How much should a logo cost...What did you pay?
Logo prices vary from stock designs for $50 to $1,000,000 for Pepsi. I know IT DEPENDS. I have a general price and process I follow...But what do you think? What did you pay? Was it worth it?
I'm in graphic design, so my logo was "free," but I'm curious what regular companies spend.
Clarification added 5 months ago:
Thanks for all of the great responses. Personally, I have my prices and am comfortable quoting logos for clients. I was hoping to get some non-designer (real clients) to post thoughts on their logo process. As designers, we spend energy defining our profession...I want to spend some time listening to general businesses.
I'm curious to hear what an average consultant, store owner, or lawyer has to say about the importance of their brand and what they paid.
Answers (18)
Nick N
Managing Technical Member, CXO Focus, LLC
Best Answers in: Non-profit Management (2), Government Policy (1), Personnel Policies (1), Corporate Governance (1), E-Commerce (1)
Hi Brad,
It varies on how much input in the final design the buyer has.
We had a general idea of what we wanted our logo to look like and the graphics artist was able to work with that concept to generate a final design for $250.
I know of other firms that have paid up to $3,500 for a "from scratch" logo. This process included an intial portfolio of 10 different designs ranging from from wild to mild. From there, the company worked closely with the artist through multiple iterations to hash out a final design.
Both ways seemed to work as we're all happy with the outcomes.
This is somewhat difficult to give a flat answer as most projects can differ greatly. You will need to keep in mind the amount of research that will be required, the implementation of the finished logo, the other essential branding tools and how to use it? In order to properly estimate you will need to determine what a potential client is truly looking for? Simply a logo so they can start selling, or a vision for a business Brand that will require research, strategy and planning in order to properly execute the design of any mark (logo/symbol).
Often our pricing will range anywhere from $2500 – $25,000 for most corporate identity projects.
Like you said, price ranges from the low to the extreme high end of the spectrum. IMO, the return generally follows a normal curve. Huge drop off when you go bargain bin slumming (getting kids who downloaded a pirated copy of Photoshop bidding on your job), and low marginal return on dollar in the high-end range (symmetric Pepsi energy fields in balance).
We had a general idea of what we wanted, and ended up paying around $300, and then tweaked it with in-house graphics resources that we had just on-boarded.
James J suggests this expert on this topic:
she has experience designing logos of all kinds. she can shed some light on this topic
Chris P
President, Idea Engine, Inc. - Integrated Marketing, Website Development, Marketing & Branding
I am writing from Cleveland, Ohio and as others mention pricing can range dramatically. Our firm starts at logo development cost of $3500.00 for small start-ups and goes up from there. It can go up significantly depending on the customer need. Many times there are multiple branding issues and considerations that must be balanced in the logo development process.
The Graphics Artist Guild has a good publication that is printed annually with industry averages based on size of company.
I think it might be helpful if people see exactly what is involved in creating a logo from initial meeting to finished design. Chuck Green published his process of designing a logo for a helicopter transport company. If anyone wants to know what makes a logo on the high end, just follow his process.
If in a moment of weakness, I agreed to a $250. logo, I can guarantee you, the client would not get this level of service. My agreement would spell out 3 rounds of 3 sketches tops, after which the client could either choose the best of what I presented in the last batch of sketches, or if they still didn't see what they wanted they could opt to pay an hourly fee for any additional development I did.
Chuck Greens client did not go a bargain basement logo mill and as a result, got the exact logo identity that connected with them on a professional and emotional level. That's an important step for any company that wants to build their brand.
For the most part, bargain basement shoppers know they are not getting top of the line services or merchandise. A logo is supposed to not only represent you and your company but set you apart from your competition. With most logo mills building their logos out of the same spare parts they use for all their clients, getting noticed above the din of your competitor's marketing message isn't likely to happen.
Links:
If someone is happy with a $300 logo, they were either lucky or they aren't a very sharp business person. A successful logo isn't something that merely looks tolerable. If you just take any trade, plumbing for example, and figure that the going rate for a plumber is probably around $70 to $100 per hour, and you hire a graphic designer who knows what they're doing, their rate is likely to be similar. (This is assuming you value what a graphic designer does as much as you do a plumber.)
