BrandingChoosing8 min read
How to choose a branding agency without getting burned
The questions to ask before you pay, and the red flags that should stop you — from inside the industry.
The market runs from a few hundred pounds to tens of thousands, all of it called "visual identity". The difference is not the look — it is what gets delivered and what happens after delivery.
Ask these questions
- Exactly what will I receive? Ask for a written file list, not a verbal promise.
- Is there a brand guidelines document? Without one the identity falls apart within months.
- How many revisions are included, and what counts as extra?
- Does ownership of the design transfer to me in full?
- Can I see work in a sector close to mine?
- Who will actually work on this project?
Red flags
- A final price before any question about the business. That means templates.
- A portfolio with no client names and no context.
- Guaranteed numeric results from a logo. Nobody can promise that.
- Delivery as JPGs only, with no source or vector files.
- Pressure to close today with a discount that "ends tomorrow".
The single most useful question: "if I do not like the first presentation, what happens?" The answer tells you more about how they work than any portfolio.
Common questions
- Is more expensive always better?
- No. But very cheap usually means a template, and you pay again a year later to fix it.
- How long does a project take?
- It varies with scope. What matters is that the timeline is written down before you pay, not after.
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