Designers can get paid for portfolio reviews and design feedback by publishing a fixed-price offer: a Paid Question for a written opinion, or a custom request when the client needs to upload screens or files for a screen-by-screen critique. The designer sets the price, scope, and turnaround before publishing.
What does Brillay cost for a paid design critique?
- No monthly fee, you only pay a small platform fee when you get paid. 8% platform fee when a follower pays for work, 5% platform fee on tips and goals. Card processing is separate. (Brillay pricing).
- A Custom Work delivery can include a written note, files such as video, audio, images, PDFs, Word documents, spreadsheets, or presentations, and/or a link (Brillay Custom Work).
- A client ordering Brillay Custom Work can attach up to 5 screenshots or exported design files, with a 50 MB limit per file, so the designer has the material before starting work.
- For a US pricing example, Stripe publishes 2.9% + 30¢ per successful card charge, plus 1.5% for international cards and 1% when currency conversion is required; actual processing fees can vary and are deducted separately from creator earnings (Stripe pricing).
- Stripe pays your Brillay earnings to your bank account; the timing varies by account and country (Stripe payouts documentation).
- Stripe does not return its original processing fee on a refunded order (Stripe refunds documentation).
For the broader strategy, see getting paid for the expert advice you already give and the paid requests and one-time support overview.
The typical trigger is a DM: a designer posts a teardown of an app's onboarding flow, and a solo founder asks for a critique of a few screens before shipping. The founder is not hiring an agency; he wants a second pair of trained eyes, and he found them through a video rather than a freelancer directory. If the bio link leads only to a portfolio, he has to ask about pricing, wait for a reply, and arrange payment separately — three extra steps, each a chance for the request to stall. A Brillay link puts the request and payment on one page: the client pays upfront by card as a guest, with no account needed, and the designer delivers the agreed feedback later (Brillay how it works).
How are design feedback requests different from developer requests?
The practical difference is the attachment, not the profession. A founder asking “which version feels more premium?” usually needs to send screens, while a client asking “should I specialize in UI or stay a generalist?” can ask in writing without an attachment. Use Paid Questions for one written question and reply, and Custom Work when clients need to send screens or design files for a defined critique.
Does the request include a file?
Paid Questions are one private question and one written answer — followers pay your set price upfront, and you reply in writing within the window you set. The designer sets both the price and the reply speed before publishing.
When a founder needs to submit onboarding screens and receive detailed notes, Custom Work is the better fit. Custom Work lets you offer clearly scoped commissions and services: you set the price, the scope and the delivery time, and followers submit a brief and pay before you start. The follower can attach up to 5 files when they order, with a 50 MB limit per file, and the finished critique can go back as a written note plus delivered files or a private link. Custom Work is one time, with no membership: you send one delivery package, and if a file or note needs fixing, the follower can contact you on that same order.
Choose the offer type, define what is included, set the delivery time, and use Custom Work's optional maximum slots to keep a rush of portfolio reviews within a manageable backlog.
What can a design feedback offer look like?
A four-screen critique does not require a 30-minute call. On Brillay, replies and service delivery are asynchronous (no live call): you reply in writing and deliver Custom Work as recordings, files, links, or written notes within the delivery time you set, with no scheduling. The founder submits the screens; the designer replies on their own time.
Sample offer structures — not prices, market averages, or earnings claims
- Sample offer: "5-Minute Figma Teardown" — a screen-recorded walkthrough critiquing one sent screen or flow, with a short delivery time. For example, a designer could test this tightly scoped Figma teardown at a fixed $25, then change the price if the time required or demand proves different; that is an example, not a market rate.
- Sample offer: "Mini UX Audit" — a written punch-list covering the top usability issues on one sent app or site, with a longer delivery time. For example, a designer could test this larger Mini UX Audit at a fixed $50, with the included screens, format, exclusions, and delivery time stated before checkout; that is an example, not a market rate.
These samples illustrate scope, format, and hypothetical test pricing only. Every price, scope, and delivery time on Brillay is chosen by the creator, and nothing here represents typical market rates or guaranteed earnings.
A useful listing tells the client exactly what they receive: feedback on one submitted flow, a five-minute recording, one delivery, and the date by which you will send it. On Brillay, the creator writes the service title and description and sets the price and delivery time before the offer goes live.
What if the buyer only has a written question?
An open-ended prompt — "how should I price a logo and brand identity project for a small-business client?" — fits Paid Questions as one written question. The creator sets the price and reply time before publishing; the reply time can be as short as 1 hour or as long as 5 days, with 24 hours as the default. For example, a designer might start with one narrow type of question and a delivery time they can comfortably meet, then adjust the price as they learn how much work each answer takes.
If a sent request is materially larger than the published scope, you can decline it before starting: the request closes and the follower keeps their money. If a completed charge is later refunded, Brillay returns its platform fee, but Stripe's original processing fee is not returned. Protect your time by stating the exact number of screens, feedback format, exclusions, and one-delivery limit before a client pays.
What else can designers offer beyond critiques?
Not every inbound message is a feedback request, so one Brillay link can include Paid Questions, Personalized Videos, Custom Work, Tips, Goals, and Brand Collaboration Inquiries. Paid offers use the price or contribution settings that apply to them; Brand Collaboration Inquiries takes an inquiry rather than a payment. Turning on only the offers that match real inbound messages keeps the page short.
How can designers respond to congratulations requests?
A design-school graduate starting a first in-house role, a bootcamp classmate reaching demo day, or a small business launching a rebrand may want a personal message rather than a critique. A follower pays your price upfront for one custom video — including who it is for and what to say — that you record and deliver through Brillay within the delivery time you set. For Personalized Videos, the finished recording goes out as an upload or a private link with a short note from you, recorded whenever you get to it inside that window — there is no call to find a slot for.
