Creative work produces the deliverable. AI correction repairs unrequested changes so outputs match what was approved.
Research is voluntary learning or exploration. It has its own purpose and stays outside the project subtotal.
Case summary
ArtEd in 3D homepage
- 1
Brief
The homepage brief emphasized simplicity and warmth.
- 2
Narrowing
The director narrowed four directions to two: Main and Alternative.
- 3
Unrequested change
The AI added an unauthorized logo to both directions.
- 4
Verification
A pixel comparison verified that the logo removal was localized, measured against the immediately previous images. Comparing against the approved originals revealed earlier design drift.
- 5
Status
Final selection was pending at the evidence cutoff.
- Lesson: check corrections against the approved originals, not only the last version.
For creatives and commissioning teams
Agree these four things in writing before turning an estimate into a quote.
- Scope
- List deliverables, formats and what is out of scope before work starts.
- Review rounds
- Agree how many rounds are included and what counts as one round.
- Approval criteria
- Write down what “approved” means — the brief, references and checks each output must pass.
- Additional work
- Decide in advance who covers corrections caused by changed briefs, and who covers fixing unrequested AI changes.