12 Famous UK logos with their price tags!!

Jun 3, 2010 | Categories: Corporate Logos | Written By: Sam Anderson
 

A logo design is an integral part of the branding process, as it can help carve out a memorable corporate brand. This is the reason corporations are now diverting heaps of funds towards brand identity development. More and more money is now being spent on the creation of corporate logos and redesigns. But the amount is mostly justified by the novelty of logo design ideas and the strength of logo design process used by designers.

However, not all valuable brands were built out of expensive logo designs. We all are familiar that the price paid for the Nike Swoosh was a paltry $35, but the same logo is now the basis for one of the most successful brands in the corporate world. Same is the case with the logos in the UK market. Although the cost and price of corporate logos are not usually disclosed to the public, I strived to locate the prices of as many logos as possible from the UK.

Here are the prices of 10 logo designs from UK market that I managed to find.

 
OCG logo
LiverPool logo
Logo: Office of Government of Commerce
Designer: FHD
Year: 2008
Logo: Liverpool City
Designer: Finch Design Agency
Year: 2009
   
British Petroleum  logo
Compassion in World Farming logo
Logo: British Petroleum
Designer:  -
Year: 2008
Logo: Compassion in World Farming
Designer: Think Cons. & Taylor McKenzie
Year: 2008
   
BBC3 logo
Staffordshire County Council logo
Logo: BBC3
Designer: Lambie-Nairn Agency
Year: 2008
Logo: Staffordshire County Council
Designer:  -
Year: 2008
   
London 2012 Olympics logo
Burnley logo
Logo: London 2012 Olympics
Designer: Wolff Ollins
Year: 2007
Logo: Burnley
Designer: Burnley Vision Board
Year: 2009
   
Belfast City logo
National Health Services  logo
Logo: Belfast City
Designer: Lloyd Northover Agency
Year: 2009
Logo: National Health Services
Designer:  -
Year: 2008
   
Lothian and Borders Police logo
Glasgow 2014 Games logo
Logo: Lothian and Borders Police
Designer:  -
Year: 2008
Logo: Glasgow 2014 Games
Designer: Marque Agency
Year: 2010
   
 
Please feel free to correct any inadvertent errors in the above figures. Also if you are familiar with the prices of any other UK logos, do share with us.
 

40 Appreciated comments to “12 Famous UK logos with their price tags!!”

  1. LukeSF Says:

    Impressive :)
    By the way, am I missing smth or why Office of Government of Finance (OGF) has the OGC in the logo?

  2. Tømme Says:

    Staggering! I think I’ll adjust my pricing from now on :p

  3. b333 Says:

    Its actually – The Office of Government Commerce.

    Rotate the logo 90 degrees clockwise, suddelnly its priceless

  4. mallchin Says:

    Turn the OGC logo clockwise 90 degrees.

  5. Dan Says:

    It refers to who actually paid for the logo. You will see that the BBC Three logo is also for ‘OGF’.

  6. Alan Says:

    Spin the OGC logo 90 degrees clockwise, and what do you see?

  7. agent99 Says:

    As a graphic designer I am quite frankly disgusted. I think I could do better in my sleep. Why don’t these big corporations open up the design to the public as a competition. There is no better way to create ownership and pride in a company if it supports the customers it services. Take the London Olympic games for example, the logo designs that the general public submitted out of disgust at the logo were far more suited to the event.

  8. Nathan Says:

    It now has the BBC Three logo…

  9. Pipswanted.com Says:

    Wow! I wonder how much would cost logo to my site :-)

  10. basse Says:

    Cos if you turn your head sideways it looks like….

  11. mik Says:

    @LuckSF: OGC has to be a joke (turn your head sideways).

    You’ve not labelled the BBC one correctly – and does that cost cover all their logs or just BBC 3? Same goes for the NHS.

