How much would you roughly charge for a logo design?

levi022

New Member
Ill give a run down of the situation. I'm doing a logo design for free for some people and I'm really struggling and they aren't actually telling me what they want so I've been drawing basic designs to try and just get an idea but they're just saying they dont really feel it but they dont know what they want (other than one person asking where's the "animation"). Now I dont have a lot of free time and I'm not the best at graphic illustrations like this (I've only really used it for painting). One of them yesterday made a comment and I tried not to take it to heart but I felt pretty insulted as someone who love to do art and has been trying to teach themselves graphic design for a few months (before I had just been using traditional media) which I've been finding a bit challenging but I've still put effort into my learning. Now I just want to give them a bit of a reality check about the amount of work they're expecting me to do for free, like it's not easy. So how much would you generally charge for a fairly detailed logo (they've also never specified a size btw)?
 
Ok, lots of issues here! First of all, size doesn't come into it as logos should be done as vectors, which are scaleable.

I'll get in first before others start quoting silly money. A basic, simple logo for a start-up business should start around £250-300.00, but depends on other criteria like
how many designs you've shown them etc. Something with an illustrative element to it would be more.

It sounds like you've got a little out of your depth - nothing wrong with that, you're not a professional. No shame in just walking away and leaving them to it,
they should be hiring a professional anyway, though I'm guessing it's for a club or something, hence not having any money.

If you feel you can persevere, I always say to people, send me some samples of the kind of thing you like and I'll tell you if I can do something similar - it's not copying,
it's inspiration, and it gives me a feel for the kind of thing they're looking for. Oh, and get used to criticism, there will be lots more! Maybe you can post stuff on here
for us to see without giving away the name, then we can help a bit more.
 
I think it is some kind of karmic rule; the freebies are always the jobs that give you the most grief. I could never work out why years ago. I realised that because there’s no cost, there’s no value. People tend to value what they pay for. Unless they are getting something for free that already has intrinsic value; be it an object, or a service.

As to what you charge. What I charge is going to be different to what Pentagram charge, In turn what you can charge is going to be different to what I would charge. All comes back to value. Without trying to be insulting, but based on what you have said, you have little knowledge and no experience of design. First off (I am so bored by the sound of my own voice saying this over and over to wannabe designers); a logo should not really be designed in isolation. It is part of a larger whole – a company or organisation’s brand. Their identity. It’s about communicating core values.

Whether it’s a freebie or a £20k job. The same principles apply. An international bank, or. local bakery both have their own set of core values they operate by and an intended audience. It is the job of a designer to communicate one to the other. This takes a whole lot more than knowing how to paint and a moth or two learning software.

I am not trying to put you off doing it, but walk before you run. You need to know what you are doing before offering a professional service (whatever cost you are doing it at). It takes years, I’m afraid, not months.

Part of the reason you are meeting brick walls with your client is because you are asking the wrong questions and partly, because of these core values, they are heavily emotionally invested. They will have acstrong idea of what they think they want and if what you produce is not that they are going to reject it. ‘We don’t know what w e want, but we’ll know it when we see it.’

You have to have enough knowledge and experience to know how to guide then and help them communicate their values.

So many inexperienced, uneducated and hopeful new designers seem to think ‘designing logos’ is a career choice. It is as though logo design is the new black. Some kind of rock and roll cool career. In fact, as I say, it is one part of the more difficult, exacting discipline of brand identity design.

My advice would be to tell them the truth, that you don’t have the expertise to do the job justice and that they will likely need to pay someone to do it, or if it is, for example, a charitable organisation, find an experienced designer with a social conscience who will do it for free or a reduced rate.

Then, if it is something you want to persue seriously, the get serious about it. Get an proper education, then work in the industry for four or five years. Then you may just be able to fly solo.

Sorry to rain on your parade, but your question comes up time and time again. I’m afraid, learning how to use software from YouTube videos will never make you an effective designer.

[Blimey, that was a bit of an epic rant, even by my standards!]
 
I think the guys hit the nail on the head here. It's a pretty epic question and great responses.

Simple logo for a start-up business should start around £250-300.00, but depends on other criteria like
I agree, I have a starting price, then it's an hourly rate on top of that. Basically means, that I'll take the brief, calculate roughly how many hours, add it to the £250-£300 and that's the price. I stick to the brief, stick to my time I quoted, and present options, if I go over that, it's back to the client to tell them they have exhausted their time and no more can happen until the bill is settled and a new quote is issued.

It's as simple as that - and people fight it all the time. But at the end of the day I show them a bill I got from a mechanic, and it's a great example, the part was £100 and the labour hours is in black and white, 4 hours labour, and this is paid for. If the mechanic has done their job, and replaced the part, but you decide you want a different part fixed, or replaced, or a fancier attachment for your car, then you get a new quote.

For that reason, my invoices for logos are split into
1) Design Brief | 2) Research | 3) Initial Drafts | 4) Refinement | 5) Finalising

1) Client facing time, discussion and understanding
2) Building a portfolio of rival business logos, or similar business logos to show the client what others are doing in their area.
It can also be used to research shapes in their industry. I recently did an architecture logo and researched building materials in architecture, and used shapes from architecture to make their logo.
Basically - a Mood Board
3) I'll draft up 3 versions of the logo direction I think they want to go to.
4) The client revises one version, usually cherry picking from all 3 which is annoying, but can be that way.
5) Make versions for print (pantone, cmyk) make versions for web/social media (rgb).

