This information is really going to move my business forward. Thank you!

Are you asking because you want to know what you should be charging or what you should be paying? First, in real life, designers don’t make much (see what designers earn). If you’re hiring a freelancer, they are paid by the sketch (there’s a whole chapter on freelancing in my book; find it in the upper left sidebar). If you need somebody to clean up some concepts and ideas you already have, perhaps a freelance illustrator is all you’d need. In real life -not TV land- designers are only employees like everyone else who works for you, unless they started the company -which is what this site is all about- but otherwise, for heaven’s sake, no, you wouldn’t give them part ownership of the company! I mean, that’s like giving an architect part ownership of your house or your building just because they designed it. You pay their wages or fees and whatever they come up with is yours. You paid for it, you own it. And the only time they get “credit” is if they are already established, a prestigious household name or at least well-known in a given niche or field. In that case, you’d be talking to their attorneys or whoever handles their licensing deals so you wouldn’t be here at all.