Are you starting a business, keen to get your logo done, but can’t figure out how much to spend on logo design? Well, look no further. I’m here to help.
If you have already researched the topic, you must have figured out that pricing for logo design services varies wildly, so much so that it can be hard to tell how much is just about good enough. For example, you might have found that the Nike logo was sold for $35 while Pepsi spent 1 million on a logo redesign in 2008.
Oh, and if that’s not wild enough, there are plenty of resources online to help you design a logo for free. If your budget is $0, then you might want to read this.
Why there’s so much variation? Well, to put it simply, logo design is not a commodity.
The price of a logo is set somewhere between how much a designer is willing to work for and the budget a client is willing to spend on its design; hence, professional logo designers tend to ask for their client’s budget before agreeing on a price.
In short, an experienced designer comes with a higher price tag, while less experienced designers will be willing to work for less. Quite obviously, the same goes for design agencies, so a well-known award-winning agency will only work with a large budget, while a smaller startup agency might be happy to work with a more limited amount.
With the above said, the most important thing to remember is that the best budget is the one that is best for your current situation.
You should never spend more than you can afford, but once you set your mind to defining a budget, never spend less than what will get you a professional designer. One way to help you think about setting this budget is to understand that logo design is not just a business expense, but a long-term investment in your business.
Logo Design is an Investment, not an Expense
I’ve worked with businesses worldwide, and it never ceases to amaze me how so many completely disregard the importance of design for the success of their businesses.
On the other hand, thanks to all of the feedback I get from these same people, I know exactly why they do it, and to put it simply, they lack the knowledge that would help them understand that a good logo is half the way to a well-crafted visual identity, and that paves the way to a strong brand, which in turns attracts and retain costumers.
Ask yourself this question: Why do big businesses spend millions of dollars on logos for their products and services if that is unimportant? Think about that for a moment. Why do they do it? There is a reason for it, and I’ll tell you, it is because investing in a well-crafted logo improves their bottom-line results.
The most important concept to understand is that when you “spend” money on the design of a logo, identity visuals, or any other branding effort for that matter, you are actually investing in the success of your business, and for a matter of fact, you are literally increasing the value of your own business.
Coca-Cola is the only non-tech brand to crack the top five, ranking No. 3 with a brand value of $54.9 billion. [source]
But increasing the value of your business is not the most important reason why you should invest in a professionally designed logo. You must seriously consider investing in it because a good logo is the first step in creating a brand that will attract more customers to your business, or in other words, it will make it more profitable.
In today’s highly competitive marketplace, all your branding efforts help differentiate your business from the rest. A well-designed logo will make you stand out from the crowd and also help you build a strong brand, allowing you to charge more for your company’s products and services.
How Much Should I Allocate for my Budget?
Keeping in mind that any amount you invest in logo design is actually increasing the value of your business, then you should invest as much as you can possibly afford, but considering that your goal is not to increase the value of your business but to create a logo that fits your business and helps you create a strong brand, perhaps, the most appropriate question should be:
What sort of price range would allow me to hire the best possible designer for my business while keeping my budget as small as possible?
There are multiple ways to answer this question, and after many years working in this industry, here’s what I find to be the best approach:
- Create a list of designers that you believe to be the best fit to create a logo for your business. If you don’t know where to start, here’s a list of designers I recommend.
- Visit their websites and review their portfolios. When doing so, try to look for pieces you think are similar to what you would like to see made for your logo.
- Contact your 3 favorite designers, and ask them what’s the most competitive budget they will be willing to work for a company that is just starting.
As soon as you get a reply from your 3 favorite designers, you will have the answer to your question. Your budget should be in between the smaller and the larger pricing you’ve got.
For the sake of reference, as of the writing of this article, I would advise that a good budget for a small business logo should sit between $1,000 and $6,000. Anything more than that, and you will be paying a premium; anything less than that, you might end up with someone who doesn’t know what they are doing.
Now, you might be asking yourself, could I possibly pay less than that, and still get a great logo? Yes, but that means you need to approach this in a different way.
Working With Limited Budgets
You would love to work with a professional designer but realize you can’t afford the budget. What should you do?
Well, first of all, you must ask yourself, are you sure you don’t have the budget for that? Are you sure you can’t rearrange your budget to invest more in brand identity and less in something else? Logo design is a one-time investment, and you are better off doing it right, the first time, at the beginning of your venture to help increase your chances of success.
If you have already asked this question and the answer is a big fat no, the next best thing is to pull up your sleeves and learn more about brand identity design on your own. If you have a better understanding of what is a good logo, and how designers create good logos, you might be able to choose either of the choices below:
- Hire a designer on a string budget.
- Design the logo yourself.
Either way, if you choose to go with the above options, you can save thousands of dollars while also increasing the value of your business. Surely, this can save you some money, but beware, because it comes at the expense of spending more on time.
What Next?
If you are convinced that your business needs the help of an experienced team to create a professional-looking brand, by all means, consider reaching out. I’ll be more than glad to help make your brand a success story, and if I’m not available, I have a great deal of experience handpicking the best designers to match business needs.