Choosing an agency means choosing a partner for 2–3 months of intense work and for years of your brand's life. A mistake costs not only money but the time spent redoing it. These questions filter out 80% of problems before you start.
About cases and experience
1. Do you have cases in my niche or an adjacent one?
Not necessarily the same category, but the same sales logic: supermarket shelf, B2B negotiations, food delivery, healthcare. Look at the portfolio filtered by industry — if there is no filter, that is already a signal.
2. Can I talk to a client from a case?
An agency confident in its work will give you a contact. A refusal is a reason to be careful.
3. Who exactly will work on the project?
The founder often presents while an intern does the work. Ask for the team composition and the art director's experience.
About the process
4. What are the stages and what do I get after each?
The right answer sounds like a list: brief and analysis → strategy → concepts → refinement → brand book → supervision. If the answer is "we will make it beautiful", there is no process.
5. How many concepts and how many revisions?
The norm: 3 concepts, revisions on the chosen one until the result within the stage. A "3 revisions" limit on a logo is a trap for extra charges.
6. Do you check the name for registrability?
A name not checked against the Kazpatent database is a time bomb. A good agency checks before the presentation.
7. What happens if deadlines slip?
Liability belongs in the contract, not in promises.
About the result
8. In what form are source files delivered?
Vector (AI/SVG/PDF), all logo versions, fonts with a licence or a link to one, colour profiles. "We will send a PNG" is unacceptable.
9. Who owns the rights?
After payment — you, fully, with no usage restrictions. This must be a separate clause in the contract.
10. Is there author supervision?
The first print, the first sign, the first website — moments where everything can go wrong. Find out in advance whether supervision is included or paid separately.
About money
11. What is included in the price and what is "on request"?
Compare the contents, not the final figures. 600,000 ₸ for a logo without a brand book may turn out more expensive than 900,000 ₸ for the full package.
12. How is payment structured?
Staged is the norm: an advance, then payment per closed stage. 100% prepayment with no stages is a risk.
Red flags
- A portfolio of mock-ups only, with no real implementations.
- A price named before the brief.
- No questions about your business at the first meeting.
- A promise of "a unique logo in 3 days".
- No contract, or a contract with no deadlines.
How to compare two proposals
Make a table: stages, number of concepts, brand book contents, carriers, supervision, timelines, rights, payment. Mark yes/no on each row. It usually becomes obvious at once that the "cheap" proposal is half the work.
