Question of the day:
So, How much does a logo cost in South Africa?
The cost of Logo design in South Africa - can vary greatly. The price for a logo alone can range from as little as R500 to R250k+ in South Africa.
The price you'll pay for a logo design [or logo package, or brand identity] is dependant on quite a few factors - which we have outlined below to help you figure out where you fall into this vast price bracketing.
tl;dr summary:
Freelancer + Solopreneur
Ranges between R3k - R15k [logo alone]
Smaller Established Companies
Ranges between R15k - R50k [for brand identity]
Medium - Large Companies
Ranges between R50k - R100k [for logo/identity]
Why the Price Range is So Broad?
Logo pricing isn’t random - it’s influenced by how strategic, custom, and comprehensive your brand needs to be.
Here are 8 key factors that impact your logo (or identity) investment:
1. What do you really need - logo, identity?
Is it just a logo?
Or do you need a suite of marks to work across a variety of applications?
The main logo variations are:
- The main logo,
- A horizontal logo,
- A square logo,
- The icon.
All of these components need to work together and look like the same brand.
What about your brand identity?
To make sure that the brand looks consistent across all the platforms - here are the 6 main components of a brand's identity:
-
- Logo [The main mark for your brand]
- Submarks [different versions of the logo – it could be colour variations, or having a square, horizontal, and icon option]
- Colour Palette [A range of colours that your brand would be identified with]
- Font / Typography [the type you use conveys your brand’s personality in a visual way]
- Imagery [the style, colour and type of imagery help create consistency in the brand].
- Patterns + Textures [subtle layers that add to the overall brand feel]
- Icons + other brand elements [these graphical elements help to finish off the brand]
2. Your Business Size
The size of your organisation impacts the amount that’s generally spent. Based on the initial examples of logo costs, it would be risky for a very large organisation to invest R500 in their logo – similarly – it wouldn’t make sense for a solopreneur to invest their full turnover into a rebrand.
A rebrand needs to be relative to the business + problem you’re trying to solve.
A quick Example: BP spent $1mil on their rebrand to the hellios – which seems ludicrous on initial observation.
However, when you look at the fact that their annual turnover was $180billion USD in 2020 – spending $1mil is a fraction [not even a drop in the 1% they would allocate to their marketing budget].
And that’s not even considering the risk of getting it wrong…
3. Potential risk involved
Rebranding comes with a bit of risk. Ask GAP.
In 2010 GAP wanted to re-invent themselves + rebranded… but with a backlash from the public and their most loyal fans, they ended up changing back to the old logo – only 6 days later… with an estimated cost to the business of 100million.
[from GAP]
The bigger the company, the more risk when you shift your brand + get it wrong.
There is also risk involved in not shifting and keeping up with where the world is moving [most companies rebrand or refresh their brand every 7 – 10 years]
4. Your Clientelle
Depending on the market you’re trying to attract, your logo could either be building credibility - or it could be impacting how your client perceives you [and whether they will spend their money with your company].
People associate themselves to particular brands - and your brand will either attract, or repel your clients.
5. Where you’re located
Whether you’re based in Cape Town or Johannesburg, East London or Durban - your location [or your designers location] should not impact on the amount your logo will cost you.
Pricing trends have shifted.
In the past, there was a strong likelihood that you’d use your local design company [down the road] to create your logo – this resulted in a price variation in logo costs [based on the different regions in South Africa]
i.e. Johannesburg were generally more expensive than Cape Town, which is more expensive than Durban, which is more expensive than East London.
Since Covid, clients have shifted online – resulting in the fact that pricing is evening out between regions [which also makes pricing even more vague].
6. The kind of Product / Service you sell
Depending on the kind of product you sell, you may not have a large margin of profit to work with to invest in a rebrand.
If you have two companies that make 1mil in turnover, but one company has 3% profit + the other company has 30% profit – the appetite for putting budget aside for the rebrand will be vastly different.
One also needs to look at what you’re trying to achieve with the new logo – what is the problem it solves + what is the bigger impact on your business.
7. The kind of company you get to design your logo
Not all designers are the same.
Whilst there is a general guideline that designers work off of, some will offer services at a very low cost, some will price for their specialty [even within the three company types noted below].
The most common design company types are:
// Freelancers + Solopreneurs + Specialists – are usually used by those starting out, smaller companies [and some bigger companies too] – they enjoy having someone they can lean on – almost like an additional member of their team. Often, the person is a specialist in one area [i.e. logo design].
// Smaller Agencies [a boutique agency – like ours] still give a personal touch, but because there are a few more team members involved – you get the advantage of more thinking instead of just executing, plus more agility and capacity [instead of having just one person, there are more people who can help you across a few areas], without the copious overhead costs of the larger guys.
// Large Agencies: Larger national companies prefer to go with larger agencies – as they have big teams who are able to execute. The larger team does mean that the downside is that projects may take longer, and the marketing budget will not stretch very far. Larger agencies are great for ad campaigns and billboard brand awareness.
8. Do you have a clear strategy upfront
More than just having a logo that’s memorable + distinctive – you want your mark to get you results, align with your business goals + position you in your market.
To do that effectively – you need to have a solid brand strategy in place.
So, How much should I spend on a logo in South Africa?
Whilst some designers have predesigned packages, the reality is that your logo investment should be reviewed based on the 8 criteria mentioned above – once we have a clear idea as to your goals, current situation, and needs – we can more clearly ascertain what budget we should put towards it.
The 'rough guide' as to what you can expect to budget:
You said that a logo can start at R500... where do I find those? Lol... those can be found from a student with no experience, or perhaps on fiverr, or if a friend did you a favour. Our advice... invest wisely. This is the image you're projecting to the world.
More realistic investments will be as follows:
The Solopreneur
// If you’re a solopreneur, start-up, or freelancer – you probably want to start thinking about putting around R3,000 – R15,000 towards your logo [identity] alone.
Smaller Established:
// If you are a smaller established company [under 10 people] – you’ll be more likely to spend anywhere between R5,000 – R25,000 for a logo or brand mark that positions you effectively. But if you are more established, I highly recommend you consider a full brand identity – to pull the look together [like this stylescape]
Medium to Large
// If you’re a medium to large organisation start thinking about putting R50,000 – R100,000+ aside for your logo [and you’d definitely need to consider a full identity system across all touchpoints of your business]
How does our agency fit in?
We don’t push you into boxes. And we won’t sell you something you don’t need. But if you’re ready for a brand that reflects your business and moves it forward - we’d love to be your creative partner.
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