Brand identity design pricing: three market tiers

The first question almost everyone asks is how much a brand identity costs. The honest answer is that the figure depends on what you are purchasing, and most people inquiring about prices haven't yet realized what they are actually looking to buy. This article outlines all three tiers, along with what is included and what is not in each tier.

Three pricing tiers in the Vietnamese market

The basic package tier, approximately 1.5 to 16 million VND. This is the only tier with publicly listed prices, usually divided into four levels based on the number of items. The lowest level around 4 million includes a logo chosen from two options, business cards, envelopes, and employee ID cards. The highest level around 16 million adds signage, a twelve-page capability document, and flyers. Delivery time ranges from three to thirty days.

This tier sells speed and convenience. What it does not sell is reasoning. Without industry research and competitor analysis, the design is not anchored in anything other than the tastes of the designer and the reviewer.

Mid-range studio tier, around 30 to 100 million VND

In this tier, processes begin to take shape. A session on positioning and target audience, a logo system with variations for different contexts, a custom color palette and typography, a usage guideline document of forty to sixty pages, along with designs for key touchpoints.

This is a reasonable tier for most small to medium enterprises: they have revenue, need a stable face for a few years, and do not yet require a complete restructuring of their storytelling. The limitations of this tier often lie in the strategy stopping at a descriptive level, rarely progressing to operational aspects after handover.

High-end studio tier, around 150 to 500 million VND

This tier sells a decision, not a set of files. The scope typically includes a review of the brand's current status, competitive analysis, establishing positioning as a decision axis rather than a slogan, naming and language system when necessary, a complete identity system in both visual and verbal forms, extended guidelines for branches yet to be created, and support for the operations team after handover.

Why is there such a huge discrepancy for the same service?

Because behind the same line of text in the quote are very different scopes. Four things create most of the gap:

• Is there thinking before drawing? Reviewing, analyzing competition, and establishing positioning is the most time-consuming part. International pricing surveys note that this part alone adds approximately $5,000 to $15,000 to a project.
• The number of touchpoints that must be covered. Each touchpoint is a separate problem with different material constraints and ratios, not just a one-time logo application on a new item.
• Who is doing the work? A newcomer and someone who has created several hundred different systems take different amounts of time for the same decision, resulting in different outcomes.
• Is there a transfer of rights and original assets? Many low quotes do not include the original files or transfer ownership, which can lead to issues later.

International figures for comparison

If you have ever worked with foreign entities, the familiar price ranges in 2026 are: freelancers charge around 500 to 5,000 USD, small studios charge around 5,000 to 20,000, while a full brand project typically falls between 11,000 and 70,000, occasionally exceeding 150,000 for corporations. Converted to Vietnamese Dong at the exchange rate in August 2026, the international small studio tier is equivalent to the advanced tier domestically.

Where does Sinh Vũ fit within this framework?

Sinh Vũ operates at the advanced tier, with a starting price for the identity system at 150 million VND. Sinh Vũ does not publicly list prices, as the final figure is determined by the actual scope of each project, but we disclose the starting price so you can compare it with your budget before both parties invest time in a meeting.

The starting price is set there because every project goes through a diagnostic phase before design. Skipping that part may lower the cost, but at that point, you are purchasing a drawing rather than a brand decision, and many other places can do that better than Sinh Vũ at a much lower price.

How to estimate before asking for a price?

Before requesting a quote from anyone, answer these four questions yourself to get a much more accurate figure: what stage is your business in, how many touchpoints need to be covered in the next twelve months, is there a clear written positioning, and who has the final approval authority. The fourth question may sound like internal matters, but it significantly affects the timeline and costs more than you might think.