What is a Logo Design Proposal?
A logo design proposal is a document that freelance graphic designers use to propose their logo design services to potential clients. This could be for a brand new logo for a startup or a professional redesign for an existing company.
Logo design proposals are typically sent to a client after you have had an initial meeting or phone call to discuss their vision, budget, and project scope.
Note: If you’re ready to start creating your logo design proposal, our free template will provide you with a world-class proposal in minutes.
Who Should Use a Logo Design Proposal
You should use a logo design proposal if:
- You’re a graphic designer or logo designer pitching logos to prospective clients
- You offer logo design services on a freelance or contract basis
- You’ve had an initial brand identity or logo design meeting with a client and are ready to move to the next step in the design process
- You’re a digital marketer who offers brand identity design or graphic design as additional services
When to Use a Logo Design Proposal
Logo designers can use logo design proposals to serve a number of different purposes. You should use one if:
- A client asks for a formal proposal
- You want to organize and record job and pricing details
- You want to increase your chances of making a positive impression on a client by using a professional document
- You want to ensure that you and a client are on the same page in terms of project scope, brand identity, and deliverables before you start a project
- You’ve been asked to design a logo for a business, charity, or event
Using a logo design proposal is a great way to save time by communicating clearly and upfront about your services and outlining the client’s expectations. It gives both parties a chance to ask and answer questions, clarify information, and collaborate before a contract is signed.
What to Include in a Logo Design Proposal
A successful logo design proposal is made up of multiple elements. When creating a logo design proposal template, be sure to include:
Contact information
Every project proposal should have contact information for both you and the client you’re pitching a project to. Make sure you provide:
- Your business name, given name, and logo
- Your work phone number
- Your professional email address
- A link to your website or professional portfolio
Don’t forget to include contact information for the client as well, such as their name, phone number, email, and company address.
Project outline
Next, you need to describe the project, idea, or concept in detail. In your description, try to answer the following questions:
- What services is the potential client in need of? For example, is the logo part of a larger branding package, or are you only designing a logo?
- How will you identify and develop the client’s brand?
- What are the client’s specific needs in terms of the logo design?
- What industry is the client in?
- What are the client’s asks or requirements?
- What is the client’s problem and how do you plan to solve it?
It helps to have at least one meeting or phone call with the client before creating your proposal. This will give you a chance to figure out which design elements are important to them, whether they’re interested in a hands-off or collaborative approach, as well as what they’re envisioning in a final logo.
Use this information to inform your project description so that your proposal is as clear and complete as possible.
Project timeline
Next comes the project timeline. Typically, logo design proposal timelines are broken into two steps: defining the project and creating the logo.
Defining the project includes having a kick-off meeting with the client where you get an idea of what they’re looking for. This could include reviewing vision boards, taking a look at logos they find aesthetically pleasing, and getting a feel for their brand identity. This is an opportunity for both of you to pitch ideas and concepts and to figure out colors and style.
This step typically takes 1-3 days after a contract is signed, depending on the availability and work hours of both you and the client.
Creating the logo is where you take the design from concept to completion, which may include:
- Sending over preliminary sketches or color schemes
- Providing multiple versions of a proposed logo to the client
- Getting feedback and making revisions
- Formatting the logo for the client’s needs and uses (such as business cards, signs, social media pages, website, etc.)
- Providing the final logo and any other design assets to the client
This step usually takes about 1-3 days after the project has been defined, but it varies based on the client’s needs and your workload.
A reasonable timeline accounts for both communication and the actual work of designing a good logo. Be sure to consider both when developing your timeline so that you leave enough time to meet with the client and to create a high-quality logo design.
Pricing
One of the most important aspects of your logo design proposal template is the pricing section. This is where you outline details such as:
- Your hourly or per-project fees
- The total cost of the project
- Whether a deposit is required
- Payment details, such as when and how to pay
- A complete list of the services you will provide and their costs
Be clear about your pricing and make sure to include any and all costs the client can expect to incur. While the overall budget may change based on outside factors, like if the client asks for extra work, do your best to provide the client with an accurate, inclusive number.
This will help them to determine whether your proposal fits within their budget, helping them to decide whether they’re ready to move forward with a formal contract.
Experience
This section of your logo design proposal is where you convince the client that you’re the right designer for the job. Write a paragraph or two that summarizes:
- Your experience as a professional graphic designer
- Whether you’ve worked with similar clients in the past
- Why you’re a good fit for the client’s project or brand
- What sets you apart from competitors (pricing, experience, graphic design philosophy or approach, etc.)
