Graphic Design in Thembisa

There are three tiers everywhere: crowdsourced/marketplace design at the low end, freelance designers in the middle, and studios/agencies at the top. Price tracks the deliverable, the designer's experience, and how many concepts and revision rounds you get — a $50 logo and a $2,000 logo are buying very different processes and rights.

Use a marketplace (Fiverr, 99designs) for a fast, cheap one-off where brand consistency doesn't matter much. Hire a freelancer for a defined project with a real conversation about your brand. Pay agency rates when you need strategy, multiple assets and accountability under one roof. Most small businesses start freelance and stay there.

You should — insist the contract transfers copyright on final payment and that you receive the editable source files (AI, PSD, Figma), not just flattened JPEGs. Font licensing can be separate. Designer-retained source files are the most common lock-in trap: without them, every future edit routes back through the original designer.

Two to three revision rounds per deliverable is the industry standard, stated in the brief or contract. 'Unlimited revisions' sounds generous but signals weak process and projects that stall. Consolidate all your feedback into each round rather than drip-feeding, and you'll get a better result faster.

A logo is one mark; a brand identity is the whole system — logo variations, colour palette, typography, and usage guidelines that keep everything consistent. If you only ever need one graphic, buy a logo. If you'll produce ongoing materials, the identity package pays for itself by keeping every future asset on-brand.

Freelancers typically charge R300-800/hr, with logos commonly R2,500-12,000 and brand-identity packages R12,000-50,000+. Cape Town and Joburg studios sit at the top; skilled independents undercut them.