Hiring a designer or agency
What brand guidelines cost, and how to hire well
Brand guidelines cost roughly €1,000 to €20,000 when you document an existing identity, and far more when a new identity is part of the job. The price depends on who you hire, the scope and the number of review rounds. Here’s when hiring is worth it, what you get, indicative prices, how to brief and what to ask for at handover.
Make them yourself or hire a designer?
The honest answer depends on one question: does your visual identity already exist, or does it still need to be designed?
| Situation | Advice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You don’t have a logo or visual identity yet | Hire | The brand guidelines are the final step of an identity project. You can’t skip that design work. |
| Rebrand or merger | Hire | Choices need to be made and explained, often to many stakeholders. |
| The identity exists, but the rules are missing | Doing it yourself works fine | You’re documenting what’s already there. A brand guidelines template gets you a long way. |
| Many makers: agencies, printers, regional teams | Hire or do it together | The more people use it, the more it pays to have someone experienced write sharp rules. |
| Your old PDF is out of date | Update it yourself | Move it into online brand guidelines and fix what no longer works. |
What a brand guidelines agency or freelancer delivers
Good brand guidelines are more than a nice document. This is the minimum; the twelve parts of brand guidelines are covered in depth elsewhere.
Brand foundation
Mission, vision, core values, audience and positioning, written so that an outsider can work with them.
Visual system
Logo and variants, colours with HEX, RGB, CMYK and Pantone, typography, graphic elements and image style.
Rules with examples
Minimum sizes, clear space, colour proportions, dos and don’ts. A right and a wrong example for every rule.
Tone of voice
Form of address, word choice and sample copy, if your agency also does copywriting.
Applications
How it looks on a business card, the website, social media, signage or packaging.
Source files
Logos per use (screen, print, Pantone), font files or licence details, templates.
How much do brand guidelines cost?
Designers and agencies usually quote per project, based on an estimated number of days. The amounts below are indicative: rough ranges derived from common freelance and agency day rates in Western Europe, not a quote or a survey. Rates in London or New York are often higher, and elsewhere they can be lower. Always get several quotes.
| Scope | Freelancer (indicative) | Agency (indicative) | Lead time (indicative) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guidelines for an existing identity: logo, colour, typography, basic rules | €1,000 – €3,500 | €2,500 – €7,500 | 1 – 4 weeks |
| Full brand guidelines for an existing identity, including brand foundation, tone of voice and applications | €3,000 – €8,000 | €6,000 – €20,000 | 4 – 10 weeks |
| New identity plus brand guidelines (strategy, logo, visual identity) | €5,000 – €20,000 | €15,000 – €75,000+ | 2 – 6 months |
Prices excluding VAT or sales tax. What moves the number most: whether strategy and design work is still needed, the number of applications, the number of feedback rounds and how many people need to sign off.
Brand guidelines brief: a checklist
A good brief saves feedback rounds, and therefore money. Copy this list, fill it in and send it with your request for a quote.
01About your brand
- What does the organisation do, in two sentences?
- Mission, vision and values, if you have them
- Main audiences
- Competitors and brands you admire
02What already exists
- Logo and source files
- Colours with codes
- Typefaces and licences
- Existing style guide or PDF
- Examples of good and bad use
03Who will use it
- Internal teams (marketing, sales, HR)
- External agencies and freelancers
- Printers, sign makers, web developers
- Partners, franchisees or local offices
04Scope
- Which of the twelve parts?
- Is design or strategy work needed too?
- Which applications to work out?
- Languages: one or several?
05Delivery
- Online brand guidelines you can update yourself
- PDF for print or archive
- All source files and rights
- Who maintains it after handover?
06Timeline and budget
- Target delivery date and why
- Budget range
- Who signs off, and how many rounds?
- Contact person on your side
What to ask for at handover
This is where it often goes wrong. The guidelines are done, the project is invoiced, and a year later nobody knows where the files are. Agree on this upfront:
- 01
Guidelines you can update yourself
A static PDF is out of date at the first change. Ask for online brand guidelines where you, or your agency, publish a new version. The link stays the same.
- 02
Files next to the rules
Logos in RGB, CMYK and Pantone, as SVG, PNG and EPS or PDF, clearly named per use. Not in a file transfer link that expires after a week.
- 03
Rights and licences in writing
Who owns the logo and the source files? Which font licence do you need for web, app and print? Put it in the contract.
- 04
An owner and a version date
State in the guidelines who is responsible and when they were last updated. Readers need to know who to ask.
What delivered brand guidelines can look like
Three example brand books for fictional brands, each made with one of the blueprints. More examples, and what makes them good, are in brand guidelines examples.
- View live demoFull brandbookA complete brand system for a team or client handover.12 pages
- View live demoBrand essentialsA new or small brand that needs every part covered, without the heavy lifting.12 pages
- View live demoCampaign playbookCampaign guidelines for partners, channels and content — the brandbook stays leading.7 pages
Or do it yourself, with a blueprint
Is your visual identity settled and do you mainly need to write down the rules? Then doing it yourself is very doable. Start with the step-by-step guide on how to create brand guidelines and see how the brand guidelines maker works.
A middle way works too: set up the basics yourself with a blueprint and hire a designer for the parts where you get stuck, such as tone of voice or image style. That’s often faster and cheaper than outsourcing the whole project.
Questions about the cost of brand guidelines
How much do brand guidelines cost?
Indicatively, guidelines for an existing visual identity cost around €1,000 to €7,500, depending on whether you hire a freelancer or an agency. Full brand guidelines easily cost €3,000 to €20,000, and with a new identity included it can go well beyond that. Always get several quotes.
How long does it take a designer to create brand guidelines?
If the identity already exists, expect one to ten weeks, depending on the scope. If the identity still needs to be designed, the whole project often takes two to six months. The number of feedback rounds and approvers affects the lead time more than the production work.
Who owns the brand guidelines and the logo?
That depends on your contract. In many countries, including the UK and the US, copyright in commissioned design work stays with the designer unless it’s assigned to you in writing. So state in the contract that the rights to the logo, the identity and the source files transfer to you.
Should I hire a freelancer or an agency?
A freelancer is usually cheaper and directly reachable, and fine for documenting an existing identity. An agency has more capacity and disciplines in-house, such as strategy, copywriting and photography, which helps with a rebrand or a large brand.
Can I edit the brand guidelines myself afterwards?
Only if they were made for that. You can’t change a PDF from InDesign without the source file and the software. So ask for online brand guidelines in which you or your agency make changes and publish a new version.
Keep reading
- Brand guidelines makerA brand guidelines maker for guides people actually openA brand guidelines maker that does the layout for you: start from a twelve-part blueprint, add your brand and share one link instead of a PDF. See live demos.
- Brand guidelines templateBrand guidelines template: the complete outline, freeA free brand guidelines template with all 12 parts and what to fill in for each. Copy or download the outline, or fill it in online as a live brand book.
- Guide · ContentsWhat to include in brand guidelinesWhat to include in brand guidelines: all 12 parts explained, what goes in each, what’s optional and the mistakes to avoid. With a live example to click through.
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