ScopeSnap › Templates › Logo & Branding
Branding work drifts fast. A logo job turns into "can you also do the business cards." Three concepts become six because the client's partner wants to see a serif option. The brand guide grows from a one-page color and type sheet into a forty-page manual. Then someone asks for social templates, a favicon and a trade show banner, all under the original price. None of that was agreed. It just happened.
This page gives you a working scope for logo and identity projects. It lists what to put in, what to name as out of scope, and how to handle revisions, file formats, approvals and timing. You get notes on pricing, a worked example of a completed scope, and answers to common questions. At the end is a plain-text template you can fill in and send before you quote.
Scoping a new branding job right now?Paste the email or chat thread. One-page scope in under a minute. Free preview, then $19 for 10 scopes.
Scope my requestThese are the things branding clients most often assume are included. Listing them up front is what keeps the project from growing after you've quoted.
This is the kind of request that usually lands in your inbox:
We're launching a craft cider brand next spring (taproom + cans in local stores). Need a logo, but really the whole look: can labels for 4 flavors to start, maybe merch, and the sign out front. My brother-in-law made a draft logo in Canva that everyone hates. We like vintage but not cheesy. Can you also name the flavors? Timeline is tight because the can printer needs files by January.
And this is the one-page scope ScopeSnap produced from it, unedited:
The client needs a complete launch-ready visual identity for a new cider brand, with print-ready can labels delivered before the January printer deadline.
Full identity plus four print-ready labels, naming, and signage is a launch package; the high end covers a compressed timeline and slow or split decision-making.
Most identity work is quoted as a fixed fee tied to a defined deliverable list, because clients want a number and you want a boundary. Hourly and day rates show up for exploratory work, brand audits or open-ended refinement. Retainers suit ongoing brand support. Packages (logo only, logo plus basics, full identity system) make the options easy to compare. The number goes up with more concepts, more revision rounds, more stakeholders, a longer brand guide, rush timing and broad usage rights. Quote a range until you know the decision-maker count, the deliverable list and the deadline. A firm number before that is a guess you will be held to.
Copy this, fill in the brackets, and delete anything that doesn't apply.
PROJECT Client: [CLIENT NAME] | Project: [BRAND / PRODUCT NAME] logo and identity | Prepared by: [YOUR NAME] | Date: [DATE] SUMMARY Design a new [LOGO / LOGO AND BASIC IDENTITY / FULL IDENTITY SYSTEM] for [CLIENT NAME], for use across [PRINT, WEB, SOCIAL, SIGNAGE], based on the approved brief dated [DATE]. IN SCOPE Discovery: [ONE] kickoff call of up to [60] minutes and a written brand questionnaire. Concepts: [2 / 3] initial logo directions, each shown as mark, wordmark and one color treatment on [1] mockup. Development: refinement of [1] chosen direction into primary logo, secondary/horizontal lockup and standalone mark. Color and type: one palette of up to [5] colors with CMYK, RGB, HEX and Pantone values; [1] primary and [1] secondary typeface recommendation. Brand guide: [PAGE COUNT]-page PDF covering logo usage, clear space, minimum size, misuse, color and type. Final files: AI, EPS, SVG, PDF, PNG (transparent) and JPG in full color, one color, black, white and reversed. OUT OF SCOPE Font licenses, trademark search or registration, printing and print management, naming and taglines, brand copywriting, website design, social media templates, packaging, signage, and stationery beyond [BUSINESS CARD, IF INCLUDED]. Available on request at [RATE]. ASSUMPTIONS The company name and any tagline are final before concepts begin. [ONE] named decision-maker gives all feedback; internal reviews are consolidated before they reach us. The client holds or will buy licenses for any recommended typefaces. CLIENT RESPONSIBILITIES Return the brand questionnaire and existing assets (current logo, photos, competitor list) by [DATE]. Provide consolidated written feedback within [3] business days of each presentation. TIMELINE Kickoff [DATE] | Concept presentation [DATE] | Refinement round [DATE] | Brand guide and final files [DATE]. Dates shift day for day with late feedback. REVISIONS [1] round at concept stage, [2] rounds at refinement stage. A round is one consolidated set of written feedback and one updated presentation. Extra rounds or a switch to a new direction: [RATE / FEE]. PRICE AND PAYMENT Fixed fee of [AMOUNT], billed [50]% at signing and [50]% on delivery of final files. Invoices due within [14] days. Files are released on final payment. ACCEPTANCE The project is complete when final files are delivered and accepted in writing, or [5] business days pass with no response. Ownership of the final approved logo transfers to the client on full payment; [YOUR NAME] keeps the right to show the work in a portfolio. Client signature: [NAME, DATE] | Designer signature: [NAME, DATE]
Rather not fill in the blanks by hand?Paste the email or chat thread. One-page scope in under a minute. Free preview, then $19 for 10 scopes.
Scope my requestTwo or three is the common range. One concept gives the client nothing to compare. More than three splits attention and invites mixing elements from different directions. State the number, describe what each concept includes (mark, wordmark, one color treatment, one mockup), and say that the client picks one direction to develop. If they want more concepts later, name that as a paid add-on in the scope.
A round is one consolidated set of feedback from the client, delivered in writing, followed by one updated presentation from you. Five emails over three days from three people is still one round if you say so in the scope. Define it that way. Also say what a round can cover: adjustments to the chosen direction, not a switch to a rejected concept or a brand-new idea. That is new work, priced separately.
Usually yes, for the final approved logo, and only after the final invoice is paid. Say that plainly. Rejected concepts stay yours unless the client pays for them. Keep the right to show the finished work in your portfolio. Do not transfer ownership of fonts you cannot assign; the client licenses those directly. If the client wants an exclusive assignment with no portfolio use, price that as a separate line.
For a logo-and-basics project, a short guide is enough: logo versions and clear space, minimum sizes, misuse examples, color values in CMYK, RGB, HEX and Pantone, primary and secondary typefaces with usage notes, and a page of application examples. That is often four to ten pages. Write the page count and the section list into the scope. A full brand book with voice, photography direction and templates is a different project.