Can you put a price on a logo?
As the title may have suggested, we are going to focus on logo design today. And while this may seem a straightforward question many companies have faced, the answer is surprisingly not simple. This is one of those questions which cannot be answered with a yes or no.
With a plethora of designers and designing tools accessible to everyone, it cannot be easy to decide which logo and what price suits the needs of your business. Many times, our clients have a fixed budget whereas some are stumped on how much should a logo cost. While many companies wish to spend just a $100 on a logo, there are some who have a budget of $1000.
To put it bluntly, you cannot put a price on a logo. It is similar to a domain name. In the year 2016, Google paid close to $12 million dollars to Sanmay Ved, a former Googler who bought it for $12 when the domain became available. The search mogul would have paid even more if needed, do you know why? It’s because of the name - the domain and the logo make a brand!
It all boils down to building and maintaining a brand identity for a business to grow. Everyone can identify the biggest brands in the world just by looking at their logo.
But what makes a logo special? Or in other words, what is the reason that some logos cost a bundle? We have tried to answer why you can’t really put a price on a logo with the following six reasons, based on the experience and advice of some of the world’s best designers.
1. Designing a logo is a process and not just a quick fix
Designing a logo is not as simple as some people will have you believe. It’s a process that involves marketing experts, designers, and branding gurus to create some iconic logos. They identify essential factors such as target audience, brand positioning, product lines, and overall brand identity. Once such aspects are pinned down, the designing team springs into action to come up with a few design ideas. The marketing and branding team chooses a design idea which is then refined into a logo that aligns with the idea they have for the company.
2. There is a lot of effort that goes into designing a good logo
As we discussed in the previous section, a great amount of thought, research, and effort go into designing a logo. Famous logos that you see around and admire were not what they are today because of a quick designing session. Even the elements like Amazon’s orange arrow in the form of a smile that connects the A to Z stands for the conglomerate delivering all products from A to Z to their customers with a smile to make them smile. Their digital and television ads also focused on the same branding strategy. Similarly, the arrow in the FedEx logo was placed consciously with an underlying meaning.
3. A logo is a founding block for your entire branding strategy
When hired to create a logo, even the best logo designer in USA or any other part of the world will have the same essential question for you from the get-go and that question is, what is your brand? In other words, what do you envision for your brand? Questions like these are pertinent since a logo is the starting point for a successful branding strategy for any business. Your office stationery, such as the business card, company website, brochures all have your logo which adds consistency. While a logo is no magic wand and can’t make your business a success overnight, it does provide a business perceived value, which goes a long way in establishing a unique brand identity.
4. Impactful logos need a sound knowledge of the design science
A good logo must be unique, and the target audience should be able to identify the logo instantly. Hence, each aspect of the logo chosen by an amazing logo designer, from its classification from monogram, symbol, or typographic to the colors must be chosen carefully.
Every color and symbol hold a deeper meaning. For instance, a color may mean property in one culture or region and something entirely different in another. Famous logos like those for Walmart, Target, Mcdonalds, and Windows have significance in their designs which makes them easy to recognize and recall.
Consider the Apple logo, for instance, the angle for the tilt of the leaf, the curvature of the bite, and even the curve for the core at the bottom were intentionally and meticulously measured to give this simple design a harmonious look.
5. It takes a long time to design the perfect logos
Since logos hold such significance in a company’s branding, they are not designed or finalized in a matter of a few hours. It takes research to figure out how different designs and colors are perceived by the target audience. Each variation is judged by how they look on mockups, in different lights, and on different media. Any of the best branding companies in USA would attest that the best way to find out if a logo design works is by trying them out on the sample packaging.
This involves a lot of back and forth feedback between the design and marketing team. Iconic logos such as Coca Cola, Starbucks, Nestle have had years to grow, and for a logo to compete in the big leagues would require a lot of thought, time, and efforts.
6. A scalable logo needs the right tools
A logo must look stunning on all kinds of media and more importantly in all sizes. Brands use all kinds of marketing collaterals such as pens, caps, t-shirts, coffee mugs, business cards, websites, mobile apps, and even billboards. Hence, the logo must look smashing in all kinds of surfaces like paper, cardstock, fabric, etc and at the same time, look distinct in all sizes, ranging from stamp to billboards. In order to achieve a scalable logo, the right set of tools is needed so that the logo designs don’t get distorted.
To summarise, it may seem otherwise, but your logo design is more than just a design. It is not some frivolous expense that can be done without. In the long run, your logo is your brand’s identity, that’s how people spot your product amongst the rest. It needs to present the brand’s personality and command brand loyalty, which makes it invaluable. You get what you pay for and it holds true for logo design as well. If you are looking for a logo that stands the test of time, is relevant and unique, you should consider it as an investment and not a frivolous expense. You cannot put a price on something as crucial as the face of your brand.