Graphic Design Blog

The question of how much does a logo cost is one of the most commonly asked of a logo designer; I get it at least once a week and I’m sure other designers are in the same boat. It seems straightforward enough, except… design isn’t a commodity, so you can’t put an exact figure on it without further details. The analogy would be like to walk into a car salesroom and ask “How much does a car cost?” – the salesperson won’t be able to pull a figure from thin air. In fact, their response would most likely be, “How much do you have to spend?” – the question I usually reply with.

On one end you have the pocket money budgeteers of the crowdsourcing sites, where $99 can get you a hundred or so attempts at a logo design, generally like darts thrown blindly at the board – maybe one will hit the bullseye, but it’s a gamble. There is even lower ‘budgets’ of the Fiverr market, yes, $5 logos, but I think we can all agree that these are a small step above clipart… at a push.  As to why anyone would risk the embarrassment of a poorly designed, poorly thought out logo as the face of their business is beyond me.

On the other end of the spectrum are the likes of the £400K London Olympic Games logo design which went through months of development, market research and group discussion; I’m not here to judge the result but you can’t deny the brand has passed through multiple iterations and developments. In between lies the majority, but a simple answer would be between £500 and £100,000, I think that’s a fair average. Again, remember it comes down to how much you have to spend, so those figures really mean nothing.

Good design is an investment - not an expense.

I try to be as transparent with my pricing as I can, my Quote Request Form lays out fairly clearly how my pricing system works, as I feel playing games and trying to second-guess a potential client will only tend to backfire. It all comes down to your budget – the larger it is, the more time will be spent developing, researching, experimenting and designing. This part of the project takes time and therefore money. The more ‘basic’ logo design packages offered to startups and sole traders tend to have less development phases and initial experimentation limited to the scope of the project. Many designers will charge hourly, but I prefer the fixed fee as it gives a clear figure upfront, no hidden or surprising charges – budget is indirectly linked to how many hours I will spend on it anyway, but it saves me estimating wildly.

At the end of the day, why would you settle for anything less than the absolute best brand for your company if you are trying to be competitive? I understand budgets will be tight for startups and sole traders especially, but if you spend what you have wisely by hiring a specialised designer, you are bound to get the best result you can afford.

If you think hiring a professional is expensive, wait til’ you’ve hired an amateur.

— Myles Bristowe (@mylesbristowe) June 28, 2012

When you look at social media marketing today, you can see the branding power behind the higher budgeted logo’s on the market. Having professional designers on your team to help dig deeper than the fly-by-night logo designers on gig sites is imperative to your company’s overall development. You want a designer who is going to work with you closely to ensure that not only is your demographic appeal as high as it can possibly be but that you have the psychological and psychosocial elements of your logo / brand represented.

Hopefully it’s now clear why the question of “how much does a logo design cost?” can’t and shouldn’t be answered without further discussion, it’s what you are willing to allocate for. In saying that, most designers will have a lowest ‘rate’ based upon the bare-essentials of development and hours dedicated to a logo design project. Have a look at my Request a Quote page for more info on prices, if you would like to hire me for your next project I’d be only too happy to assist, also, check out my logo design services.