Here are some suggestions that I received…

How To Be a Graphic Designer Without Not Losing Your Soul – Adrian Shaughnessy http://bit.ly/1s46ko

Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far – Stefan Sagmeister http://bit.ly/pF5xx

100 Habits of Successful Graphic Designers – Josh Berger, Sarah Dougher http://bit.ly/279h8O

Hey Whipple, Squeeze This – Luke Sullivan http://bit.ly/sId7r

And David Ogilvy is so rockin’ awesome that these were suggested several times:

The King of Madison Avenue: David Ogilvy

Ogilvy On Advertising – David Ogilvy http://bit.ly/1eP8v0

Confessions of an Advertising Man – David Ogilvy http://bit.ly/1gjwgN

Also see, David Airey’s blog on his favorite book: http://www.davidairey.com/whats-your-favourite-graphic-design-book

(Sidenote: I apologize to Brad and Patrick, since they responded to my query and unfortunately your answers were lost by a work email change-over. Sorry!)

I’m about to make a bold statement. The quality of a design and the monetary cost of producing or procuring that design have absolutely no relationship whatsoever. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, I know. Many of you are crying foul at this very moment, but hear me out. I’ll explain my radical position – and hopefully give you a few pointers about how to more effectively price and position your design business in this brave new, and uncorrelated, world.

Jeff goes on to outline a few guideline for pricing your work and a few tips on your approach, as well as a few assumptions we make, like this:

Good design is about attitude

A little attitude and a little cockiness never hurt anyone. I would argue that those two qualities have actually helped more businesses than they’ve harmed. Why? Because being confident in your product or service is infectious. If you believe strongly in the value and the worth of what you’re selling, your clients are going see that – and respond in kind.

This is a great read for freelancers getting started and those of you who are looking for work and are filling your off hours looking for extra jobs but you don’t really know what to charge. The article is geared towards web designers, but the trends and truths are appropriate for any creative job.

One of the biggest hurdles I had to face as I started working for myself was juggling between taking what I could get and positioning myself in such a way where I could dictate, with pride and honesty, a price for what I do for my potential clients that would not only keep me in business but keep me respectable. It’s a decision I didn’t make overnight and it’s something I re-approach regularly.

Read the rest of Quality-Price-Ratio in Web Design (Pricing Design Work) from Smashing Magazine.