Why nobody publishes pricing — and why we will
The standard answer is "every project is different," which is true but not the whole story. Agencies don't publish prices because anchor numbers limit upsell room and because comparison shopping feels uncomfortable when you're selling a service. We disagree. Knowing the rough cost before you ask saves everyone time, and the conversation gets to be about scope and quality instead of negotiating from zero.
What "branding" actually means at each tier
Three tiers cover most Qatari engagements. The differences are real — not just budget, but what you actually get.
Startup tier: QAR 25,000 – 60,000
Logo system (primary, secondary, monogram), colour palette, typography in Arabic and English, a 20–30 page brand guideline, social-template starter kit, business-card and email-signature templates. Timeline: 4–6 weeks. Right for: pre-seed and seed startups, small agencies launching a new arm, founders building a personal brand. Watch out for: "brand kits" under QAR 15,000 — usually a logo and a few PDFs, not a system you can build a company on.
Mid-market tier: QAR 60,000 – 180,000
Everything above plus full visual system (iconography, illustration style, photography direction), a complete brand book (60–120 pages), tone-of-voice guidelines in both languages, full template library (decks, documents, marketing collateral, exhibition standees), basic website art-direction. Timeline: 8–14 weeks. Right for: scaling startups raising Series A+, established SMEs rebranding, mid-tier government departments. Watch out for: scope that doesn't include Arabic typography rules — a frequent gap.
Institutional tier: QAR 180,000 – 500,000+
Full brand strategy, naming or naming audit, complete identity system, motion identity (logo animation, video stings), photography production (custom shoot), complete bilingual brand book including environmental and signage standards, internal communications toolkit, training session for the in-house team. Timeline: 16–28 weeks. Right for: ministries, large financial institutions, universities, hospitals. Watch out for: agencies pitching this tier without a strategist on the team.
What drives the cost up
- Bilingual scope — Arabic typography done well roughly doubles design time on the type system
- Number of stakeholders — each approval round adds 1–3 weeks
- Custom photography or illustration — production cost is its own line item, often 20–40% of total
- Strategy depth — naming, positioning, audience research are real research projects, not bonus features
- Number of applications — a brand applied to 3 things vs 30 things is meaningfully different work
- Rush timeline — anything under 6 weeks usually carries a 20–30% premium
What shouldn't drive the cost up
Some line items appear on agency proposals that aren't really yours to pay for. Worth pushing back on:
Stock-asset markups
If a font costs USD 200 to license, it costs USD 200. Not USD 800 because it's "included in the package."
Endless revision rounds priced as "included"
Two or three rounds of structured feedback, yes. "Unlimited revisions," no — that's how projects drag for months. Good agencies cap rounds and explain why.
Strategy decks you'll never use
Some agencies pad with 80-page strategy documents nobody reads. Ask what's actually going to inform the design and what's there to justify the invoice.
Red flags in agency pricing
- Quotes given without a written brief or scope conversation
- Identity packages priced under QAR 10,000 — almost always a template
- "Bilingual" projects where the Arabic deliverable is 1–2 pages and the English is 60
- No timeline, no milestones, just a single number and a payment schedule
- Fee structure that's 100% upfront — most reputable studios stage it 30/40/30 or similar
How we scope it
We start with a written brief, ranges per tier we can hit, milestones tied to deliverables, and a fixed price once scope is locked. Bilingual is in scope by default — not an add-on. Two structured revision rounds are included; further rounds are billed transparently. The point isn't to be the cheapest. It's to be the agency that doesn't surprise you on invoice day.