You can also include testimonials from past clients, examples of how your graphic design has helped other companies with brand marketing, and a link to your online portfolio.
Remember to keep this section relatively brief. Focus on what makes you a great fit for this project and client.
READ MORE: How to write a work proposal in 6 simple steps
How to Write a Logo Design Proposal
Before you write your logo design proposal, there are a few steps you need to take to ensure that you have enough information to provide an accurate and detailed proposal.
Step 1: Talk to the client
Before you actually submit a proposal, you need to talk to the client about what they want. While this may seem obvious, most clients don’t realize how much work goes into creating a custom logo. Get a feel for why they want a logo in the first place so that you have a better idea of what they’re looking for.
For example, do they want a logo because they don’t have one, do they need an old one redesigned, or are they looking to rebrand their business because of a PR nightmare?
Once you understand what their motivation is, it will be easier for you to create a proposal that demonstrates how you can solve their problem.
This is also an opportunity for you to get a feel for their budget and determine whether you want to take them on. If their budget is way below your minimum pricing, they may be a better fit for a less experienced designer.
Step 2: List out your services and their costs
Some logo design projects are straightforward while others are more time-consuming. Before you create your proposal, review all of the ideas and asks a client mentioned during your initial call, and consider what it would take to get them done.
Try to filter out which services a client actually needs, like graphic design services for a logo, versus the ones that they mentioned in passing, like redesigning a retail sign or making a profile picture for an online social media page. You can still list these costs, but you may want to save them for a different proposal or add them in a separate pricing table as potential add-ons to the base service you have been asked to provide.
Include costs for meetings, phone calls, and research as well, which can either be added as separate costs or rolled into your hourly or per-project rate.
Step 3: Research the client’s company
If you don’t know much about the client’s company or business already, spend some time researching them before you create a proposal. Make sure to review their current logos, branding, and website. Pay attention to who their typical clients are and who their marketing campaigns target.
Make sure that you know their industry and product or service as well as who their customers are. For example, are they B2B, B2C, or both?
The more you know about the company, the easier it will be to not only create a winning proposal but design a fitting logo.
Creating a Logo Design Proposal Template is Simple with Bonsai
Customizing a professional logo design proposal template is easy with Bonsai. Using our template, you can create proposals that save you time by:
- Facilitating digital signing
- Including pricing information and payment details
- Customizing the appearance to match your branding
- Using an organized structure with a clean layout
From start to finish, Bonsai has your back. Customize your proposals, send them to clients digitally, and win more projects. Sign-up to start creating your logo design proposal template today.
Logo Design Proposal FAQs
What’s the difference between a quote and a proposal?
Depending on your process, estimates, proposals, and quotes may all serve a different purpose. Some graphic designers use estimates to provide clients with a quick ballpark number, a proposal to define the cost of a list of potential services, and a quote to lock in a price.
For example, you can use a proposal to pitch both agreed-upon services and additional upsells a client may have mentioned or need. Once the client reviews the proposal and gets back to you regarding the services they’re interested in, you can send along a formal quote with the actual total.
READ MORE: Proposal vs quote explained: 5 must-know facts
How much should I charge for logo design?
How much you charge to design a logo depends on a variety of factors such as your experience level, what the client needs, and how much additional work you will need to do, such as research and revisions.
You can either charge an hourly rate or a per-project rate depending on your pricing structure and preferences. Just make sure you have a price in mind before you make your proposal template.
READ MORE: How to decide what to charge for a logo design
Does a logo design proposal need to be signed?
No, unlike a quote or contract, a logo design proposal doesn’t need to be signed by either the contractor or the client. Instead, it can either be accepted or declined by the client after they have reviewed it. If it’s accepted, you can move forward with either a formal quote or a contract, depending on whether the proposal was accepted as-is or not.
When you send proposals to a client, think of it more as a project pitch. Proposals aren’t typically binding and neither party will be responsible for adhering to any terms until a formal contract has been signed.
Related Documents
- Proposals: Not sure what kind of proposal you need? Take a look at our collection of professional proposals to find the best fit.
- Logo Design Contract: Once a client approves your proposal, use this template to outline the terms of your agreement.
- Logo Design Invoice: After you’ve designed a logo, use this template to bill your client and get paid.
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