Why do some logo designs cost millions?

There is more to designing a logo than a few sketches and an hour with Illustrator software.

The majority of time spent on a logo is with the client, in meetings and interviews to determine the goals of the company, the target audience, the corporate or product spirit and aesthetic. This is typically called a “needs assessment.”

Next comes the exploratory stage, in which lots of informal sketches will be done to try and capture that essence in different ways, with a mark, typography, custom lettering, etc.. During this informal stage, there may be five or more suitable logo “approaches” made to arrive at a rough logo that addresses the client’s needs.

During this phase, extensive research must be done by the designer, or other researchers in the design firm, to determine that no other logo like it exists. After all, the client is paying for a proprietary design to represent them or their product. They don’t want it to look similar to a competing product or company. There are data sources for this research, from all over the world, and these sources are very expensive and time consuming to use. Representing your work as original and then determining that it is similar to something that is already in use in Australia or China is not only embarrassing, it’s potentially costly, in both legal fees and potential damages if a client sues you.

More meetings with the client and a next phase of showing the various ideas on different applications (applied to different media) such as stationery, signage, advertising, product packaging, editorial print, media (screen) etc. These are useful to see how the potential designs will fare in a variety of sizes from very large to very small, from full color to black and white or a corporate color. A logo must meet all these requirements for a product or corporate client.

Next, the client will choose or narrow down their choices to two or three final designs, and more work will be done to create sample implementations of those designs. Usually, the work will then be shared within the corporation or company; with their board of directors, their senior staff. Then a final design will be selected.

Once selected, the final design will need to be trademarked and registered as belonging to the client. This protects the client in the future, should anyone try to copy or appropriate the logo and use it inappropriately. Then it will be rendered in a Usage or Style Guide, which is a book or binder showing all the major uses or applications of a logo. These include signage, advertising large and small, stationery including business cards, product packaging, online, various media, etc. It will also indicate what colors (specific industry standards are used) and also advice for “clear space” or distance from other text that will be required when the logo is used or reproduced. These guides will be printed or reproduced for distribution within the company for use by the graphic designers and external to the company to advertisers responsible for creating ads.

This does not account for the cost of implementation or roll out, the process of releasing and using the new logo and replacing the old logo on all the various media already in existence.

So depending on a company’s size and reach, designing a new logo is not taken lightly or capriciously. It is a conscious and deliberate process that takes time, resources and money.