How much does branding cost for a small business?
At HeadPills, a logo starts at €500, a visual identity at €1 000 and a brandbook at €2 000. The right scope depends on where the brand will be used. Here is how to compare the deliverables before choosing a package.
- Logo
- from €500
- Visual identity
- from €1,000
- Brandbook
- from €2,000
Start with the materials your business needs
A branding quote becomes easier to assess when you can name the things the business will actually use. A new consultancy may need a logo, a proposal template and a website. A food business may also need labels, packaging and a menu. These projects can share a starting point while requiring very different design decisions, production files and checks.
Your next launch
List the materials you need for your next launch, then separate later ideas. Include the places where customers encounter the business: a shop sign, a product listing, a presentation, an invoice or a social profile. This list is more useful than asking for a complete brand without defining what complete means. It gives both you and the designer a practical basis for the scope.
What customers recognise
For an existing business, identify what customers already recognise. You may want to preserve a name, a colour or part of the logo while making the wider identity more consistent. Collect current examples and explain the difficulty with each. A mark that becomes unreadable on a small label needs a different response from a presentation that uses inconsistent typography.
Logo, visual identity and brandbook: what the price covers
- Logo from €500: directions to choose from, the final mark, basic colour and typography, files for the agreed uses.
- Visual identity from €1 000: the logo plus a consistent colour and type system, layout direction and agreed everyday templates.
- Brandbook from €2 000: rules and examples for using the identity across the agreed applications, with source materials for the next designer.
- Packaging, a website, translation, print production and third-party licences must be named explicitly. Do not assume that they are included in the identity price.
- Starting prices
- HeadPills starts at €500 for a logo, €1,000 for a visual identity and €2,000 for a brandbook. These are our published starting points, not an average market price. The proposal defines the actual deliverables, applications and file formats. A package name does not automatically include naming, every item of packaging or a full positioning exercise.
- Scope of each level
- A logo provides an identifying mark and its agreed versions. A visual identity develops the relationship between that mark, colour, typography and other visual elements. A brandbook explains how the agreed system should be applied. Its value comes from helping people make consistent materials, rather than from the number of pages in the document.
- Your working team
- Ask what each level means for your own launch. If one person will create a small number of materials, a focused set of templates and rules may be sufficient. If several teams and suppliers will use the identity, they need clear guidance on variations and limitations. Decide from those working conditions before comparing the price of two differently named packages.
Define the handover before approving the work
Files for the intended use
Describe deliverables through their intended use. A logo needs suitable versions for the agreed backgrounds and sizes. A presentation should be editable in the software your team uses. A packaging design needs the correct production specification and supplied dieline. A convincing image of a box is useful for discussion, but it is not itself a print-ready file.
Organised source files
Clarify which source files are included and how they will be organised. Someone joining the company later should be able to find the current version without asking the original designer. Also identify third-party fonts, photographs and other assets, who obtains any required licences, and which costs sit outside the design fee. Usage rights and ownership belong in the agreement.
An ordinary editing task
Try one ordinary editing task before accepting a template. Replace a headline, add a photograph and export a finished document. If the layout breaks during the normal work it was meant to support, it needs refinement or a clearer instruction. This is a stronger handover check than viewing a presentation made by the designer with ideal sample content.
Different businesses need different applications
In the HeadPills portfolio, Dallie Smokehouse connects identity, packaging and a Shopify store. Nowe Swojczyce uses a visual system for a residential project and its website. These examples show differences in the materials a project may require. They do not establish a standard package or a promised sales result for another company.
Checks for each format
Consider the checks each type of business might need. A food label has limited space, small text and production constraints. A residential project may need layouts that accommodate plans and detailed descriptions. An identity should be tested in those conditions while the design direction is being developed. Otherwise, a direction that looks persuasive on a large poster may prove difficult on the material that matters most.
Plan important applications
You do not have to produce every application immediately. However, important formats should inform the design. Tell the designer about planned packaging sizes, website requirements and the software used by the team. This helps distinguish a visual idea that works across your needs from one that only succeeds in a carefully chosen mockup.
Compare proposals by usable deliverables
Give prospective suppliers the same brief. Compare the proposed research, design directions, applications, revisions, production preparation and handover. One quote may include a presentation template and several packaging variants, while another covers only the logo. A lower total is not meaningful until the difference in scope is visible.
Ask how feedback will be handled. Your company should appoint someone who gathers comments and connects them to the original requirements. A concern such as “this name is unreadable on the smallest label” can be tested. Conflicting personal preferences from several separate conversations are harder to resolve. Agree on the number of directions, refinement rounds and the process for additional work.
- Which logo versions and file formats will be supplied?
- Which templates and applications are included, and are their source files editable?
- How are directions selected, feedback collected and changes handled?
- Who pays for typefaces, photographs, printing and other third-party assets?
- Who may use the work, and what does the agreement say about rights and licences?
Identify dependencies early
Also identify dependencies. The final product name, approved text, dimensions and production requirements may need to come from your team or supplier. If these change late, the design may need further work. Record what is available, who will provide the missing material and when it is needed. This makes the estimate and schedule easier to use throughout the project.
Budget for implementation as well as design
Check production costs
Printing, signage, packaging manufacture and paid asset licences may have separate costs. Check these with the relevant supplier before choosing an elaborate production method. A material or finish that looks appealing in a mockup may not suit the planned quantity or budget. The designer needs those constraints early enough to propose a workable application.
Plan the rollout
For a business with existing materials, make a rollout list. You might update the website and sales presentation first, followed by packaging as new stock is ordered. Decide which old assets can remain temporarily and which would cause confusion. A named owner should keep track of the current files and the materials that still need changing.
Check the finished materials
Production checks should cover both appearance and content. Verify names, addresses, sizes, links and final text separately from the visual review. When appropriate, arrange a proof with the supplier. An attractive layout can still contain an incorrect detail, and a screen preview cannot establish exactly how a physical material will look or behave.
What helps us give you a useful estimate
What to send us
Send a short description of the product, its customers and the markets where it will be offered. Add existing materials and a list of essential applications. Include a few references with reasons: perhaps you like the typography in one and the way photographs are used in another. A link without an explanation leaves the designer to guess what caught your attention.
Connect the deadline to a real event, such as a launch, opening or print order. The production supplier may need finished files well before that date. Mark any materials that are still missing and name the person who will approve the work. With this information, we can define a first stage, its deliverables and the dependencies behind the estimate.
A useful branding budget buys a system the business can apply. The final check is practical: can your team identify the right files, create the agreed materials and explain the rules to a new supplier? If those tasks are clear, the design has a better chance of remaining consistent after the original project is complete.
How we can help
Our part
We turn the agreed brief into a fixed scope and price. These published projects show the work behind the offer.
Questions
Questions from readers
Should a new company order a brandbook immediately?
Only if the team and suppliers need detailed rules for several applications. For a small launch, a logo or an identity with the right everyday templates may be sufficient.
Is a website part of the branding price?
Only when the written scope includes it. We quote website design and development explicitly so the identity budget and site budget can be compared separately.
Can we keep our logo and improve the rest?
Yes. Show us the current materials and what no longer works. We can assess whether the project needs a new mark or consistent colours, typography and applications around the existing one.
Send us the scope you have in mind.
An outline is enough to start. We will clarify what is needed before quoting.