How much does brand development cost and how long will it take?
Hi there! My name is Sydney and I am the Founder of Sunflower -- a premium service that finds startups the perfect designer or developer for their projects. As a graphic designer, investor pitch writer, and Founder, I’m passionate about helping people navigate the world of working with creative talent to achieve a more enjoyable and impactful outcome for everyone involved.
The following post is the first of a 3-part series that will unpack the two most common questions I hear from startups when it comes to working with designers and developers on a project-bases: “How much will it cost?” and “How long will it take?”
Part 1 will focus on Brand Development (“Brand” or “Branding”). Part 2 will focus on Website Design and Development (ie, informational/marketing websites), and Part 3 will focus on Product Design (UX/UI for more complex web-based and/or mobile applications).
Before we dive into brand, we first need to define what brand means in this context. If you have specific questions about your company and brand, feel free to reach out at design@sydneyfulkerson.com.
Note: Due to client confidentiality, I will not disclose the time or money companies spent on their brand development projects using Sunflower’s services. Head to the bottom of this post to see some examples of companies that have beautifully executed both brand strategy and visual identity.
What is “brand”?
Mentor and friend, Rich Silverstein, legendary creative and Co-Founder and Chairman of Goodby Silverstein and Partners, would describe brand as follows:
“Brand is a living, breathing thing. You have to care and feed it so it can grow. It encompasses your voice, the way you look at the world, how you look internally. It’s the DNA of the company; the way it looks, speaks, feels — from product to graphic design to advertising to wearing it on a t-shirt. The brand is the company.”
— Rich Silverstein
But when I ask what brand means to most startup founders, they focus just on visual identity -- which is important, but there’s so much more that makes up a brand to have a competitive advantage in the market; for you to be seen and remembered; for the brand to stick.
What’s included in brand development?
Most of your company’s brand deliverables fall into one of two buckets: brand strategy and visual identity. A common mistake first-time founders make when it comes to brand is that they spend all of their resources on the visual identity piece and no time on brand strategy. Designing without strategy is like trying to paint a masterpiece in the dark.
The proper brand strategy helps you develop a plan for the systematic development of the brand in alignment with your business strategy. This is important because developing a brand without your business objectives in mind will result in you not getting the most value out of your money spent.. Some deliverables that make up a brand strategy project can include developing the company’s values, brand voice and personality (how you speak and think and show up in the world), the brand positioning statement, mission statement, and more.
Visual identity is how the brand comes to life across mediums. This will include logo, color palette, typography, applications of your brand, and potentially real-world mockups of your product on billboards, t-shirts, iPad screens -- whatever are useful applications for your company. This is where the brand starts to feel like it’s coming to life, which is why so many founders want to start here.
So now let’s get down to the reason why you’re really reading this post…
How much does brand development cost?
The cost of a brand development project is primarily defined by the scope of work and size and experience of the team.
TL;DR: larger the scope = typically more resources (time + people) = higher the cost.
Also, more notable brands in their portfolio = (typically) higher the cost.
If you have worked on brand strategy internally and feel like you’re in a good place and only want to work on the visual identity piece, the cost will be lower because the scope of work will be smaller.
If you need a lot of deliverables coming out of this project, eg, business cards, t-shirt designs, social media templates, etc., the cost will be higher because the number of deliverables impacts the scope of the work.
→ For Pre-Seed companies:
I believe in radical candor so I’ll be upfront here: I highly recommend that you do not spend tens of thousands of dollars on branding at the pre-seed stage. Instead, focus on getting product-market fit. It’s never recommended to spend a ton of money on branding unless you already have a product-market fit. Your company may make a hard pivot resulting in the need to rework your brand, so might as well wait until a bit later on.
At the Pre-Seed stage, I recommend working internally on brand strategy, finding a talented freelance designer who can create a solid visual identity for your company, and start mocking up what your product will look like and how it will address the problem you’re solving for. For pre-seed companies, Sunflower’s services are typically not the best solution because we work on larger scopes; however, we will still consult with Pre-Seed companies to help point them in the right direction so they get what they need without spending unnecessarily.
→ For Seed stage companies:
If you’re a Seed stage company, Sunflower’s services are a really good entry point because you’re likely not looking to hire a full-time brand strategist or visual designer, but you have some product-market fit and capital to deploy towards developing a more defined, stand-out brand.
