Hi Folks! For the past 20 years I've charged $50/hr for my freelance desktop publishing and graphic design work. My rates heve never changed because freelance design has never been my principal occupation: organizational communications (I'm currently director of communications for my employer) pays the rent, and teaching pays for my hobbies. One other thing you may want to think about: whether you will ply your trade primarily in the corporate or nonprofit sector. A lot of my freelance work has been for nonprofit organizations. They are often overlooked because of the perception that they can't afford professional graphic services. Yet collectively they produce thousands of brochures, posters, display ads, and now web sites, and most of the work is farmed out to contractors. You may have to negotiate a per project rate rather than an hourly one, so spec your estimated time very carefully. But this may be a good place to build your portfolio as you work toward landing accounts with big firms and agencies. Peter (Dr Zik)