PRICING + PROCESS

Whether you're launching a new business or refining an established one, a thoughtful visual identity creates recognition, builds trust, and helps your business stand apart.

Partnering with businesses that value thoughtful craftsmanship and timeless design, I create visual identities, packaging, and merchandise that are built to last. Each project is shaped by the story it needs to tell. Sometimes that means leaning heavily into nostalgia and heritage; other times it calls for a cleaner, more contemporary approach. The objective is always the same: create a visual identity that feels authentic, memorable, and built to last.

THE PROCESS

Every project begins with understanding your business, audience, and goals. From there, I research vintage ephemera for inspiration, develop ideas through hand sketching and digital illustration, and refine typography with carefully selected or custom lettering. Through collaboration and thoughtful iteration, each project is shaped into a visual identity that feels both distinctive and purposeful.

THE GOAL

The objective is simple: equip your business with the tools needed to move forward confidently.

Whether that's a comprehensive brand guideline document and logo library, production-ready packaging files, or apparel artwork complete with vendor-ready specifications, every project concludes with organized, practical assets that are ready for real-world use.

Explore each service below to learn more about the process, deliverables, and package options.

BRAND DEVELOPMENT

A thoughtful visual identity does more than make a business look good — it creates recognition, builds trust, and communicates who you are before a single word is spoken. A cohesive brand helps customers distinguish you from competitors and creates consistency across every interaction with your business.

At Joseph Ernst Design Studio, each identity is designed to feel distinctive, enduring, and versatile, combining heritage-inspired aesthetics with the flexibility modern brands require. Whether applied to packaging, apparel, signage, websites, or social media, the goal is always the same: create a visual system that feels authentic to your business and stands the test of time.

To accommodate businesses at different stages, three branding packages are available:

CORE

Build a professional brand identity.

A strong foundation for businesses ready to establish a cohesive visual identity, including a complete logo suite, color palette, typography, and essential brand guidelines.

CORE PLUS

Explore more creative possibilities before deciding.

Ideal for businesses comparing multiple directions, evaluating potential names, or simply wanting additional creative exploration before committing to a final identity.

COMPREHENSIVE

Create a complete brand system your business can use consistently for years.

Designed for established businesses seeking a more strategic foundation, with expanded brand guidelines, brand strategy, and supporting collateral to ensure consistency across every customer touchpoint.

Compare the packages below to determine which option best fits your business:

  • Best for new businesses looking to start off on the right foot, or businesses that are considering their visual brand identity for the first time.

    SERVES AS THE BASE FOR ALL PACKAGES

    Discovery & Strategy

    We'll kick things off with a discovery call to learn about your business, goals, audience, and vision. This conversation helps ensure the work is rooted in strategy—not just aesthetics.

    Project Proposal & Scheduling

    You'll receive a project agreement outlining the scope of work, deliverables, investment, and estimated timeline.

    A 50% deposit secures your place on the project calendar.

    Brand Identity Concepts

    We'll develop two distinct brand directions for you to review, each presented with a complete logo system, including:

    • Primary Logo

    • Secondary Logo

    • Horizontal Logo

    • Brand Icon

    • Supporting marks, where appropriate

    Each concept is presented with mockups and context to demonstrate how the identity could live in the real world.

    Refinement

    Once you've selected a preferred direction, we'll refine the identity based on your feedback to ensure it feels polished and aligned with your vision.

    Color Palette

    We'll develop a thoughtfully curated color palette that supports your brand personality while providing flexibility across print and digital applications.

    One round of revisions is included.

    Typography

    We'll select complementary typefaces and establish a typography system that works seamlessly with your logo across websites, packaging, signage, social media, and other marketing materials.

    Brand Guidelines

    You'll receive a concise brand guide covering:

    • Logo usage

    • Color specifications

    • Typography

    • Clear space & sizing

    • Basic usage recommendations

    This serves as a reference to help maintain consistency as your brand grows.

    Final Files

    Your finished brand assets will be organized and delivered in industry-standard formats for both print and digital use, including common production-ready file types.

    Future export requests for specialty vendors or production needs are always available.

  • For brands exploring multiple directions (or deciding between potential names) the Core Package Plus option offers additional creative exploration before narrowing in on a final identity.

    Everything included in the Core Package, plus:

    • One additional brand identity direction (three total concepts)

    • One additional color palette exploration (two total palettes)

  • Designed for established businesses looking to build a cohesive brand system that scales across every customer touchpoint.

    Everything included in the Core and Core Plus Packages, as well as:

    Brand Strategy Workshop

    We'll kick off with a deeper strategy session to define the foundation behind your visual identity, including:

    • Business & project goals

    • Brand values

    • Brand personality

    • Audience positioning

    • Tone of voice

    • Key messaging themes

    • Brand keywords

    Comprehensive Brand Guidelines

    Receive an expanded brand standards guide that documents both your visual identity and brand strategy, making it easy to maintain consistency as your business grows.

