Typical timelines
- Logo only — 1 to 2 weeks. Concepts in about a week, refinement after.
- Logo and guidelines — 3 to 4 weeks.
- Full brand identity — 4 to 8 weeks including applications.
- Identity with strategy and naming — 8 to 12 weeks.
- Full rebrand with rollout — 3 to 6 months, sometimes longer for multi-outlet businesses.
Rollout is the part people forget. Designing the new identity is a fraction of the work; replacing signage, packaging, uniforms, listings, documents and every existing asset is the rest.
Where the time actually goes
Discovery — 3 to 7 days
Business, audience, market, competitors, and what the brand has to achieve. Skipping this is the most common way projects run late, because the work has nothing to be judged against.
Direction — 5 to 10 days
Territories and concepts. Usually three directions, narrowed to one.
Refinement — 5 to 10 days
The chosen route developed properly. Two rounds of revisions is standard.
System and guidelines — 7 to 14 days
Colour, type, imagery, spacing, misuse, and the written rules.
Applications — varies enormously
Stationery is days. Packaging across a range is weeks. Signage depends on a fabricator you do not control.
Almost every late project was late because of approvals, not design.
The five things that cause delay
- Too many approvers. Three people with equal authority is the most reliable way to add a month.
- Slow feedback. A studio can turn a round in two days. If feedback takes ten, the timeline triples and none of it is production time.
- Scope added mid-project. "Can you also do the packaging" is a new project, not a revision.
- Content that does not exist yet. Design waits on copy, product photography and specifications more often than anyone expects.
- Vendors outside the project. Printers, fabricators and developers run on their own schedules.
How to keep it on schedule
Name one decision-maker before the project starts. Agree a feedback turnaround — 48 hours is reasonable. Consolidate comments into one response rather than sending them as they occur. And be honest at the brief about what does not exist yet, so it can be scheduled rather than discovered.
When to start
Work backwards from the date it has to be live. For a launch, a festive season or a funding round, start at least twice as far out as the design estimate — the second half is always rollout, printing and the things nobody listed.
Common questions
How long does logo design take?
One to two weeks for concepts and refinement, assuming feedback arrives promptly. Adding guidelines takes it to three or four weeks.
How long does a full rebrand take?
Three to six months including rollout. The design phase is usually six to twelve weeks; the rest is replacing existing assets across every touchpoint.
Can branding be done faster?
Yes, with a narrower scope, one decision-maker and fast feedback. Rush delivery is possible at a premium, but compressing discovery usually costs more later than it saves.
Want a number for your project?
Tell us the scope and we come back within 12 hours with a written quote — or an honest answer that we are not the right fit.
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