Sunflower intentionally partners with small creative studios instead of large agencies because of the two things that startups can’t afford to lose: time and money. Typically the larger the agency, the more the project will cost because of the overhead. On the flip side, you’ll get more minds on the project, but this isn’t always the best-case scenario. That’s why Sunflower’s network of designers and developers is so curated -- it takes a special kind of group to work with fast-growing startups on building their brand.
Let’s assume you’re in need of brand strategy and a new visual identity. At the Seed stage, you’re likely moving quickly. Given this, you’ll work best with a 2-5 person studio that can give you more of their undivided attention while keeping costs lower than other agencies. I wouldn’t recommend spending all of your resources here because keep in mind: you may still need to allocate budget to the website and product.
→ For Series A companies:
At this stage, you have a product-market fit, you’re likely hiring a lot, and you may even be gearing up for another fundraise soon.
You may already have a brand in place, but it could use a refresh. Or perhaps you’ve pivoted a bit since launch, and you need to reposition the company in the market. At the Series A stage, you’re in a good position to do a deep dive on brand strategy since you have more data than ever before on what’s worked, what hasn’t worked, and where your company is headed.
For Series A companies, I recommend spending money on really good strategy work. Now is the time. From there, you’d be well suited to work with a small-mid-size creative studio that has talent in-house to devote to your project and flesh out your visual identity, too (some studios do both strategy and identity really well). You can find amazing brand development—strategy and a new visual identity—at this stage for less than $100K.
How long does brand development take?
Short answer: it depends...
Can you provide feedback quickly?
Are you dedicated to this brand development project?
Do you have a clear process for making final decisions?
Many factors can influence the time it takes to complete a branding project.
Founders of all stages who engage Sunflower’s services tend to fall into one of two camps: one camp is “I’m planning to fundraise in 3 months and want to start the brand conversation now”, and the other camp is “I need this done yesterday.” As reality has it, a majority of the Founders I work with tend to fall in the latter group. Why? Because there tends to be a number of external factors at play that push the need to establish a brand ASAP. These factors may include recent investor interest, an upcoming (expedited) fundraise, the big push for hiring, or a press event where they need to update their marketing materials. All are valid reasons, but there’s a balance when it comes to “I want this done well” and “I need this done now”.
→ For Pre-Seed stage companies:
It’s likely you and maybe one other person running the company full-time at this point. The good news is, you’ll be able to make decisions very quickly. Well-done brand strategy can take up to 3 weeks if using a studio, and longer or shorter if you’re doing it in-house. You can create a really well-done visual identity in three weeks or less. For example, I’ve worked with a handful of Pre-Seed companies, and we’ve been able to develop a high-quality, customer-ready visual identity in less than one month. If your sole objective, however, is to get a logo, head to 99Designs or hire a freelancer on UpWork or Dribble. Just know this logo likely won’t be designed with strategy in mind -- it’ll represent more of a pretty picture for you to use as a placeholder (and there’s nothing wrong with moving quickly and iterating along the way -- every situation is different).
→ For Seed stage companies:
To do both brand strategy and visual identity well, you’re looking at at least six weeks. Oftentimes the best brand strategists will recommend a 3-month engagement because they know how deep they need to go in the company and in the industry to have the most impact.
→ For Series A companies:
Go all out on a bulletproof brand strategy and visual identity and allocate three months to this. To make this the most efficient process possible, delegate someone to be the primary point person who collects and consolidates all feedback so feedback sent back to the strategist and designer is not contradicting nor piecemeal. Limit the number of creative cooks you have in the kitchen.
Why does my company need branding?
The brand is your company. To not have a brand, you are swimming in a vast ocean without a clear sense of where you are swimming to, and how you’ll get there.
Developing a strong brand strategy and visual identity can help you achieve your business objectives faster and more effectively, and also give you a competitive advantage for fundraising, hiring, and acquiring customers. People want a reason to rally behind a brand, so let’s give it to them!
I’m ready to get started, how do I move forward?
If you’re getting ready to embark on the brand journey for the first time, or if you’re due for a refresh, let’s chat! I would love to continue sharing what I know and have learned in past experiences. Email me at design@sydneyfulkerson.com and check out Sunflower Page to learn more.
→ P.S. Stay tuned for Part 2 where we’ll focus on informational/marketing websites.
→ P.P.S. Here are some (later stage) companies that have executed beautifully on brand strategy and visual identity. Take a peek behind the “why” of their brand to get inspired:
