Brand identity
Brand identity for small businesses.
A logo, colours, fonts and a clear voice that fit the business you actually run, and a set of rules so it stays consistent everywhere. From £1,500, typically done in three weeks.
- From
- £1,500
- Typically
- 2–3 weeks
- Best for
- New businesses, rebrands, and brands that have outgrown a logo made in a hurry
Who it’s for
A brand is what people remember after they’ve left.
Most small businesses don’t need a sprawling brand book. They need a logo that works on a van, a shopfront and a phone screen; two or three colours that are theirs; fonts that read well; and a sense of how the business talks, so the website, the invoices and the Instagram posts all sound like the same people.
That’s what brand foundations are. Practical, usable and built around the business and the customers it’s for, rather than around what’s fashionable this year.
I come to this from photography, so a lot of the work is about how things look together: how the logo sits with a photo, how the colours behave on a dark background, how it all holds up at the size of an app icon.
What’s included
The foundations, properly finished.
Every brand identity project includes the following.
- Logo. A primary mark plus the versions you’ll need: horizontal and stacked, colour and single-colour, and versions for light and dark backgrounds.
- Colour palette. Core and supporting colours with the exact values for print and screen, checked so text stays readable.
- Typography. Fonts for headings and text, chosen for how they look and whether you can use them freely across print, web and documents.
- Photography and image direction. What kind of imagery suits the brand, so photos you commission or take yourself feel like part of it.
- Voice. A short guide to how the brand talks: the tone, the words it uses and the ones it avoids.
- Brand guidelines. A concise document showing how to use all of the above, written for real use rather than for the shelf.
- Final files. Everything in the formats a printer, signwriter or web developer will ask for, named clearly and handed over in one place.
- Yours to keep. Full ownership once the final invoice is paid.
Pricing
What moves the price.
The £1,500 starting point covers the full foundations above for a business with one name and one audience. The price rises when the brand has to stretch further: several sub-brands or product lines, a lot of applications to design (signage, vehicles, packaging, uniforms, stationery), or a naming exercise before any of it can start.
Half is due to begin and half on delivery, and I’m not VAT registered. If you’re also planning a website, I’ll price the two together so there’s no overlap.
How it works
Four steps, one person.
-
01
First conversation
Tell me about the business, who it’s for and what you want people to feel. I’ll reply within two working days, then we’ll have a free call.
-
02
Proposal and agreement
What’s included, the dates and the price in writing. Half is due to begin.
-
03
Explore, then refine
I’ll show you two or three directions with reasoning. You choose one and we refine it, with two rounds of changes.
-
04
Handover
Final files, colour values, fonts and guidelines delivered in one tidy package, with a walkthrough of how to use them.
Brand questions
How much does brand identity cost?
Brand foundations start at £1,500, which covers a logo with its colour versions, a colour palette, fonts, direction for photography, how the brand sounds, and practical guidelines so it’s used consistently. Larger projects with more applications, such as signage, packaging or a full stationery set, are priced in the proposal.
How long does it take?
Typically 2–3 weeks. The first week is understanding the business and exploring directions; the second is refining the one you choose; the last is producing the final files and guidelines.
What files do I get?
Your logo in every format you’ll need: vector files for print and signage, PNG and SVG for the web, and versions for light and dark backgrounds. Plus a short guidelines document that shows how to use them, which anyone you work with later can follow.
I already have a logo. Can you refresh it rather than start again?
Often, yes. If the core idea is sound but it looks dated or doesn’t work at small sizes, a refresh keeps what people recognise and fixes what doesn’t work. If it’s holding the business back, I’ll say so, and we can talk about a fresh start.
Do you do the website too?
Yes. Brand identity and a website are often done together, with the brand first so the site is built on it. Doing both with one person means the website looks like the brand from day one, rather than a logo dropped onto a template.
Who owns the brand?
You do. Once the final invoice is paid, the logo, files and guidelines are yours to use however you like.
Next step
Tell me about your brand.
Share a few details and I’ll send my first thoughts within two working days, then a free call to talk it through.
Enquire about brand identity See a recent identity