How can designers fund a specific project or expense?
A designer often has a defined next expense: a drawing tablet, a software license renewal, conference travel, or a photographer for a portfolio case study. A drawing tablet is an expense, not a product launch: Kickstarter can leave a designer with nothing when a campaign misses its target and turn successful funding into reward fulfillment; with a Brillay Goal, the designer keeps every contribution and has nothing to produce or ship. Software-licence goals can be sized from the vendor's own published price: a Figma Professional Full seat is listed at $16 per month billed annually (Figma pricing), which makes a 12-month seat a $192 target.
Which offers handle tips and business inquiries?
Tips fit the simplest interaction: someone liked a post and wants to contribute without requesting a critique or a reply. Tips let followers send a one-time thank-you, with nothing for you to deliver and no membership for them to join. When a small business asks "can you redesign our app icon?", Brand Collaboration Inquiries collects the brand's budget, timeline, and deliverables into a separate brand inbox.
Which Brillay offer fits each design-related message?
Match the message to the offer by asking one question: does answering it require a file? Requests with screens, exports, or documents belong in Custom Work, which accepts follower uploads at checkout; written questions fit Paid Questions, which is one written question and answer in a private message (Brillay Custom Work and Paid Questions).
| If the message looks like… | Best-fit offer | Can the follower attach a file? | Expected format |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Should I specialize in UI or stay a generalist?" | Paid Questions | No — text question, text reply | Written text reply |
| "Here are 4 onboarding screens; what's broken?" | Custom Work | Yes — attached at checkout | Written note, delivered files, or a private link |
| "I just landed my first in-house role!" | Personalized Videos | No — the follower writes the message details | Short recorded video |
| "Help me fund a new tablet or software license" | Goals | No review file required | Progress toward a stated target amount |
| "Loved this post" | Tips | No | No critique or reply owed |
| "Can you redesign our app icon?" | Brand Collaboration Inquiries | No — the form collects project details, not files | Structured business inquiry |
Table capabilities are drawn from the linked Brillay feature pages.
How do designers set up a paid feedback offer?
Setup is four decisions and a link. Pick the one or two offers that match the messages already arriving, describe the deliverable precisely, set price and delivery time, and put the Brillay link in the bio.
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Choose one or two offers that match existing requests. If most inbound messages ask for feedback on a portfolio or landing page, start with one focused Custom Work offer rather than a six-item menu.
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Describe the deliverable precisely. "Mini UX Audit — written punch-list on one sent screen or flow" tells the follower more than "design feedback." How to write a custom request offer explains how to scope and word the listing.
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Set the price, scope, and delivery time. State how many screens are included, the delivery format, what is excluded, and when the deliverable is due. Each Custom Work order is one delivery, and any correction request afterwards follows the support and revision policy you publish.
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Place the Brillay link in the bio. The next client asking for feedback opens the page, pays by card as a guest before you start, and receives the critique later—no improvised invoice or payment chase.
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Direct relevant inquiries to the listing. A reply such as "I sent you the link for submitting that as a proper critique" sets the boundary without completing the review free in the comments.
On card processing: as a US example, Stripe publishes 2.9% + 30¢ per successful card charge, plus 1.5% for international cards and 1% when currency conversion is required; actual processing fees can vary and are deducted separately from creator earnings.
On payouts: Brillay earnings pay out through Stripe to the creator's bank account. Payout timing can vary by account and country, so creators should check their current payout details rather than promise buyers a fixed two-business-day schedule. Creators in 41 countries can get paid; followers pay by card from anywhere.
If the same audience includes developers who want code reviewed rather than screens critiqued, the developers guide covers that use case.
Frequently asked questions
How do I charge for a portfolio review without sounding like I am gatekeeping?
Present it as a defined professional opinion, not a certification or a requirement for entering the industry. State how many portfolio pieces you will review, the feedback format, the scope, and the delivery time. On Brillay the creator writes the service title, description, price, and delivery time themselves, so the listing sets its own limits. Selling a portfolio review covers this offer in more detail.
Can a follower send Figma screens or screenshots for critique?
Yes, through Custom Work. A follower ordering a Brillay Custom Work offer can attach their own files — a screenshot, an export, a document — when they place the order. Brillay Paid Questions are a written question and a written reply, so a request that requires visual material should be packaged as Custom Work instead.
Do I need a minimum audience or verified design credentials?
No. Brillay has no follower minimum, application, or verified-design-credential gate, and creating a page has no upfront cost or monthly fee. What matters commercially is whether people already trust your taste enough to ask for feedback. The creator writes the service description and is responsible for describing their own experience, scope, and deliverable accurately.
What do I keep from a paid critique, and what if the scope is too large?
For a US pricing example, Stripe publishes 2.9% + 30¢ per successful card charge, plus 1.5% for international cards and 1% when currency conversion is required; actual processing fees can vary and are deducted separately from creator earnings. What you keep is your price minus two separate deductions: that card processing and Brillay's small platform fee on paid work, set out in the cost section at the top of this page. If a request exceeds the published scope, the creator can decline it before beginning the work, and the request closes and the follower keeps their money.
How long does the money take to reach my bank?
Brillay earnings pay out through Stripe to the creator's bank account. Payout timing can vary by account and country, so creators should check their current payout details rather than promise buyers a fixed two-business-day schedule. Creators can receive payouts in 41 supported countries.
Create your free Brillay page and turn the next "can you look at this" into an offer instead of an unpaid DM.
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