This article might be the second, third, or even the tenth you're reading for the same damn question. You can't seem to find the correct answer. How much does branding cost? The obvious similar answer is "it DEPENDS." Yes, I know... the same answer again? But wait. I want to share how you can determine the best solution suited for you and your business!

The good news is if you're reading this, you want to invest in the branding of your business, and I want to congratulate you. I'm gonna skip for you the fluff around what is branding and why we should do it. If you want to learn about branding in detail— I invite you to look here. I have many articles about it. At the moment of writing this, I don't. But, I probably do now(in your present.)

‍

This article will explain what you can expect to receive depending on your budget and goals. The last thing you want to do is work with someone and be disappointed with WASTED money. Not only that, you'll develop a brick wall of doubts and fear for working with designers. We want to avoid this at all costs (not to the point of bankruptcy, though.)

‍

You will learn where to look for brand designers and how to choose the right fit for you. In the end, your investment will be well invested, and you'll be proud of your brand.

‍

The budget for a branding project

First thing first. You need to know what do you exactly need. I'm going to use a product-based business as an example. Let's assume you want to rebrand your skincare brand, and you have a budget of $200,000. You want to spend a maximum of 15% of your budget on branding. After spending two minutes in my brain calculating, I know that you can spend a maximum of $30,000 on your branding.

‍

Again, assuming that you're rebranding your skincare brand. You'll probably need (99% of the time):

‍

• Brand Strategy (Brand values, brand mission, target audience, brand personality, tone of voice, tagline)
• Brand Naming (You might already have your brand's name)
• Brand Identity System (Logo, colour palette, typography, imagery style, etc.)
• Packaging
• Website Design & Development (You can start with a template-based theme)

‍

Now, each one of these services. There are always freelancers or agencies specialized in every aspect of those services. But, you can find someone who offers all of the above with STUNNING results. Hint: You're reading an article about this particular kind of designer.

‍

Pricing of a Freelancer or Small Studio

The pricing varies depending on the years of experience or the skills level. I prefer to bet on the level of skills and the value provided. A designer with 10+ years of experience can be stuck in previous trends or design styles that are not aligned with today's standards.

‍

• Brand Strategy: $2,000 to $10,000+
• Brand Naming: It’s typically firm or agencies who offer this particular service
• Brand Identity System: $3,000 to $10,000+
• Packaging: $2,000 to $10,000+
• Website Design + Development: $5,000 to $30,000+

‍

I used my iPhone calculator this time, and I came up with your grand total. You are looking to invest between $12,000 to $60,000. But as I said. Starting out, you can get exceptional results with a template-based theme. So you take away the website design + development, and your total is between $12,000 to $30,000.

The goal of investing in branding is to look for the big picture. You want to spend the least money on marketing and more on your existing branding. In the future, it will do the work for you.

Remember that branding is what people say about your brand when you're not in the room, while marketing is what you tell people about your brand. Invest now and let it do the work for you later on. That's why investing 15% of your budget in your branding is nothing compared to what it will bring you in return.

‍

Pricing of Agencies

If you have an established business up and running and want to surpass your actual level. Doing business with an agency might be the right fit for you.

‍

• Brand Strategy: $20,000 to $50,000+
• Brand Naming: $5,000 to $75,000+
• Brand Identity System: $10,000 to $100,000+
• Packaging: $10,000 to $50,000+
• Website Design + Development: $20,000 to $150,000+

You might have skipped the whole pricing from the first line, and I don't blame you! If you want to work with high-class agencies. You better have at least $65,000 up to $425,000 or more.

I forgot. I can help you too. My pricing ranges from $5,000 to $30,000 or more, and I guide you with your brand from the get-go. Expect to receive agency-level work at a fraction of the price. How? Because I don't have a team of 10 people to pay, and I work from home.

Schedule Your 15 min Fit-Call.

‍

The goals of your business

The second point is critical. You need to establish smart goals for your business if you want to progress. Still assuming you want to rebrand your skincare brand with a budget of $200,000.

15% are gone in the branding. You invested $30,000, and you have $170,000 left. Typically, the next step is to contact your manufacturer and deliver to them your packaging files. I'm not a business analyst expert by any means. So, I won't dive deep into mathematical headaches. You have to keep a portion of your money for your Marketing and any kind of emergency. Plain and simple.

What was your initial goal before doing branding? Is it to generate more sales? Have positive feedback on your products? You might think that is the only way to attain those goals. It depends! That's why it is crucial to conduct a brand strategy workshop to deeply understand what your brand needs and why it needs it.

The brand strategy can help you eliminate unnecessary services that you thought were necessary (having a new website, for example.)

How to find brand designers

There are many ways you can look up to find a designer nowadays. You probably heard of Fiverr, Upwork and all those freelancing platforms. I'm not a fan of these platforms, mainly because of the pricing war mentality. The value provided is gone, and your project is treaded like any other gig.

This is my personal opinion, you might have had a fantastic experience with those platforms before, but I didn't and lost a tremendous amount of money. So, believe me. I had this frustration and doubts that I want you to avoid.

However, I recommend looking for talented designers on Pinterest, Behance, Dribbble, or LinkedIn. You can find various gifted designers from all over the world, and that's where you can find me. Oh, maybe you came from there!

How to find the right brand designer

Now, you found many designers you like, but you can't decide which one to work with. It can be a no-brainer. But, in the opposite case, I got you. The first thing you want to do is:

Look for their personal website

You want to do that to dig deeper aside from their work. See how they communicate and what their creative process looks like.

Do their share similar values to yours? This is very important because you need to work with someone who will understand your brand and vision. Otherwise, it will never work.

Where are they located? Time zone is very important for schedule fluidity.

What is their style? If you want to create a luxurious skincare brand, you might want to look for a minimalist designer who specializes in this particular niche. For instance, a minimalist brand designer.

I specialize in minimalism, and I typically work with lifestyle brands. I hope that now you know! With all these criteria. You have 90% less chance to be disappointed with your choice (I made up the number.) Honestly, I don't know how much more chances you have. But, they are significantly higher than if you choose blindly.

Last but not least. Look for a strategic designer. Those are a consultant who will guide you with your brand. You need someone who tells you what to do and why you should do it. My optimal example for you is if you're going to work with an agency. They don't care if you want your logo to be blue or orange. They craft your brand for YOUR AUDIENCE, not you. If you want to learn more about my process. I invite you to look here.

Again, congratulation on taking this step to consider investing in branding. One, if not the best investment you could ever make in your business. If you want to further discuss how I can help you elevate your Shopify brand through strategic design & storytelling. Please contact me or schedule a 15 min Fit-Call.

‍

Happy Learning!

‍

Imed.

‍

‍