The Odd Hat Creative

“How much does design cost?” sounds like a simple question until somebody sends over the actual job. A logo sketched on a napkin and a brand identity that has to work across packaging, signage and digital channels are both called “logo design” in casual conversation. They are not the same piece of work.

There is no official Singapore rate card for graphic design, and I would be wary of any neat table pretending there is. Freelancers, studios and agencies price differently, and the useful question is usually not the market average. It is what the project actually requires.

What changes the price

Experience matters, but scope matters more. A straightforward artwork clean-up may take an hour. A packaging project can involve concept development, copy changes, dielines, several SKUs, printer requirements, colour checks and rounds of approval. A twelve-slide presentation can be a tidy formatting job or a week of rebuilding charts and visual hierarchy.

• How much already exists: starting from a clear brand system is different from starting with a folder called “final logos” containing fourteen unrelated files.
• Number of deliverables: one label is not the same as one master label plus eight variants.
• Production requirements: print, packaging and exhibition artwork carry technical constraints that social graphics do not.
• Revision structure: two coordinated rounds of feedback are very different from comments arriving separately from six stakeholders.
• Timeline: urgent work often means rearranging other commitments.
• Handover requirements: editable source files, templates, multiple formats and commercial usage may all affect the scope.

Some practical starting points

Rather than claim these are universal Singapore market rates, these are the sort of starting figures I use to frame smaller projects at The Odd Hat Creative. A proper quote still depends on the brief.

Type of work	Practical starting point
Small Design Rescue / artwork clean-up	from S$60
More involved layout or document rescue	roughly S$100–180
Simple label from existing branding	roughly S$200–350
Small-business starter design package	from around S$350
Packaging design	roughly S$400–800+ depending on complexity
Presentation clean-up / redesign	often S$250–600 depending on the deck
Production adaptations	quoted by volume, complexity or time

These figures are deliberately modest compared with agency engagements because the studio is small and the work is usually direct. They are also not bargain-platform prices. The aim is to charge enough time to do the job properly.

Why a S$50 job can become expensive

The cheapest version of a design is often perfectly adequate when the requirement is genuinely simple. Problems begin when a cheap solution is expected to do a complicated job.

A low-resolution logo might look fine on Instagram and become unusable when the business needs signage. A label assembled without a proper dieline may have to be rebuilt before the printer will accept it. A presentation can look acceptable on one laptop and fall apart when somebody else opens it because the fonts, images and master slides were never considered.

The hidden cost is not aesthetic embarrassment. It is paying twice, missing deadlines, reprinting material, or discovering that the source file cannot be edited when the price changes next month.

Where a small business should spend first

If the budget is limited, prioritise the things customers repeatedly see or the things that become expensive when they go wrong. Packaging, menus, quotations, proposals, presentations and core social templates often deserve attention before decorative extras.

I would also spend on a simple working identity system before commissioning a large pile of one-off graphics. A few clear rules make everything that follows cheaper and easier.

How to get a useful quote

The fastest way to get an accurate price is to show the designer what already exists and describe the final deliverables. “I need a brochure” is vague. “I have approved copy and photography and need a 12-page A4 brochure, print-ready PDF and editable source file by the end of the month” is quotable.

• Share existing artwork or brand guidelines.
• List the number and size of deliverables.
• Say whether copy and images are supplied or still need work.
• Give a realistic deadline.
• Explain who approves the project.
• If you have a budget ceiling, say so. A designer can often suggest a smaller scope rather than guessing.

The useful answer is usually scope, not price

Good design is not automatically expensive, and expensive design is not automatically good. What matters is whether the price matches the amount of thinking, making and production responsibility involved.

For a small business, I would rather see S$400 spent on the right four things than S$2,000 spread across fifteen things nobody particularly needs.