Getting your logo designed can range greatly in pricing. You can hire your nephew in high school for $50 all the way up to a big New York design firm for $250,000.
That is a big gap, but this article is going to help you out if you are like a lot of business owners we talk to who are just getting started.
Your logo is the foundation of your brand identity. You want it to look good and represent your company in a positive way.
But you also don’t want to break the bank.
Here are two options you can use to get your new logo designed for under $1,000.
Do it yourself (DIY): FREE
You would be surprised what you can do all on your own. Even if you have very limited computer skills, there are several logo design tools available that you can use to start creating your own logo.
Canva makes it easy for you to get started and has an easy-to-use interface. You will find that there are a lot of templates available for other marketing materials you will need as you grow your business.
Shopify is one of the leaders in ecommerce platforms, but they also offer a free logo maker. Head over to their Resources tab and you will find where you can design your logo today.
Done with you (DWY): $200-1,000
If you want to hire a designer to help you, then the done-with-you model is best. You can hire a skilled graphic designer on Fiverr for anywhere from $200 to $1,000 (or more).
I recommend this route because you can get a higher quality design than if you try to do it yourself. With Fiverr, you can choose from thousands of designers with varying styles.
You’ll end up getting what you want and it will be unique to your company.
Done for you (DFY): Infinite
If you want to hire a brand design agency to design a professional brand identity for your company, it can range greatly because there are so many different types of agencies and quality of work.
Some agencies will charge very little, but you will most likely end up getting the same quality of work if you just went to Fiverr and hired a freelance designer (some agencies are just turning around and doing the same thing and marking up the cost).
If you would like to work with an experienced brand design agency, you should be prepared to invest anywhere from $5,000 up to $20,000 just for your brand identity and brand strategy.
That may sound expensive, but the main thing to consider is the value that it drives long-term for your business.
If you plan to be in business for a long-time, the best way to look at the investment is as an amortized cost of doing business over time. Divide the cost by how many years you think you will be in this business. Now it’s not so bad.
Another thing to consider is the value branding can bring to your business. Will having a high-quality brand make you stand out against the competition? Will it help you attract more customers?
And if so, how much are those customers worth over their lifetime?
Think about how you perceive businesses that you see in your community. Can you tell which ones cut corners? Can you tell which ones aren’t going to make it because they just don’t look that professional?
The tricky part of it all is that it does require an upfront investment, so you just have to weigh how much you can invest right now with other business investments.
You can always change and upgrade your branding later, so if you can’t justify the investment now, get the highest quality you can afford at the moment and save up over time to take your business to the next level.
The best advice we can offer
Now that you know the general range of options, you can make the right choice for your business. The main thing is to do what is best for the business and aligns with what will attract your target audience.
The best piece of advice I can offer you is this:
Make sure your brand is designed for what will attract your target audience, not what attracts you.
You are not the customer.
The end goal of any branding is to appeal to the customers and build an emotional connection between them and your brand.
This is going to be difficult for you because you will want to pick something that you like. But make sure that what you select communicates your value, positioning, and purpose as it relates to the target audience.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t like your branding, but you don’t want to rule something out just because you don’t like it.
Take the time to live with the various options you receive. Weigh what is positive about each and what is negative. Share them with people in your target audience and ask them what they like about each and what they dislike. Ask them why.
Branding is equal parts art and science. At the end of the day, branding and marketing all come down to human psychology. What attracts people to you subconsciously upon first impression?
Think about when you are staring at the shelf in the store. What makes you pick one product over another?
When you find something on Instagram and you visit the company’s Instagram page or website. What draws you in closer and what makes you say “meh”?
Great branding can turn a meh into a wow.
You deserve more than a meh.