Usually, I allow 5 revisions in the quote, thereafter it's £50 an hour to make further revisions, an hour being minimum, even if it's just to add a full stop, it's £50, they are outside their revision quota. I usually allow 8 hours for the revision files, that's more than enough to cover 5 versions. That's back and forth with the client based on their feedback. Version 1 - 5 - and if it's not finished by then, it's outlined in the initial invoice quote that extra charges will incur.

Invoice Sample:
Logo Design - Customer

Design Brief - 1 hour
Research - 4 hours
Initial Drafts - 4 hours

(I build a presentation file out of this - it's usually about 32 pages long)
------£250

Refinement - 8 hours (up to 5 versions)
Finalising Logo - 4 hours
@£50/h (or whatever you charge) £600

Total
£850

And if they don't want to pay - move on. Do not haggle. Do not lower prices.

I refer to the mechanic. You go to a mechanic because they can do something you cannot. The parts are cheap, the labour is the most expensive part.

You don't go to your mechanic and haggle the price. It is what it is.
If you order out food, you don't haggle the price.
If you go to a doctors office you don't haggle.

There is no haggling. There are no price reductions.
If you feel you can persevere, I always say to people, send me some samples of the kind of thing you like and I'll tell you if I can do something similar
That's a great idea!

Oh, and get used to criticism, there will be lots more! Maybe you can post stuff on here for us to see without giving away the name, then we can help a bit more.
Yeh criticism rolls off me. Don't like my design, fine I'll do something else.
Client satisfaction is important. I never take it personally. Just as direction.

I think it is some kind of karmic rule; the freebies are always the jobs that give you the most grief. I could never work out why years ago. I realised that because there’s no cost, there’s no value. People tend to value what they pay for. Unless they are getting something for free that already has intrinsic value; be it an object, or a service.
Amen brother!
As to what you charge. What I charge is going to be different to what Pentagram charge, In turn what you can charge is going to be different to what I would charge. All comes back to value. Without trying to be insulting, but based on what you have said, you have little knowledge and no experience of design. First off (I am so bored by the sound of my own voice saying this over and over to wannabe designers); a logo should not really be designed in isolation. It is part of a larger whole – a company or organisation’s brand. Their identity. It’s about communicating core values.
Yes - my process is built out of necessity and works for me - might not work for everyone else or anyone else.

So many inexperienced, uneducated and hopeful new designers seem to think ‘designing logos’ is a career choice. It is as though logo design is the new black. Some kind of rock and roll cool career. In fact, as I say, it is one part of the more difficult, exacting discipline of brand identity design.
If I had a chance to roll back the clock I would and avoid this industry like the plague (pandemic). It's soul-less and joyless. But I need money. So it's handy that way.
My advice would be to tell them the truth, that you don’t have the expertise to do the job justice and that they will likely need to pay someone to do it, or if it is, for example, a charitable organisation, find an experienced designer with a social conscience who will do it for free or a reduced rate.
Great advice - you can always walk away. Send them your initial drafts and files to send on to the next lucky person working on this wonderful opportunity.

Then, if it is something you want to persue seriously, the get serious about it. Get an proper education, then work in the industry for four or five years. Then you may just be able to fly solo.

Sorry to rain on your parade, but your question comes up time and time again. I’m afraid, learning how to use software from YouTube videos will never make you an effective designer.
Again - solid advice - but 2 years should be enough if you are in the right place - you should know it all in 2 years.
[Blimey, that was a bit of an epic rant, even by my standards!]
I cried. It was beautiful.
 
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Just to clarify - that £250 is payable - even if they don't go ahead with the job.
The rest is for them it's the additional £600

That presentation is the seller. It contains my thoughts on progression. It's the SELL.
It's the mood board before progression.
Gets you aligned to the client.

If they agree to progress, the final price is there.
If they don't - it's £250 anyway.

But you show them the price before beginning anyway. It's up to them.
 
Just want to clarify that it's not always the case. Sometimes it is the standard £250-£300 - as the client is clear and concise.
Sometimes it's cheaper. Depends on the client.
 
Depends on the client.
Personally, I have two pricing structures. One for fully commercial clients and one for charitable organisations and non-profits. Actually, there is a third, if I have belief in the charity, I will do a pro-Bono.

When I was at uni, I remember one lecturer saying, that if they can, designers should give 5-10% of their time to good causes for free. That way it uses your skills as a designer in a socially responsible way, but also, it gives you (theoretically – see my first sentence on this thread) the chance to do work that isn’t governed by money. It should give you head space and creative freedom.

In reality, I decided that, if I do a freebie, I treat the client as if they were paying me, ie if I am going to do a good job, it’s not about my own personal, creative freedom, it’s about them.

For that whole creative freedom feed, I illustrate, design typefaces and play bass in a band. Creative freedom is important, but should be kept well away from client work. That is all about creative communication on their behalf.

Anyway, I digress, this is supposed to be about pricing…
 
It depends on the designer and the amount of years he has been working for. It is all about experience. You would be offered with a lot of low prices from newbies but the real deal lies between experience and qualities. To be honest you should always do it with higher price as the experience ones would not do the job with lower amount.
 
To be honest you should always do it with higher price as the experience ones would not do the job with lower amount.
So what you are saying here, is charge as though you do have experience, even if you don’t. I am pretty sure that’s pushing fraudulent! At very least, it is highly unethical. You should always charge your worth and not under charge, but you should never claim to know what you don’t. It will hurt your clients and it will hurt you.
 
Considering your country currency is Pakistan Rupees I've deleted your price as it was posted in dollars - which could be any currency with a dollar from the US to Ecuador to Puerto Rico to Somalia.

Please don't post incorrect currency conversions.
 
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