A logo that works small
Delivered in the formats you will actually need — vector for print and signage suppliers, transparent PNG for documents, and square and circular crops that survive being shrunk into a profile picture without turning to mush.
Branding · Pretoria, South Africa
A branding company in Pretoria that finishes the job.
Most small businesses do not need another logo file sitting in a downloads folder. They need the whole set — the logo, the colours, the fonts, the documents, the posts — built once, built to match, and handed over with rules for using it. That is what this studio does, from R2 500 to R11 000, on a fixed price agreed before anything starts.
Working with a studio nearby
Based in Pretoria, working across South Africa.
AC Doughworks is a one-designer studio in Pretoria, Gauteng. If you are in Pretoria, Centurion or Midrand, the first session can happen in person — which for a lot of owners is the difference between explaining their business properly and filling in a form.
If you are further away, nothing changes except the meeting. The questionnaire, the design rounds and the handover all run over email and video calls, and clients across the rest of South Africa work exactly the same way. Being local is an option here, not a requirement.
What does not change either way: you deal with Andrea from the first message to the final file. There is no team to be handed between, and no junior doing the work after you have been sold to.
- Studio Pretoria, Gauteng
- In person Pretoria · Centurion · Midrand · Johannesburg
- Remote Anywhere in South Africa
- You work with Andrea Benninghoff, throughout
- Pricing Fixed, agreed in writing
What a branding company should actually hand over
Plenty of quotes stop at a logo. These are the pieces that decide whether the brand still looks like itself in six months, once you are the one using it.
Colours and type, fixed
A defined palette with the codes written down, and a font pairing for headings and body text. This is the single cheapest thing you can do to stop looking like a different business on every platform.
Documents you send to clients
A company profile, quote and invoice layouts, and a letterhead that matches the rest of it. Branding that stops at social media leaves the most important impression — the one attached to money — looking unbranded.
Content that fills the first month
Thirty social posts with captions and a posting calendar, so the account does not go quiet two weeks after launch. Consistency is a supply problem before it is a discipline problem.
A brand guide
The rules, in one file — spacing, what not to do to the logo, which colour goes where. This is what you hand a printer, a signage supplier or the next designer so the brand survives them.
A reason for all of it
Competitor analysis and a 90-day marketing strategy, so the design is pointed at a specific customer and a specific result rather than being decorated to taste.
Branding packages and prices
Four packages, each a complete step rather than a teaser. A 50% deposit starts the work and the balance is due on delivery. Revision rounds are agreed in writing before anything begins.
Starter Brand Kit
Everything a new business needs to look established on day one.
R2 500/ US$149
The essentials, done properly. A logo you own, the collateral to use it on, and a colour and type system so everything you make afterwards still looks like you.
- Logo
- Business card
- Email signature
- Brand colours
- Font pairing
- Instagram profile picture
- Facebook cover
Social Media Growth Kit
A month of content, planned, written and designed.
R4 500/ US$268
Thirty posts with captions, a calendar telling you exactly when to publish them, and the research behind why. You stop staring at an empty grid.
- Logo refresh (if needed)
- 30 social media posts
- 30 captions
- Story templates
- Reel covers
- 30-day posting calendar
- Posting guide
- Hashtag research
- Profile audit
Includes The Growth Blueprint
Business Launch Kit
Walk away with everything you need to launch professionally.
R6 500/ US$387
The Growth Kit plus the paperwork that makes a business look like a business — quotes, invoices, a company profile and a brand guide that keeps it all consistent.
Everything in the Growth Kit, plus:
- Company profile
- Invoice
- Quotation
- Letterhead
- Email signature
- Business card
- Brand guide
Includes The Growth Blueprint
Most complete
Business Pro Package
Ninety days of marketing direction, not just more design files.
R9 900/ US$589
Regular priceR11 000 / US$655Launch price — limited time
Competitor analysis, a full content roadmap, and a lead magnet built to generate leads on autopilot. This is the premium offer — you leave with a plan, not a folder.
Everything above, plus:
- Competitor analysis
- 90-day marketing strategy
- Marketing calendar
- Three months of content planning
- Marketing ideas tailored to the business
- Lead magnet design (e.g. a downloadable guide)
- Promotional campaign concepts
Includes The Growth Blueprint
Need something narrower than a full package — a logo refresh, extra social posts, a single document? Those run as add-on services from R250. Need the posting to keep going after launch? That is a monthly retainer from R2 500 / US$149 a month. Every package also includes the Growth Blueprint.
What this studio does not do
Worth saying plainly, because in South Africa the word "branding" covers two completely different trades and a lot of people arrive here looking for the other one.
- Vehicle branding, wraps and signage. Not offered. A signage and print supplier will do it better and cheaper than a design studio subcontracting it.
- Promotional items. Branded pens, mugs and clothing are a supplier relationship, not a design project. You will be given artwork that works on them.
- Large-format printing. Print-ready files, yes. The printing itself, no.
- Logos at template prices. If the budget is a few hundred rand, a template marketplace is the honest answer and there is no hard feeling in saying so.
What is left is the actual work: brand identity, marketing design, company documents, social content and strategy for small businesses that intend to still be trading in five years.
Questions people ask before starting
- Do you only work with businesses in Pretoria?
- No. The studio is based in Pretoria and that is where in-person sessions happen, but most projects run entirely over email and video calls. Clients across Gauteng and the rest of South Africa are the norm rather than the exception, and nothing in the process depends on you being nearby.
- Can we meet in person first?
- Yes, if you are in or near Pretoria. A first session can happen face to face in Pretoria, Centurion or Midrand, or over a video call if that is easier. Either way you are talking to the designer doing the work, not an account manager.
- What does branding cost in South Africa?
- Here, between R2 500 and R11 000 depending on how much you need. The Starter Brand Kit at R2 500 covers a logo, colours, fonts and a business card. The Business Pro Package covers the logo, thirty social posts, company documents, competitor analysis and a 90-day marketing strategy. Prices are fixed before the work starts, so the number you agree to is the number you pay.
- Do you do vehicle branding, signage or printing?
- No. In South Africa "branding" often means vehicle wraps, banners and promotional items, and this studio does none of those. The work here is brand identity and marketing design — logos, brand systems, social content, company documents and strategy. If you need a car wrapped, a signage or print supplier will serve you far better.
- What is the difference between a logo and branding?
- A logo is one asset. Branding is the system around it — the colour palette, the type pairing, how the two behave on a business card versus an Instagram post, and the rules that keep it consistent once other people start using it. Buying a logo on its own is why so many small businesses look different on every platform.
- How long does a branding project take?
- Between 5–7 business days and 14–21 business days, depending on the package. That clock starts once the deposit is paid and your brand questionnaire comes back, because the questionnaire is what the first round of design is built from.
More detail on process, payment and revisions is on the full FAQ.
Tell me what you are building.
A short message about the business and where it is stuck is enough to start. You will get an honest read on which package fits — including being told when the smallest one is plenty.