The eternal question and the most popular quote.
How much does a logo cost?
The only possible answer is: it depends.
What does it depend on?
On the client.
No, it’s not that we are going to charge you more for having more. It depends on the client, understanding the client as the project for which the logo will be used. Is it a medium-sized family business or a big brand looking for a redesign? Maybe an entrepreneur starting a new venture? Is it for a new beer (product) or a neighborhood sandwich shop (service)? All this matters (a lot) and determines the price of the logo.
“Well, but how much does a logo cost?! so more or less… by eye”.
The cost of a logo can go from free to half a million dollars. Yes, that’s how big the gap is. I’m sorry. Obviously I would recommend a free logo, unless it is some kind of exchange, pro bono or similar. A free logo can be very expensive in the end. But to give you a price, first there are some questions you need to answer.
What is your business about?
Is your business a service or a product? If it is a product, where is it sold, to whom, how many varieties of the product do you have or plan to have? I need to know what kind of exposure your brand will get. And, more importantly, whether the logo can be a deciding factor in the decision to buy or not. Is it a storefront? How many stores are we talking about and where are they located?
When do you need it? How much of a hurry are you in?
This is another important factor when establishing a price since it is directly related to the man-hours that the agency will dedicate to your project. It is important that when starting any type of design work, deadlines and instances of correction are clearly established with the client.
To put it another way, it is not the same “design – show – correct and deliver” than “design – show – correct – show – correct – show”. In this situation, it can be an infinite loop…
The time will depend on the amount of proposals that the agency manages to develop. Also, the dedication it puts on the corrections and feedback that the client can deliver.
How much of your budget do you plan to spend?
It’s a pretty straightforward question that most of the time makes me uncomfortable. But the budget is also a determining factor when it comes to knowing other factors such as:
- how much time I will dedicate to your project as an agency;
- how many proposals,
- how many corrections,
- how much you value your brand as the most important element to consider.
Finally, whatever your case may be, we have some tips when hiring the services of a designer or design agency for your logo design:
- It seems obvious but it is very important to pay attention to the professionalism of the designer or agency: how does he/she deliver the quotations? What language does he/she use? badly or not, you and the designer/agency will be working together for a long time (at least one month).
- At the time of quoting they should start by giving you a list of deliverables. Also, the format in which the logo will be delivered and if the service includes the design of applications or not.
- In the same line but even more important is that the logo comes with a user’s guide, brand guidelines or a manual. This will get you out of a lot of trouble when you try to use your logo in invoices, websites, applications or others. The reason is because it will specify details such as the minimum legible size, corporate colors, logo variables and incorrect and forbidden uses. It is also a very useful tool when you try to design new elements for your brand but with another designer or agency.