Short answer Getting a professional logo designed takes five steps: define your brand, choose the right option for your budget, brief the designer, give clear feedback on the concepts and check the final files. Depending on who you hire, it takes anywhere from a few days with a design service to several months with an agency.
The 5-step logo design process
Every serious logo project goes through the same five stages, whether you hire a marketplace seller or a large branding agency. What changes is the depth, quality and price at each step.
Step 1: define your brand (1 to 2 hours)
Before you talk to any designer, write down:
- Your business name (final, not tentative)
- Who you serve, as specifically as you can: “bootstrapped SaaS founders” beats “startups”
- What you offer, in one sentence
- The feeling you want: minimal, playful, premium, trustworthy, bold
- Brands you admire: five in your space and five outside it
- What you don’t want, such as clichés common in your industry
Not sure what counts as a cliché in your field? Our industry guides list the usual ones for tech startups, beauty brands, finance, real estate, consulting firms, sports brands, agriculture and food, travel apps, healthcare and education.
Skip this step and you’ll pay for it later in revisions.
Step 2: choose the right option (15 minutes)
| Budget | Best option | Typical timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Under €100 | DIY tools (a placeholder at best) | Same day |
| €129 to €299 | Fixed-price design service | Concepts in 48 h, final files within 7 days |
| €300 to €2,000 | Freelance designer | 2 to 4 weeks |
| €1,500 to €5,000 | Small design studio | 3 to 8 weeks |
| €5,000+ | Branding agency | 2 to 6 months |
Don’t overpay for your stage, and don’t underpay for how seriously you take your business. If you’re unsure where you fit, this comparison of freelancers, agencies and design services covers the trade-offs.
Step 3: brief the designer (30 minutes)
A good brief includes:
- Your business name and what you do
- Your target audience, described specifically
- Three adjectives for the feel you’re after
- Links to five logos you love, and why
- Links to three logos you dislike, and why
- Colours you want or want to avoid
- Where the logo will appear: app icon, website, packaging, signage
- Your timeline
The brief is the biggest factor in getting a logo you love. Thirty minutes here can save weeks of back-and-forth. Need a starting point? Use our logo design brief template with five examples.
Step 4: review the concepts and give feedback
The first round usually shows one to several directions. Good feedback is specific:
- Do say: “I love the curve in option 3, but it feels too soft for our audience.”
- Don’t say: “I don’t like it.”
- Don’t say: “Can you try it 20 different ways?”
Pick the direction that’s closest to right, then refine it. Our guide on how to give feedback to a logo designer has a simple framework you can copy.
Step 5: finalise and receive your files
A complete logo delivery includes:
- The primary logo, ideally in horizontal and stacked layouts
- One-colour versions (black and white)
- A transparent background version
- Vector files (SVG, AI, EPS or PDF), which scale to any size without losing quality, plus PNGs for everyday use
- The editable source file
- Your colour codes and font names
Brand guidelines, a social media kit and stationery are extras that some packages include and others don’t, so check before you pay. If you don’t get vector and source files, it isn’t a complete logo package. Here’s which logo file formats you actually need.
From brief to billboard: the Origena project, designed by Logomint.
Before you brief anyone, it helps to know the options: our guide to the 7 types of logos explains wordmarks, lettermarks, symbols and more, with examples.
Timeline by option
Design service (e.g. Logomint): brief on day 0, first concepts within 48 hours, final files within 7 days.
Freelance designer: brief on day 0, first concepts in 1 to 2 weeks, final files in 3 to 4 weeks.
Agency: discovery takes 2 to 4 weeks, concepts 3 to 6 weeks, refinement 2 to 4 weeks. Allow 2 to 6 months in total.
In a hurry? Our guide to getting a logo fast compares every option by speed, from minutes to months.
Warning signs, whichever option you choose
- AI output sold as custom work. Ask directly: “Is this designed from scratch by a person?” The US Copyright Office says writing prompts alone doesn’t make you the author of an AI output, so you may not be able to protect it.
- Templates sold as originals. Ask to see how the concept developed, not just the polished result. Canva, for example, says logos made from its templates can’t be registered as a trademark.
- Source files sold separately. Vector and source files should be in the base price.
- No refund policy. If a service won’t refund a logo you’re unhappy with, think twice.
- “Unlimited revisions” with a catch. Read the small print.
For more on what to check before you hire, see these questions to ask a logo designer.
How to tell if your new logo works
The two-week test: use it in real contexts for two weeks: website, social profiles, a pitch deck. If it still feels right, it’s the one.
The stranger test: show it to three people in your target market without any context and ask what kind of business it belongs to. If their answers are far off, the logo isn’t communicating.
FAQ
How long should a logo take?
From a few days with a design service to several months with an agency. For most founders, somewhere between 48 hours and two weeks is plenty.
What should a logo cost?
Roughly €129 to €800 for bootstrapped founders, €1,500 to €5,000 for funded startups, and €5,000+ for an established company’s rebrand.
Do I need a full brand kit or just a logo?
To start, you need a logo in all the right versions and file formats, plus your colours and fonts. Guidelines become more valuable as more people use your brand, because they keep it consistent.
Can I design my own logo?
If you’re a designer, yes. Otherwise it’s usually fine only for a side project. A professional logo costs less than most founders expect.
How many revisions should I need?
Usually two or three rounds. If you’re on round five, the brief probably wasn’t clear enough.
What if I don’t like any of the first concepts?
Work out what’s closest and what’s missing, and say so. A good designer adjusts from there instead of starting again blindly.
The bottom line
Getting a logo designed is faster and more affordable than ever, as long as you pick the right option and put time into the brief. Agencies make sense when brand strategy is a major investment; for most founders, a fixed-price service with real designers is the best balance.
At Logomint, a senior designer creates your custom logo with first concepts in 48 hours, final files within 7 days and a 100% money-back guarantee, from €129. See the plans and get started with a short brief.
