When a small business needs a brand identity
Most small businesses do not need a rebrand on day one. They need one when the current look is holding them back. A logo from a quick online tool shows up differently on the website, the invoices and the social profiles. You are moving to larger customers and the brand says startup. Or you are about to build a website or run ads and want one look to build on, not three.
Mittel is a good example. They were moving from a marketing agency to a business agency, which meant the brand had to change what it said as well as what it looked like. Vesk delivered their brand identity, their website and their marketing strategy together.
What a basic brand identity includes
A basic brand identity is 15 tokens. It is a compact set, meant for a business that needs to look consistent and credible: typically a logo, a colour palette, typefaces and a short guide that shows how to use them. We confirm the exact list in writing before we start, like every task, so you know what you are buying.
If you only need part of that, a logo refresh or a colour and type update, tell us on the call. We quote the smaller job in tokens before we begin.
Brand identity design services for small business: what the 15 tokens cost
A plan fixes the price per token, so you can see what a brand identity costs on each one. Unused tokens carry over to the next month, so you never lose what you paid for.
| Plan | Monthly price (CAD + tax) | Price per token | 15 tokens is about | What else fits that month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter, 8 tokens | $1,010 | $126 | $1,890 (8 in the plan, 7 extra at the plan price) | Nothing; the month goes to the brand |
| Growth, 20 tokens | $2,120 | $106 | $1,590 | 5 tokens, for example 5 posts in the new look |
| Scale, 40 tokens | $3,980 | $100 | $1,490 | 25 tokens, such as an ad campaign and a landing page |
Prices are plus GST/HST. Ad spend, if you advertise, is paid separately and goes straight to Google or Meta.
Branding agency, freelancer or a team
A good freelance designer can make you an excellent logo, and if a logo is all you need, that may be the right answer. A team matters when the identity has to travel: onto the website, into the ad campaigns, across a month of posts. The people who design the brand then build the pages and the content from it, and nothing gets lost in a handoff.
If you are weighing options, how to choose a marketing agency lists the questions to ask, and what a marketing agency costs in Canada gives the market ranges. If you are shopping for a branding agency in Toronto, our Toronto page explains how we work from Mexico City.
What good brand identity work looks like
A good identity starts with the business, not with a colour. Before anything is drawn, we need to know who buys from you, why they choose you over the next option, and where the brand will actually appear: a van, a storefront, a quote template, an Instagram grid, a Google ad. The identity is then tested in those places, not only on a clean white page.
It should also be simple enough for your team to use without a designer. That is why the guide matters as much as the logo. When someone on your staff makes a flyer in a hurry, the result should still look like you.
Refresh or full rebuild
If you already have a name and some recognition, a refresh is often smarter than a full rebuild: keep what customers know, tighten the logo, fix the colours and give the whole thing rules. If the brand no longer fits the business, as in Mittel's case, a rebuild is justified. We tell you which one we think you need after the kickoff, even when the larger job would pay us more.
The size of the job is then quoted in tokens before work starts, so the choice does not become a surprise on an invoice.
How a brand identity project runs
- 1Call
Thirty minutes to hear what the business does and who buys from you. If we are not the right team, we say so.
- 2Kickoff meeting
We map how the business makes money, who the customer is and what the other businesses around you look like. Nothing is charged until the kickoff is done.
- 3Design
The first delivery lands in week 1 after the kickoff. You see each task in the platform, and we meet monthly with the senior lead, weekly when something needs to change.
- 4Handover
You receive the final files, including the editable source, in your name. Domains, social profiles and any ad accounts are registered to you too.
Using the identity once you have it
A brand identity earns its cost when it is used. The next step is usually a website that carries it, followed by a steady rhythm of social posts and community management in the same look. On the Scale plan, the identity and the first campaign can share a month.