How much does branding cost?

Publications in the design and creative industries don’t have gigantic newsrooms like you might recall from films or tv series – there isn’t a Daily Planet for design, an unsuspecting loft in a converted mill is more the vibe – but if they did, I’d like to think that the editor has a big red button on their desk, labeled ‘IN CASE OF EMERGENCY’, reserved only for use on the slowest of news days. When pressed, an article gets published with a title that no self-respecting creative would write, yet it’s gravity is so heavy that nobody can resist clicking it. The likes and comments flow once again, and all is right with the world.

The article title: “How much does branding cost?”.

(See also, “This year’s top trends”, “The most popular fonts right now”, and “How to find your ideal client”, as other classics of the genre)

As a design agency, we don’t need to make quite the same dash for content and attention, but with cost being a question that comes up time and time again from prospective clients, when it comes to writing thought pieces, guess what tops the list?

So, here we are, peeking behind the curtain of cash flow and plowing the furrows of finance.

Go on then, how much?

The first thing to say is that there is no set price for a brand, in the same way that a builder won’t charge a set price for an extension. It’s not an off-the-shelf product that’s easy to wrap up in a neat little bow and repeat. Every job’s got its quirks and challenges that make it unique, whether it’s flexible messaging for a wide range of audiences or a list of deliverables to rival the Magna Carta – If you find a design studio with a set price list, you’ve got to wonder what they’ve figured out that the rest of the industry hasn’t…

How do we price?

It’s not rocket science, every project starts with a meeting that gives us the chance to find out about the scope of the project and understand the nitty-gritty of budgets, deadlines, and everything in between. The scope of the project also goes a long way in determining what type of service we’re offering, with most projects falling into one of three categories: Start up, Freshen up or Change up, with the occasional project falling between the gaps or needing an MVP-style treatment, suitable for co’s with big ambitions, but small budgets. For as much as there might be a debate over the virtues of charging for Time vs. Value, the reality is that most studios sit somewhere in between, and we’re no different in that respect.

What do you get?

Our brands all follow a very similar creation process beginning with a workshop where we start to dig into what makes your business mean more. After that, we run through a series of short sprints where we can develop Purpose, Culture, and Experience together in a more holistic approach. Each sprint takes a couple of weeks and consists of a working period of brand development, a meeting to discuss progress and set a course for the next sprint, and a review document which recaps the sprint.

This culminates in the creation of all the tangible assets that make up a brand, from logos and typography to colour palettes and personality, along with a brand manual that documents how it can all be used once it’s out in the world. On average, all this takes about the same amount of time as it takes Mercury to do a full orbit of the sun, or about 90 days if you prefer.

What happens next?

Branding projects typically act as catalysts for bigger and better things, whether that’s a start up launching with the splash that everyone hoped, or an SME redefining who they are in the minds of their customers, a new brand should never live and die in a PDF.

From stationery to signage and everything in between, the application of any two brand rollouts is rarely the same. For many of our clients, we act as brand guardians, helping them to maintain their branding across the touchpoints we collaborate on, as well as consulting on anything that falls outside of our specialism so that we can ease the transition as their brands make their way in the world.

So, there you go, not just pulling numbers out of the air after all.