How much for a logo?

That depends.
One question we are asked a lot is - "How much do you charge for a logo?" This is a tricky one along the lines of how long is a piece of string. There are many other questions hidden below the surface.

We have done simple logos for as little as $500 and corporate logo packages for as much as $50,000. For some household name corporations there are reports of half a million dollars or more being paid for their corporate ID package. Is this insane? How do costs escalate to this extent? Coming up with a symbol for a company should be pretty easy, right.



Well, unless I just do a random thing like a pink rhinocerous with a parrot on its back or whatever, there has to be some thought put into the relevance of the imagery, its stated meaning, the concept it is required to communicate and its intended usage. Let's look at some of the hidden questions.

1) What is the product?
2) What is the product's place in the market?
3) Who are the target market?
4) What kind of brand personality should it have?
5) What image does the company want the brand identity to project?
6) How do we satisfy the conflicting interests of all involved parties?
7) How many different approaches will be required to be developed?
8) What are the competitors doing with their brand imagery?
9) What method of illustrating this brand is the best to embrace?
10) How do we avoid cliché?
11) Are we creating a unique symbol for the company as well as text?
12) Where is the symbol going to be used and how?
13) How many colours can we use?
14) How do we accommodate the differing values and opinions of those involved?
15) How do the multitude of parties affected by the new or changed identity know how to correctly utilise the identity?

It's easy to see that this whole process can become very time-consuming, making it difficult to quote a price. It helps if we have, at least, a little understanding of what and who are involved. Or we could simply quote every logo very high to cover ourselves. Of course the better the brief, the better value for money can be achieved for our client.

Funny how it always comes back to the brief.

The Face of Your Company

Logo Design
Your logo is the initial impression you make with your customers and an integral part of your business. It reflects your company’s attitudes, philosophy and values.



Done properly, a new brand architecture can be a great start to galvanising employees around a new brand idea. From there it travels to customers. A brand’s graphics are the connective tissue of a brand strategy and reach consumers’ brains in ways they aren’t even aware of… it’s the difference between getting the wiring of the brand right or wrong.

The Design Challenge

A contemporary simplicity of style that is disciplined and entirely appropriate.
While it's nice for advertising designers to remain conscious of contemporary design techniques, they should never treat their client's corporate communications as a means to impress their fellow design enthusiasts.

When designing and producing branding packages, from logo designs through to annual reports, advertising agency designers, as opposed to design house designers, tend to be more focused on the ideas that the client wants to express. These ideas are likely to be concerned with the company's bottom line. While this thinking doesn't (or shouldn't) rule out creative design ideas it certainly will rule out ideas that do nothing to enhance the brand. This illustrates the difference in thinking between a design house and an advertising agency.

Typography, layout and powerful visual communication are vital, but only as tools to create the client's most appropriate outcome according to the brief and budget. The best corporate communications enhance the professionalism and service of the client while complementing their core values, thus providing a foundation for a strong brand positioning.