“Branding” can mean just a logo, or it can mean brand strategy, a name, an identity and guidelines for the whole team. That’s why prices on the market vary so widely, and why comparing the amounts alone rarely leads to a good decision. Below we break branding into its parts, show what changes the price and list the questions worth asking every studio before you compare offers.
What full branding includes
A full branding project has several layers, each built on the one before. With us it looks like this:
- Positioning workshop. Half a day with the leadership team. We settle who the brand is for, who it competes with and what it promises. Without this layer, a logo is just a pretty mark.
- Naming. Three name directions and an initial trademark check. Needed when the current name gets in the way or the company is just starting.
- Identity system. Logo, colors, typography and 4–6 applications, the places where the brand actually shows up: website, proposals, social media, documents.
- Brand book and voice. Rules for how the brand looks and writes, with 10 examples. They are what keeps the brand consistent a year from now.
We price this scope from $7,700 / €7,100 net. If you get an offer for “branding” at a fraction of that, it most likely covers only the third point, and a narrower version of it. That doesn’t have to be a bad offer. What matters is knowing what you’re buying.
What changes the price
Six things change the quote the most:
- Depth of strategy. One workshop is different from customer research and competitor analysis across several markets.
- A new name. Naming with a trademark check is separate work, often the hardest part of the whole project.
- Number of applications. Each application is its own design job: packaging, office signage, document templates, trade show materials.
- Number of markets and languages. A brand that has to work in Poland and in Scandinavia needs its voice and examples in each of those languages.
- Scope of guidelines. A few pages of rules are different from a full brand book used by the marketing team and outside agencies.
- Number of people on the client side. The more people approve decisions, the more meetings and feedback rounds the schedule has to allow for.
How to compare offers
Before you compare amounts, check that the offers describe the same thing. These questions help most:
- Is strategy in scope, or only graphic design? If there’s no workshop or positioning, you’re comparing a logo with branding.
- How many directions will I see, and how many rounds of revisions are there? “Unlimited revisions” usually means there’s no clear process, not generosity.
- Will I get the source files and the copyright? Ask directly when the copyright passes to you and for which uses.
- What does the schedule look like? A good offer shows what you get in which week, not just an end date.
- Is the price fixed? Hourly billing shifts the risk of an overrunning project onto you.
- What happens after handover? Can you request fixes for a while without paying extra?
How we price branding
We start with a free, 30-minute call. After it, you get a proposal in three options, each with scope, schedule and price, so you can pick what fits the budget instead of negotiating a single number.
We run the project on a weekly rhythm: every week you get a summary of what’s done, what’s waiting for your decision and what comes next. Once payment is received, the copyright to the final materials passes to you, and for 30 days after handover we make fixes within scope at no extra cost.
If your budget is smaller than the full scope, say so on the first call. We’ll tell you what makes sense within it and what is better postponed, rather than doing a little of everything.
Read more about how we work on branding.
Let’s talk about your project
The first call takes 30 minutes and is free. After it, you know whether we can help and what it will cost.
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