“How much does a logo cost?” – This was a question posed by a fellow Young Entrepreneur Council member recently, which sparked some interesting conversation and debate. Not surprisingly, the responses presented prices all over the board, which is reflective of the reality at the moment.
Want to see hundreds of logo design mockups for $99? There’s a resource for that. Want to invest half a million with Pentagram, who’s created some of the most well-known visual identities in the world? Pull out your checkbook. Hell, if you want to create your own logo (please don’t), there’s a multitude of “free logo design” generators out there at your disposal.
As evidenced by this discrepancy, I’ll be transparent in telling you that there’s no “going rate” for logo design or any creative work. The issue worth examining here is the question itself: “How much does a logo cost?”
Our day-to-day focuses on shifting clients and potential clients from the mindset of “cost” to “investment”. When met with a client who needs a new logo/website/etc., the first question we ask is, “Why?”
Understanding the goal(s) of a project is imperative to attaching real value to the investment.
If your goal is to make your logo look like something that’s not straight out of 1987, you can get something that looks pretty good for not a lot of money. Any decent designer can remove those gradients and give you a better font than Papyrus.
We know that our pricing for the design/development of a visual identity isn’t going to be the cheapest, and that’s because we’re intentional about the process to get to the product. Understanding your brand’s personality, target customer(s), competitive landscape, vision, and goals, are all integral to our creative process.
Is it worth it?
If that process, thoughtfulness, and intentionality (the “why” behind the “what”) is important to you, then an investment is just that – a strong investment, and not simply a line-item expense. With a logo, and really, with anything, there will always be opportunities to pay less or invest more. When considering a significant investment into your brand, ask yourself questions like:
- Will I get enough additional revenue as a result of the investment to meet/exceed the cost of investment?
- Will the positioning of our brand improve/strengthen as a result of this creative work?
- Will these branding efforts improve employee “buy in” and overall company culture/ownership?
- Overall, will this investment help us meet and exceed our business goals?
You may not know the answers to these questions with certainty, but you should be able to answer with a confident “yes” to some/all of these before taking the next big step with your brand.
Just as we have to be confident in our pricing, you have to be confident in the value of the investment and the opportunities it will create.