When starting your business deciding on which studio can be overwhelming. We help outline what to expect when engaging with a range of studios, price points, as well as their pro’s and con’s.
For many new businesses the main question they have is, “How much does branding cost?”. Many people might say,”how long is a piece of string; but the real question is, how long do you want the string to be? Branding projects are heavily reliant on the scope of work businesses decide best suits them. Small businesses may decide that all they’re after is a simple logo and colour palette, whilst others may decide that an in-depth brand strategy is something that might align with their future business goals. In this guide, our goal is to educate our audience on what to expect when engaging with different size firms and studios, discuss potential branding requirements for your business, as well as what to expect when working with Curbside Culture.
Branding is more than just the icon or the wordmark that represents their company; branding is how your business assets communicate a message that’s able to generate an emotional distinction between a brand and their audience.
A logo is generally a wordmark or symbol that people associate a business’ brand with. Curbside believes a businesses logo is the anchor of their brand, however can be easily be designed without special considerations. Curbside ensures the mark is easily communicated across digital and analogue platforms, it works in various colour ways and spaces to ensure there are no restrictions in its application.
A brand identity pertains to how your brand is communicated to your audience, including typography, colour palettes, and the brand's secondary language. The may comprise of custom set icons and patterns that are used throughout the various touch points throughout the business.
Like a business strategy, a brand strategy outlines the development of the brand and how it is able to expand with and align itself with a company's audience. A businesses target market should be clearly defined, and a company should understand how their brand is able to define their position in the market.
How you engage with your audience and the language brands use to communicate their brand's story, holds great importance in how a business’ audience communicates with them. A brand's tone of voice, and their language, all sets a standard for where the they see you within the market
Businesses that decide to develop their own brand can be cost effective, but also result in a major cost to the business. Starter platforms such as Canva offer $15/month subscriptions that provide you with the tools needed to create a logo for your business. This is a great cost effective way for you to behind the branding journey of your business; but let’s get to the question you’re asking “how could it cost me over $500,000?”.
Branding that is done incorrectly, can cost your business a lot of money. Whether it be the need to rebrand down the line due to the lack of expansion or diversification of your initial brand; or the fact that the brand you’ve developed has mispositioned you in the market and has resulted in the undervaluing of your business, there are a range of ways when done incorrectly that the cost of branding your business yourself, can cost you down the line.
Pro’s - Has the potential to be highly cost effective and allows you to have full control over the development of your brand
Con’s - High risk and could be highly costly for your business on launch. Restricts time for you to focus on areas of your business that you may excel in.
Freelancers are a great option and are usually recently graduated students or designers that have a fresh perspective within the world of design. Freelance designers are usually able to provide your business with an aesthetically pleasing logo and brand guideline, and are able to produce basic collateral for your business
Pro’s - Provides a creative insight in to the world of branding and design and allows for the use of professional platforms
Con’s - Limited exposure to the world of branding in business. Ongoing support and assistance may be restricted and limit the ability to have an ongoing relationship with the development of your brand
Smaller boutique branding studios or agencies like Curbside Culture provide custom branding options and allow for branding strategy that allows your brand fulfill the business goals that you have outlined for your business. Studios are generally backed by a range of previous client work, success stories, and a range of custom solutions that can accurately fulfill the needs of your business.
Pro’s - High-quality and intuitive design solutions are provided that align with the clients business goals. They understand they’re there to do more than build your brand, but to create solutions to assist in the direction of your brand.
Con’s - International market research is restricted
Larger world recognised agencies can have a minimum project cost of $100,000 and can extend their costs to be over $500,000. Agencies such as Pentagram and Frost Collective are internationally recognised agencies that have been the creators of The Highline NYC and the Sydney Film Festival. They use large teams and extensive knowledge across a wide range of design diciplines.
Outline the goals of your business and where you see yourself in five to ten years time. Ask yourself is your company looking for expansion, or will your company reach it’s brand ceiling relatively quickly in its business cycle
Understand what you can afford and if you’re open to future investment once your business picks up momentum. Understand what your potential return on investment might be. Will my product or service make back my investment in the first three months? If I design my brand myself, do I have the potential to lose money and can I position myself incorrectly in a market where I have the ability to lose money.
Do I see my brand expanding with my business based off of my business goals? Do I need a brand that is able to grow with me and my business.
We continually invest time in understanding contemporary trends that are used acorss a range of design diciplines including art, music, fashion, and architecture.
