Independent digital studio · since 2016
You can find logos for a few euros and identity projects costing several thousand. The difference isn't in the drawing, but in everything behind it: strategy, research, versatility, files and usage rules. Here's how to find your way and what to expect from professional work.
MBMarco BagiacchiFounder of Nalu and web developer
Anyone searching "how much does a logo cost" finds everything: platforms promising a logo in twenty-four hours for a few dozen euros, free automatic generators, independent designers, branding studios with quotes in the thousands. It's understandable to wonder whether it's worth spending more on something that, at the end of the day, looks like "just a drawing".
The answer lies in what you're buying. A cheap logo is usually a drawing, often built from existing elements, without really knowing the business. A professional logo is the result of a process: understanding who you are, who you're talking to, how competitors communicate, what values you want to convey; then exploring, designing, testing in every format, and delivering a system ready to be used anywhere.
You see the drawing in a second. The work that makes it right is invisible, but you feel it for years.
A logo is one of a company's most enduring elements: it will appear on the website, on social media, on documents, on products, on vehicles, for many years. It's one of the few communication investments you make once and that works for a decade or more.
To give you a concrete reference, here are the branding formats we work with, with the starting prices also published on the service page (excl. VAT).
| Format | What it includes | From |
|---|---|---|
| Logo and essential identity | Logo, palette, typography and files ready to start on the right foot. | 600 € |
| Rebranding | Evolution of an existing brand, keeping what the market already recognizes. | 1.500 € |
| Complete identity | Strategy, visual system, tone of voice and brand book to grow consistently. | 1.800 € |
The final price depends on the complexity of the project, the number of applications to design (business cards, documents, social media, packaging) and whether there's an in-depth strategy phase. After a first call we propose the best-suited path.
The serviceBranding and brand identity: formats and prices↗These terms are often used as synonyms, but they mean different things. Clarifying them helps you understand what you're asking for and what you'll get.
| Term | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Logo | The graphic mark that identifies the company: symbol, wordmark or both. | The mark on the website and on documents. |
| Registered trademark | The distinctive sign legally protected by registration. | The logo filed with the trademark office. |
| Brand identity | The whole visual and verbal system: logo, colors, typefaces, images, tone of voice, rules. | The manual that guarantees consistency everywhere. |
A logo on its own rarely builds a recognizable image. It's the colors, typefaces, image style and way of communicating, used consistently, that make a company recognizable even when the logo isn't visible. That's why, whenever possible, it's worth thinking of the logo as part of an identity.
Read alsoRebranding: when perception really changes↗Beyond the price, here's what you should receive from professional work. If an offer doesn't include these elements, you're buying less than you think.
Always ask what formats you'll receive the logo in. If the offer only includes an image file, with no vector file, you'll struggle to use it on signs, large prints or professional materials.
A professional logo project follows a precise path. Knowing it helps you understand timing and costs, and take part in the right way.
A meeting to understand who you are, what you do, who you're talking to, what values you want to convey, what you like and what you don't.
Analysis of the industry and competitors, to understand how to stand out and which visual codes to avoid or reinterpret.
Exploring several ideas, then selecting the strongest directions, each with a rationale.
The proposals are shown applied to real situations: website, business card, social media, signage.
The chosen direction is perfected based on feedback: proportions, details, colors.
Final files in every version and format, palette, typefaces and usage rules.
A logo with an essential identity usually takes two to four weeks; a complete identity with strategy and brand book, a few weeks more. Timing depends a lot on how quickly feedback and decisions come.
Beyond personal taste, there are objective criteria for judging a logo. Here are the ones we use ourselves when we design.
| Criterion | Question to ask yourself |
|---|---|
| Simplicity | Can you recognize and remember it after seeing it once? |
| Versatility | Does it work small and large, in color and in black and white, on light and dark backgrounds? |
| Relevance | Does it communicate something consistent with the company and its audience? |
| Distinctiveness | Does it stand out from competitors, or could it belong to anyone in the industry? |
| Duration | Will it still look current in ten years, or does it follow a passing trend? |
| Readability | Is the name easy to read, even from a distance or at a small size? |
Today a logo has to work small first of all: in an app icon, in a social media profile picture, in a browser tab. A logo full of details that disappear below thirty pixels is a logo that doesn't work where people see it most often.
Try shrinking the logo down to the size of a smartphone icon. If it stays recognizable, that's a good sign. If it turns into a blob, you need a compact version.
Not everyone has the budget for a complete identity project, and that's understandable. But it's useful to know the risks of the cheapest solutions, so you can choose with your eyes open.
The real cost of a logo isn't just the design, but also all the materials it will be printed on. Redoing a logo after two years means redoing signs, documents, packaging and vehicles: the initial saving multiplies in reverse.
AI tools can now generate images and graphic proposals in a few seconds. They can be useful for exploring ideas or for a first visual cue, but as a final logo they have major limitations.
AI is a tool that designers use too, for example during exploration. But the value of a logo lies in the choices that make it right for a specific company, and those remain human work.
Once you've chosen the logo, it's worth considering registering it as a trademark. It protects the exclusive use of the mark in the product or service classes you operate in, and protects you if someone imitates it.
