How much does a logo design cost?

Well, today I came across a client asking me for a free quote for designing a logo for his new company. So as usual, before I proceed, I’ll need him to fill up some questionnaire, send it back to me, and we will go from there. Somehow,  he declined and ask me why not just tell him the project cost up-front. Well, honestly speaking, I could have just go ahead and give him a flat rate instead of charging him by an hourly basic. In fact, I did not but explained to him why these questions are necessary, and how the answers help the process.

But stll he gave me the impression that I’m stalling, trying to figure out how much he can afford, but when you think about it, what good would that do? The designer is by no means guaranteed your business, so it makes a lot more sense to present a design quote as soon as possible.

The issue lies here:

No project is the same, and every client differs. A designer can’t provide an accurate quote until s/he knows exactly what the client needs. Because of which, those designers who offer a pre-defined “price list” can do so because of one or more of these factors:

1. They’ll neglect vital research into your business

2. They’ll scrimp on the brainstorming/sketching stage and offer the first idea(s) they arrive at

3. They’re setting a fixed time limit on how much work they do, when the reality is that it’s impossible to tell just how many hours/days/weeks/months a design project will take to complete

Anyway, I still have to say that as a client (you yourself) should always expect a designer to ask a wide variety of questions about specific design needs before an accurate quote can be given.

Pricing is a task a lot of designers struggle with, and I’m regularly asked how I work it out. As much as I want to, I can’t tell you what you should be charging, only till I design a pricing formula which can explains why. ;)