Agency proposal lists custom web design and icon pack—what are we actually buying?

Shoot them an email right away and ask: "Is the 2,200-dollar icon pack drawn from scratch, or curated from open libraries?" If it's custom work, ask to see a few sample icon sets from their portfolio. You'll know what they're about from their tone right away.

There are plenty of agencies selling 50-dollar pre-made themes with tweaked color palettes for 10,000 dollars calling it "custom design." And the icon line item often ends up being just throwing a free icon pack into the project. If they refuse to hand over the raw, unflattened design files, walk away.

We had a similar-sized UI project done last year for 11,000 dollars. They didn't charge extra for icons, but they were all from well-known open-source sets. Later, we hired a graphic designer for 600 dollars to draw 30 completely bespoke SVG icons, and we were way happier with it. 2,200 dollars for an off-the-shelf pack is insane.

To gauge the technical quality of the icons, require SVG deliverables and strict design standards. When you mix stock icons that don't follow consistent stroke widths, fill rules, and pixel grids, the site ends up looking sloppy. If they're doing custom work, make sure they work on fixed pixel grids.

our agency pulled the same "custom set" thing back in the day turned out they just grabbed free icons off the web and colored them blue. definitely ask before signing or u will regret it later.

I recommend reviewing the Intellectual Property clause very carefully before signing. It must clearly state that all exclusive rights to delivered graphic assets, code blocks, and UI elements are unconditionally transferred to your company. Otherwise, you might run into copyright headaches down the road when reusing those assets elsewhere.

Does the proposal specify how many icons will be delivered? If they're asking 2,200 dollars for 10 icons, that's 220 dollars per icon, which is basically full-time illustrator rates. Are the exact count and the number of revision rounds clearly defined in the scope of work?

Bottom line, it comes down to this: if they're using stock assets, the price is absurd; if it's completely bespoke branding, it could make sense. Get written commitments on the exact quantity, copyright transfer, and delivery of raw source files, and you'll have your answer.

The discussion got scattered, let me summarize. Trying to do this alone is the most expensive way.

This is my opinion, I'm not claiming it's absolute truth.

I'm curious too.

I'm writing this so you don't make the same mistake. Code without setup documentation isn't yours even if you have it.

This is my opinion, I'm not claiming it's absolute truth.

I'm a small business, let me explain from my side. Start with a small trial; don't commit to everything at once.

That's all, sorry if I went on too long.

Noted, thanks.

Thanks for writing this, that's the right way. If code ownership isn't in the contract, you have no bargaining power when leaving.

When making decisions, write down the worst-case scenario too, not just the best. I'm also curious if anyone does it differently.

Yes, that's exactly how it is with custom web design. Don't hesitate to ask; those who don't ask always pay more.

That's all, sorry if I went on too long.

I have a question. Hasty decisions become decisions you have to fix six months later.

Good luck with that.

this thread is archived and processes without records never improve, because you don't know what to fix.

just leaving this note, it might be useful.

We got stuck at the same point for a while. The real issue isn't the number, but what it's based on.

Most time waste accumulates in tasks waiting for approval. Of course, it varies if your situation is different.