First you check that no identical or similar trademarks are already registered in the same classes.
You decide where to register it (your country, the European Union, other countries) and in which classes of goods and services.
The application is submitted to the relevant office, with the logo and the list of classes.
After examination and the period allowed for any oppositions, the trademark is registered.
Registration has its own costs, which depend on the geographic scope and the number of classes, and it's best entrusted to an intellectual property attorney. It's wise to think about it from the design stage: a distinctive logo is easier to register and defend.
Run the clearance search before you fall in love with a name or a symbol. Discovering after launch that a similar mark is already registered can be very costly.
A logo doesn't live alone: it always comes with colors and typefaces, which often contribute to recognition as much as the mark itself. Think of how many brands you recognize from a color or a lettering style alone.
Choosing colors shouldn't be based on personal taste alone. Colors have cultural associations, behave differently on screen and in print, need to ensure contrast and readability, and can help you stand out in an industry where everyone uses the same shades. A good palette includes a primary color, one or two secondary colors and a few neutrals, with the exact codes for every use.
The same goes for typefaces. A typeface communicates personality: elegant, technical, approachable, authoritative. It needs to be readable on screen and in print, available with the right licenses for commercial use and consistent with the logo. Often you choose one typeface for headings and one for body text, with clear rules on how to combine them.
To judge the price of a logo, it helps to think about how long it lasts. A good logo stays with a company for ten or fifteen years, sometimes longer, with small updates. Divided by the years of use, even a professional project has a very modest annual cost.
But the real value lies in what the logo makes possible: being recognized, remembered, chosen. Every time a customer sees your brand on a website, a product or a document, a memory gets stronger. A clear, consistent logo makes this process more effective; a confusing logo, or one that changes often, scatters it.
A logo isn't measured in euros spent, but in years of recognition.
One of the first design choices concerns the logo's form. There are several types, each with specific advantages.
| Type | What it looks like | When it works |
|---|---|---|
| Wordmark | Just the name, in a custom-drawn or customized typeface. | Short, distinctive names; companies that want their name remembered. |
| Pictorial mark | Just a symbol. | Very well-known brands, or as a compact version. |
| Combination mark | Symbol and name together, and separable. | The most versatile choice for most companies. |
| Emblem | Name set inside a shape, like a seal. | Traditional industries, institutions, artisan products. |
For most small and medium-sized businesses, a combination mark is the most practical solution: the name stays readable where it's needed, and the symbol works on its own in small formats, like icons and profile pictures.
People who are just starting out often have limited budgets and a thousand priorities. It makes sense not to invest in a complete identity right away, but it's a mistake to launch with a makeshift logo.
The most balanced solution is a logo with an essential identity: a well-designed mark, with the necessary versions and files, a palette and reference typefaces. It's a solid foundation to build on, which can evolve into a complete identity as the business grows, without starting from scratch.
A complete identity makes sense when your image has to work on many fronts and involve several people. Here are the typical cases.
In these cases the brand book, the identity manual, becomes a day-to-day working tool: it explains how to use the logo, colors, typefaces, images and tone of voice, with examples and ready-made files. It's what ensures the company always looks consistent, whoever produces the material.
A good brief makes the work faster, more precise and often less expensive. You don't need a long document: clear answers to a few questions are enough.
Today most people will see your logo on a screen, often a small one. That's why a modern logo has to be designed with digital in mind too.
| Context | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Website header | Readable, lightweight, sharp on high-resolution screens. |
| Favicon and app icon | A compact version recognizable at a few pixels. |
| Social media profile picture | Works in a circle, on different backgrounds. |
| Link previews | Recognizable next to text and images. |
| Dark mode | A light version for dark backgrounds. |
A logo designed for these contexts too always looks polished, and it's one of the details that convey professionalism at a glance.
If you're about to build or redo your website, it's the ideal moment to work on your identity too. Logo, colors, typefaces and visual style come from the same strategy, and the website becomes the first and most complete application of the new brand.
Designing them together avoids inconsistencies and duplicate work, and often makes it possible to optimize timing and costs. It's how we prefer to work when a client is starting from scratch or going through a major change.
The serviceWebsite design: from brand to website↗A well-designed logo is one of the best investments a company can make: it costs once, works for years and makes everything you do recognizable. The key is to look beyond the drawing, at everything that makes it right for you.
The questions we're asked most often on this topic. If yours isn't here, write to us.
With us, a logo with an essential identity starts at €600 and a complete identity with strategy and brand book at €1,800 (excl. VAT).
Usually two to four weeks for a logo with an essential identity; a few weeks more for a complete identity with strategy and brand book.
The logo versions (horizontal, vertical, symbol), the color variants, vector and digital files, the palette, the typefaces and the essential usage rules.
Yes: at the end of the project the rights to the logo are transferred to the client, who can use it and register it as a trademark.
It's advisable, to protect its exclusive use. A clearance search should come first, and the registration is best entrusted to an intellectual property attorney.
It can serve as inspiration, but as a final logo it carries risks around originality, protection and file quality. A professional project offers more guarantees.
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