Your company logo and visual identity
What a new business actually needs
A new business does not need a brand book. It needs a logo, a few colours, two typefaces and the discipline to use them consistently. That carries you surprisingly far — often through the first couple of years.
The practical minimum is short:
- A logo in three forms: horizontal, compact, and the mark on its own.
- A primary colour, an accent colour and a neutral grey.
- One typeface for headings and one for body text.
- A single page of guidance on how to use them.
What matters more than how the identity looks is that it is used the same way everywhere. The same logo, colours and typeface on the website, in the email signature, on the quote template and on the business card makes a small company look organised. Three different versions of the logo in three places does the opposite.
The most common overreach is spending thousands on an identity before the company knows what it sells and to whom. Do it well enough now and redo it properly later, once the business has settled.
Logo: which file formats you need
This is where people get stuck years later. Always insist on vector formats.
- SVG. For the web. Scales to any size without softening and stays light.
- AI or EPS. The original working file. Needed if the logo is ever edited or printed large.
- PDF. For printers and documents.
- PNG with a transparent background. For everyday use such as slides. At least two sizes.
If all you receive is a PNG or JPG, you do not really have a logo — you have a picture of one. It cannot be enlarged cleanly or edited, and every new use requires going back to the designer.
Ask for versions for light and dark backgrounds, plus a single-colour black version. You need the single-colour one more often than you would expect: stamps, engraving, forms and black-and-white printing.
Confirm the rights, too. The contract should state that copyright or usage rights in the logo transfer to the company. Without that you may not be free to modify the logo later without the original designer's permission.
Colours and typography
Three colours is enough: primary, accent and neutral. Record them as HEX codes so they stay identical across the website, slides and print.
Two things are worth checking immediately:
- Contrast. Light grey text on white looks elegant on a designer's monitor and is unreadable on a phone outdoors. Accessibility guidance asks for a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for body text, and that is a good rule even where it is not a legal requirement.
- Whether it survives in black and white. If the identity depends entirely on colour, it disappears in print.
For typography the simplest workable answer is one typeface for headings and one for body. Google Fonts covers most needs and is free. Avoid paid typefaces at the start, because licensing them for web use is separate and easily overlooked.
Keep body text at 16 pixels or larger. Smaller text looks refined in a mockup and tires the reader in real use.
What a logo costs in Finland
Prices vary enormously, and every tier is justified in some situation.
- AI tools and logo generators: 0–100 euros. Fast and usable, but rarely distinctive, and vector files are often missing.
- Freelancer or student: 200–800 euros. The best value for a new business. Confirm vector files and rights.
- Experienced designer: 800–2,500 euros. Usually includes several concepts, versions for different uses and short guidelines.
- Agency and full brand identity: 3,000–15,000 euros. Includes research, concept work and extensive guidelines.
For a new business the 200–800 euro band is usually right. It produces a clean, usable identity without tying up capital that sales and production need.
When it is worth paying more
In a few situations the larger investment pays for itself:
- The brand is the product. In consumer goods, restaurants and retail the identity is part of what you sell.
- You compete against established players. If customers compare you with a large, well-known company, a cheap identity emphasises the gap.
- You work in a field where trust drives the purchase. Finance, healthcare and law are the obvious examples.
- You are planning wide application. Vehicle wraps, packaging, signage and workwear demand a more carefully considered mark than web use alone.
The reverse also holds: if you sell a service to a familiar customer base and decisions rest on referrals and competence, a good-enough identity genuinely is enough. Spend the difference on photographs of your own work — in most sectors those convince more than a logo.
Read also
- [kotisivut aloittavalle yritykselle](/blogi/kotisivut-aloittavalle-yritykselle)
A good-enough identity used consistently beats a beautiful one used loosely. Secure the vector files and the rights, record the colours and typefaces on one page, and use the same set everywhere. See the full package: [digital presence for a new business from one partner](/aloittavalle-yritykselle).
Book a free call
If you want the logo, colours, website and the rest of your digital presence produced as one coherent set, [book a free call](/yhteystiedot) and we will go through your situation in 30 minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
What does a logo cost for a new business?
For a new business 200–800 euros is usually the right band: that buys a clean, usable mark with vector files from a freelancer or an experienced student. An established designer typically charges 800–2,500 euros, and an agency 3,000–15,000 for a full brand identity. The larger investment mainly pays off when the brand is the product itself or you are competing against well-known incumbents.
Which file formats should I get the logo in?
Always insist on vector: SVG for the web, AI or EPS as the original working file, PDF for print, plus PNG with a transparent background for everyday use. If all you receive is a PNG or JPG you have a picture of a logo rather than a logo — it cannot be enlarged cleanly or edited. Also ask for light and dark background versions and a single-colour black version, and make sure the contract transfers the rights to your company.
Does a new business need a brand book?
No. One page of guidance is enough: logo versions, colours as HEX codes, two typefaces and a short note on usage. A full brand manual becomes useful only once several people are producing material across different channels. Early on, consistency matters more than the size of the document — the same logo, colours and typeface everywhere does more than thirty pages nobody reads.
Published · Updated · Kaspar Eevald
Bluefour – Helsinki digital agency | hello@bluefour.fi | +358 45 850 4236