- Identity work is scoped by deliverables and strategy depth, not by hours.
- Design fees are one time. Print costs recur and scale with quantity and finishing.
- A card quoted in isolation is usually more expensive over three years than one quoted inside an identity project.
- Ask what is excluded, not only what is included. Exclusions are where budgets move.
Design quotes are hard to compare because two studios rarely scope the same way. This explains how we structure scope and pricing, so you can read our proposal against anyone else’s.
How is an identity project scoped?
Scope is defined by two variables: how many applications need to be designed, and how deep the strategy stage goes. Hours are an output of those decisions, not an input to them.
Applications are countable. A logo, a business card, letterhead, signage, packaging and a website each represent distinct design and specification work. Listing them precisely is what makes two quotes comparable.
Strategy depth is less obvious but affects cost more. A project that begins with positioning research and stakeholder interviews is a different undertaking from one that starts with an agreed brief. Neither is wrong, but they should not be compared on price.
Why are design and print quoted separately?
They behave differently. Design is a one time cost that produces an asset you keep. Print is a recurring cost driven by quantity, stock and finishing, with setup charges that do not scale down.
This is why comparing a full design and print quote against an online printing platform’s price is not a meaningful comparison. The platform is quoting print only, using a template in place of design. Both are legitimate purchases; they are not the same purchase.
Details on what drives print cost specifically are in print production in Taiwan.
Why not quote a business card on its own?
Because the cost of designing a card correctly depends almost entirely on whether an identity system already exists. With guidelines in place, a card is an application of existing rules. Without them, the card silently becomes the identity.
The second case is where cost appears later. A card designed without a system establishes a logo treatment, a colour and a typeface by default. When the website, signage and packaging follow, they either inherit those defaults or contradict them. Both outcomes cost more than deciding deliberately at the start.
If you already have guidelines, we are happy to work from them and quote the card alone.
What should a proposal contain?
A proposal should let you answer four questions without asking: what will exist at the end, how many revision rounds are included, what is explicitly excluded, and who owns what.
- Deliverables: itemised, with file formats stated.
- Stages and gates: what is approved at each point, and what proceeding means.
- Revision rounds: how many per stage, and what constitutes one round.
- Exclusions: photography, copywriting, translation, typeface licences, print costs, third party fees.
- Rights: what transfers on final payment, and what is licensed rather than transferred.
Exclusions deserve the closest reading. Most budget surprises come from something reasonable that neither party listed, with typeface licensing and translation being the two most common.
How does payment normally work?
Staged payment against milestones is standard: a deposit to begin, one or more payments at agreed gates, and a balance on handover. The structure should mirror the stage gates rather than the calendar.
For cross border work, agree the currency, who bears bank charges, and the invoicing entity before starting. These are small items that become friction if left until the first invoice.
What changes the price most?
Three things move a quote materially: the number of applications, the depth of strategy, and the number of decision makers. The third is the one most often underestimated.
More decision makers means more rounds, more reconciliation of conflicting feedback, and a higher chance of revisiting a passed gate. This is not a surcharge for difficulty; it is a genuine difference in the amount of work. Naming the approvers at the outset lets us scope realistically. How we structure that process is described in working with an overseas design studio.
What is not included by default?
Unless stated otherwise, a design quote excludes print production, photography, copywriting, translation, typeface licences and third party platform fees. Each can be added, but each is a genuine cost rather than an overhead we absorb.
Typeface licensing is worth singling out. A studio’s licence covers the studio’s use, not the client’s. If the identity depends on a commercial typeface, that licence must be purchased in the client’s name, and it is an ongoing consideration rather than a one off in some licence models. We flag this at specification stage. See design file handoff.
Frequently asked questions
Can you work to a fixed budget?
Yes, by fixing scope to match. Given a budget we will propose the set of deliverables and the strategy depth that fits it, and state clearly what is left out. This is more reliable than compressing a full scope into a smaller number, which usually just relocates the cost to a later stage.
Do you charge for the initial conversation?
No. An initial discussion to establish whether the project is a fit, and roughly what it would involve, is not chargeable. Chargeable work begins once a proposal is accepted.
What happens if scope changes mid project?
It is documented as a change to the agreement, with its own cost and schedule impact, before the work is done. Adding an application after design direction is approved is straightforward. Changing strategy after application has begun means returning to an earlier gate, and that is the expensive case.
Who owns the design at the end?
Ownership terms are stated in the agreement before work begins. Typically final approved work transfers on final payment, while unselected concepts and working files remain with the studio unless separately agreed. Third party components such as typefaces are licensed, not owned, by either party.
Written by Howdy Creative, a brand design and cultural planning studio in Taichung, Taiwan. The scoping approach described here is the one we use in proposals, and the emphasis on exclusions reflects where cross border projects most often encounter unexpected cost.