  12. lollercoaster Says:

    if you turn your head to the side the OGC logo looks likes a stick figure jerking off….. lollz

  13. Jason Says:

    I have to say lollercoaster has a point…

    On a serious note, why do companies pay so much for a design. If the Nike Swoosh was only $35 and is so successful, why do companies need to even pay anything near £1000, let alone BP’s stupendous £4.6million. I’d say that was a needless waste of money, when perhaps my art student cousin could have done something along those lines for a twenty, in his homework…

  14. Valtorc Valves Says:

    Wow, BP really paid a lot for that logo. I agree with Jason, Nike logo was 35 bucks, and BP is paying MILLIONS? Give me a break!

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  16. scamster Says:

    12 grand to 60 next to the NHS logo, 4.6 million for bp. I’m in the wrong racket, where do I sign up to submit my childish scribbles?

  17. Sam Anderson Says:

    Thanks everyone for the comments.. sorry for the logo title slip-ups

    @LukeSFr @mik…thanks for pointing out the mistakes. They have been fixed now.

  18. 12 Famous UK logos with their price tags!! Says:

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  19. The Most 12 Famous UK logos with their price tags!! | All Mint No Hole Says:

    [...] A logo design is an integral part of the branding process, as it can help carve out a memorable corporate brand. This is the reason corporations are now diverting heaps of funds towards brand identity development. Read ahead [...]

  20. Torben Says:

    @ Jayson:
    “On a serious note, why do companies pay so much for a design. If the Nike Swoosh was only $35 and is so successful, why do companies need to even pay anything near £1000, let alone BP’s stupendous £4.6million. I’d say that was a needless waste of money, when perhaps my art student cousin could have done something along those lines for a twenty, in his homework…”

    Sure, why don’t you tell your boss that you start working for $ 5 / hr? He would be happy and maybe the company would profit from this.

  21. The Most 12 Famous UK logos with their price tags!! « Anacristina79's Blog Says:

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  22. Tardigrade Says:

    It’s not the complexity and creativity of logo design work, but the revenue of the company that needs the new logo, and maybe the urgency of making the new logo.

  23. CAVLENT brands Says:

    This article is so informative and inspiring. And also reminds us to pay attention on A to Z points for designing a logo. Without it, brands might have a negative perception (learn from OGC). Thanks for sharing =D

    Regards,
    CAVLENT brands

  24. Web Design Lou Says:

    Oh dear Burnley seriously made an error. But at least they got a good deal.

  25. jdhobbs Says:

    I don’t mean to be rude, but I feel that some of the views expressed here (e.g. Jason) seem to come from people who simply don’t understand the design process that happens behind the scenes.

    Although I don’t agree with price-tags of this magnitude, I will back up brand designers to no end.

    The brand of a company is essentially their life-force, it has to encompass everything they are, do and will be; to me at least, I see that as a terribly big responsibility to take on.

    Yes, essentially all that supplied is the logo…but it doesn’t just simply appear from nowhere. Research and client correspondence, paper iterations of ideas, carrying the idea onto screen and then the laborious process of refining and polishing that idea.

    I’m not a brand designer myself (Front-End Developer), but I see my fellow colleagues (inc. 2 brand designers) slaving over the creation of new brands.

    The bottom line is, that time has to be billed.

    And by the way, the Nike Logo probably cost $35 because it’s ‘inspired’ from Newport Cigarettes.

  26. orlando web design Says:

    I like how the OGC one looks like a man jerking off when you tilt your head to the left.

  27. sheena Says:

    Absolutely ridiculous price tags for a brand/identity design!!

    Seriously, where would any design studio or freelancer get off charging millions for a brand? I always believed you should get paid for the hours and work put in, not based on who you’re designing it for.

    How many decades did it take to design the BP Logo then to justify an invoice of 4.6 million? Honestly??

    Some serious rip-offs going on there :)

  28. Michael Lynch Says:

    Keep in mind this money didn’t strictly go towards the hours spent illustrating. The reason these are so expensive is because of the research and consulting that goes into them along with the attention the agency gives to the client.

    Think of where and how these logos will be seen. Also think of what they will or will not do for the company in the long run. Suddenly the logo steps outside the actual design work.