That would mean that in merely 3 to 4 hours, a designer collected all the information they needed from the company about its goals, audience, their competition, how the logo would be used, etc. (basic necessary questions). Then they presumably did their own research, then generated a number of ideas (which usually requires more than one sitting for ideas to incubate), then narrowed those down and presented the client with workable concepts. Then the client chose a design and the designer made further refinements to that selected logo, possibly even having to draw electronically a symbol from scratch. Then they created all the necessary file formats and sent them to you.
In this 3 to 4 hours, the designer and client likely communicated back and forth. Possibly there were multiple color schemes chosen and presented as well.
There's a lot left out of what I described above that would be essential for any business of any size, but in 3 to 4 hours that would be impossible, unless, of course, the designer were a magician.
If the designer only charged $25 per hour, that's only 12 hours for the above described work, which is nearly impossible unless you are brilliant at time management and extremely efficient....and the client was completely easy to work with.
This is work is the bare minimum. So something really important is not happening in the process. One has to wonder which parts.
That being said, not every logo project needs to involve complex branding that goes beyond a logo design, but even at a bare minimum to get from point A to point B in only a few hours is, at best, negligent.
Not to mention the fact that a company has the ability to reuse this logo over and over for years. So the designer has sold themselves very short in not considering any value-added fee.
A great book, not just about logo, but about branding is Wally Olins On Brand. Among other things, he asks if Mercedes were to sell their three point star, how much would it be worth it?
A logo is a vessel. And it can carry a lot of meaning that's accumulated over the years. It is relatively effortless to design a good hard working logo. The citibank logo with an umberlla was drawn on a napkin and finalized the same day. They surely got more than 300 bucks by many many thousands of dollars. Why? Because of the value of a logo, not because of the labor behind it. That's what you'll learn from On Brand. (You'll also learn Bailey's is not Irish, there's nothing Irish besides the branding.)
Jodi B
Helping people and organizations communicate effectively with purposeful, creative graphic design
Most importantly, as a designer, you need to figure out how much your time is worth and how long it will take you. This includes more than just your value as a designer, but also your expenses. Equipment, software and office space are all very expensive. I love the FreelanceSwitch for info. Their rate calculator is awesome and really makes you think about everything that goes into the rate.
Links:
How much a logo should cost is a very difficult question. It depends on where you work, both geographicly and business wise. For a small one-man company on the corner, who would most likely use Word, Powerpoint or some other strange tool to design his own logo, 300+ $ would probably be ok, but who wants to do it? This client does not know why he wants to pay for a logo. You can give this client a bad logo, and he will probably be pleased anyway, -or you can tell him to go on with Word. A bad logo in my opinion isnt worth much more than an ice-cream on a warm and sunny day.
A logo is a very important part of your brand, and to build a brand you need a good strategy. A good strategy when it comes to visual communication is equally important if you want to success (most of the time). How much does a good strategy cost? How much does a good logo that reflects some of the core values in the business cost? Whats the prosess behind a logo that works, a good logo, based on businessideas, strategy and conseptual thinking? It takes skills, it takes time, it demands a lot of effort, and it often costs a lot. - I would say the price of a logo wil vary from nothing to 1.000.000 $ but the important thing for a designer is to work with customers who understand the importans of skills and design strategy, from that platform you can build whatever. Here in Oslo/Norway I would say that a normal prize would be somewhere between 4-20.000 $ for a logo, but theres never a problem to find someone to do it for 1.000 (but who needs that?).
Stephen A
Design Consultant (Textiles and Graphic) at Abrabs KLC Ventures (GH) Ltd
Hi Brad,
This is somewhat difficult to give a flat answer as most projects can differ greatly. I use to have similar problems charging people for a Logo myself but later i realised that the problem is not how much you want to charge them but rather the options available. Forinstance...
(1.) Whether you already own the Design or Logo and a firm is interested and wants to purchase it. OR
(2.) If you were contracted for the the design.
Now if its your own piece and a firm wants to purchase it. Then it means you've hit the jackpot and with that you can quote or charge very high. Because in that case theres always the possibility they already like it and may pay anything for it. eg. $10,000 upwards but note this could be negotiated with the firm.
But in the case where you've been contracted to do so, you have limited options and that care must be taken during pricing. However, the firm contracting you have unlimited options and so in the case of over pricing the can choose to seek the assistance of another Graphic Designer for the job at hand. So, you work the figures around eg. $500 and also open it up for negotiation.