    That’s the difference between a logo and a brand.

  29. J.Pink Logo Design Says:

    If you feel the prices above are unjustified, you simply need to educate yourself on the benefits successful branding brings to a company or organization.

    The fact that businesses spend billions on marketing & design should be proof enough that it works.

    Logo design, graphic design, celebrity endorsements, branding, advertising et al – they are all investments. £400k for a logo may seem a lot because your incorectly viewing it as an expense rather than an investment.

    Investments make money.

  30. J.Pink Logo Design Says:

    I would also add that the prices you see thrown around here and in papers isn’t ever the true cost. BP is a good example – the £4.5 Million is actually the cost of the market research behind the rebranding, not a reflection of time spent conceptualizing an idea.

    You must also consider the impact of a large rebarnding for a company teh size of BP, they had to have everything rebranded from oil rig worker uniforms to business cards to truck livery.

  31. Super8 Says:

    “My kid could do that for his homework”

    Oh yeah?

    Sure, a kid with a crayon might scribble a blob and hey, that’s cool.

    But you have to keep telling him not to use the red crayon because that’s the competitors colour. Or the blue, that’s too bank. And the yellow is too soft.

    Then you have to tell him that it won’t work in mono because there’s too many gradations.

    Then you have to tell him to tidy up the type because nobody can read it. And then it has to be done in three languages because it’s a global brand with a tagline.

    Then he has to do a version that works with embroidery and seating covers and food packaging.

    After all that he needs to manage a team of 20 designers and artworkers to assemble all the hard and soft legacy communications collateral and re-brand everything before the launch deadline which has been moved forward to coincide with the annual report so they can show the design illiterate accountants what they spent the money on.

    And all this while needing a big poo and then a play with Ben 10.

  32. Designer Says:

    People who know nothing about how graphic design and branding works, shouldn’t comment on how much it costs because you don’t know what you’re talking about.

  33. Ricky_Designer Says:

    Brand Name and Logo Design is crucial part of Branding and Re-branding. It consist of special process and thorough research work. So don’t think of high cost.

  34. Lucy Says:

    You don’t make it clear whether these price tags are just for logo design or for the re-branding process. Brand research and development can be a lengthy and expensive process, but even more costly is the ‘roll-out’ of a new brand – especially for a global corporation (just think of the cost of producing printed materials, signage etc for an organisation with thousands of sites around the world). It would be good to know exactly what these figures represent and the sources of your information.

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  37. Jeff Gillan Logo Design Says:

    The naivety shown in some of the comments on this page really is quite embarrassing. Of course, the selection is geared towards perceived public ‘failures’, rather than fair comparison, but this is only to be expected…

    Sadly, none of the price tags are actually correct. The fees shown will equate to the entire project, including research, usage guidelines and implementation, as well as numerous other elements of the corporate identity/branding exercise. As JDHobbs and JPink have correctly indicated above, none of the above clients paid for simply the ‘end product’.

    Of course you won’t display this message AGAIN as you KNOW you are misrepresenting the facts.

  38. Sam Anderson Says:

    @Jeff Gillian… Let me remind you that I clearly mentioned at the end of the post:
    “Please feel free to correct any inadvertent errors in the above figures.”
    Of course I would display your message like I approved the rest of the negative comments as I have always encouraged feedback from my readers.

    As for the rest of my readers…Please let me remind you that the facts shown here are all from the internet, I simply compile them for your leisure. Any mistakes and errors are purely inadvertent and you are free to correct them.

  39. John Saymer Says:

    The budgets here will obviously depend on the time the development takes but also the value of the IP or Intellectual Property. It is right that BP should pay a fortune for their rebranding because their brand is staggeringly profitable.

    But even so the BP logo will have taken many months even years to rebrand, they have to create many versions to begin with. Then the brand guidelines as to how it applied on everything from literature to petrol pumps all over the world. its not just about creating a little pattern and then saying there you go..

    Whoever said “my nephew at art school could do one of his squiggles..” needs a kick in the head

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