Brad, the bottom line is this: Until you learn to be comfortable discussing price with clients, you're in trouble. What companies spend on a logo/marketing/website, etc. is an investment. If they don't really understand that, chances are they won't be successful. You should simply figure out how many hours it will take to do the job right--including meetings and revisions, and there is your answer.
Links:
Matt T
Commercial Copywriter and Social Media Consultant
Best Answers in: Advertising (1), Graphic Design (1), Public Relations (1), Writing and Editing (1)
One thing to keep in mind with logo design: You do generally get what you pay for. I've included a link to a site that highlights what can happen when you go cheap on a logo. (Note: You _generally_ get what you pay for. Some corporations and organizations have paid huge dollars and ended up with real dogs--but the client always makes the final choice, so whose fault is it, really?)
Links:
I would base it on my hourly rate and an estimate of how long I think it would take, plus the value the company will get from the logo, plus the type of logo (text vs. mark), plus the size and resources of the company.
The Graphic Artist's Guild handbook is a good source of info for pricing as well as ethics (i.e. not using marks bought from stockphoto sites).
The price of a logo varies depending on the skill level and experience of the person or firm you hire, the size of your company, and the amount of revisions included. I used to charge 2-3 thousand for a corporate logo. This included an extensive interview and 3 - 5 logos in first round, presented on presentation boards. We would have a team of designers working on concept and the logos looked finished in the presentation. Second round included adaptation to business card and we usually flushed two ideas to this level. The logo / identity and initial branding was always wonderful and I have never had a client not satisfied. I did find that this eliminated the emerging business and I love helping new businesses with their brand. So, Now I choose to charge by the hour. With my education, portfolio, and experience, I could charge in the neighborhood of $100 but choose to charge $65 so I can be available to those with limited start up resources. Other than the initial interview, I eliminate meetings and the presentations are done by email. I work with the client initially to develop a visual vocabulary and know what they like before we go to first round. This saves time, is more efficient and starts us on the right track. A logo and business card should take 10-20 hours. Who ever you choose to do your logo / identity / brand should be someone who communicates well, has a design degree (no friends with graphic software!), and is someone you see working with as you extend your brand to your brochure, signage, and site. Look at their portfolio and interview them for a great relationship and an outstanding logo! Best of luck.
An Oglala Sioux shield painter used to get a week's supply of jerky.
Today's world with its artificial distinctions and abstractions ties up one's ego in the process. Who you had "Do It" and how much you paid as some status marker is dissolving in the Sea of Logos -- most of which hope to have a half-life as a brand, a meme, of a year. Some are all hat and no cowboy -- great logo/no substance ... etc.
Whatever the market will bear is a good rule-of-thumb ... plus 10%
The short answer is anywhere between $5,000 and $50,000 for my clients who are looking for a true brandmark.
The long answer is much more interesting . . .
Creating a logo is more than just coming up with a stand-alone graphical device to use on collateral. There are many elements that must be taken into consideration, and therefore a significant amount of time to develop a true brandmark for a client.
Beyond the initial consultations to really understand the company or organization, our team allocates time to gain executive buy-in for the brand development (or redevelopment as it may be). Not just the rubber-stamp, but the honest-to-goodness buy-in that the leading C-level executives will use their positions and authority to infiltrate the organization from the top down. Often, we develop a game plan as to how to achieve this company-wide approach before we even start the brandmark process. After all, if you have the sales team, customer service team, or marketing team undermining the investment, then the project will be doomed.
Once these two initial fundamental building blocks are in place, we take a full 360 degree look at the company or organization. Ask the probing questions that uncover the real answers about where the company has come from, who the company is now, where they want to go, how they are perceived, how they rank in the competitive landscape, their industry's trends, the complexity of their organization and operations, and any other organic driving forces that may be uncovered.
And this is all before the first sketch or concept is even on the radar.
Our process has many more steps to insure a successful brandmark, but the discussion so far is to illustrate my point. In order to develop a compelling brandmark that is accepted across the organization and that establishes a long-term competitive differentiator in the marketplace, there are many hours of preparation in order to fuel the creative process. After all, you can start a fire with a spark, but it takes exceedingly more ammunition to keep that fire burning strong for years to come.
Brad, you might get more responses from the client side if you post this in a different category. Maybe Marketing and Sales would have more <i>buyers</i> of logo services. (Unless, of course, you've already done this and I've commented after the fact...) I, too, would be interested to hear what they have to say.