    This guide includes:

    • Brand positioning

    • Logo usage

    • Color system

    • Typography

    • Voice & messaging guidance

    • Visual best practices

    Essential Brand Collateral

    We'll design foundational business materials, including:

    • Business Card

    • Letterhead

    Custom Brand Applications

    We'll collaborate to develop additional branded materials tailored to your business, such as:

    • Packaging

    • Menus

    • Merchandise

    • Social templates

    • Signage

    • Presentation decks

    • Marketing collateral

    (Scope determined based on your business needs.)

  • Various branding guidelines and logo designs for Flor de Maguey, including typography, color palette, and application mockups.
  • Collection of various logo designs for the Fire Cured Festival in Springfield, Tennessee, featuring images of flames and text with different arrangements and fonts.
  • A collection of brand guidelines for Blueprint Wealth with a navy and white color scheme, including logo concepts, color palette, typography, and branding tools.
  • Collection of branding and marketing materials for Duck River Mental Health, including logo examples, color palette, typography, merchandise, and digital branding elements.
  • Multiple logo designs for Understory Gardens, featuring text and a green floral emblem on a beige background.
  • Multiple logo designs for 'Cast & Carve,' a company that makes custom ware. The logos include text and graphics, with some featuring trees and circular or rectangular arrangements on a dark blue background.
  • Collection of six different logo designs for 'Cabinets on Main' in Lexington, Kentucky, featuring various arrangements of text and a monogram 'C M'.
  • Brand guidelines document with sections on values, audience, mission, traits, about us, and logo for Westican Outdoors, featuring a dark logo on a black background.

MERCH GRAPHICS
$850/ea.
3+ $700/ea.

Looking to commission custom illustration for retail merchandise? Bespoke hat patch design? Or full-scale mural design? I always enjoy tackling projects involving custom illustration and hand-lettering to nail that vintage-yet-timeless aesthetic and create your next best-seller.

Merch graphic fees include an initial sketch for review, tweaks, and approval, prior to tackling refined artwork.

Final deliverables include tech packs with dimensions and specified Pantone colors.

  • Custom merch graphic for 'Duck Camp' with an illustration of a duck flying, gold background, black and white text.
  • Illustration of a wilderness scene with a large deer with antlers, a duck swimming in water, flying birds, and a smaller deer among trees, labeled "Sitka".
  • Vintage style graphic of a bird flying with outstretched wings, with the text "Sitka Gear, Dallas, TX, US" surrounding it, set against a dark background.
  • Pattern of promotional flyers for the Nash to Naples Songwriter Fest in Naples, Florida, featuring a sunrise over the ocean with a guitar shape and clouds, in orange, white, and blue colors.
  • Red and white sign with the text "Tom's 4x4 Superstore Chattanooga Tenn." on a dark background.
  • Illustration of a wood duck, flying against the outline of the state of Georgia, with the text 'Sitka' vertically along the bird's body. The background is green.
  • Logo for Lake Winnie Fishing Club featuring a lure illustration on a green background with the club name and establishment year 1925.
  • Merch graphic commemorating the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby for Bullet Bourbon, with a stylized horse and jockey illustration.
  • Vintage-style graphic with the text 'Greetings from Bowen Lodge, Deer River, Minnesota' on a terra cotta background. Postcard-style block letters with nature and wildlife scenes inside, including a fish, bird, campfire, cabin, and animals.
  • Logo for Duck Camp with bold orange and black text reading 'Duck Camp', and smaller text below advertising outdoor goods, premium hunt, fish, and outdoor gear, with a slogan 'Every Cast and Every Blast'.

PACKAGE DESIGN

Quoted on Per-project Basis

In today's crowded marketplace, countless brands are jockeying for your customers’ attention. Investing in well-designed packaging can make a remarkable difference in the minds of your consumer. By embracing the timeless appeal and nostalgia of vintage aesthetics, your packaging can resonate with customers on a deeper emotional level.

Let’s create a packaging experience that not only showcases your product, but also conveys a unique story, creating a lasting impression.

Package design projects include the following services:

• Overall layout tailored to production specifications

• Typography selection and layout

• Illustration

• Custom lettering

• Color direction including Pantone specification

• Two rounds of revision

• Final production artwork formatting

  • Close-up of a blue coffee bag design for Blade and Boy bourbon barrel-aged coffee, with gold text and a seal logo, on a wooden surface.
  • Multiple cans of Towerhouse farm brewery Joyride India Pale Ale with a green label and black tractor illustration.
  • A bottle of Place of Origin beer and a filled beer glass on a wooden table outdoors, with a blurred background of a building and windows.
  • Close-up image of a beer bottle with a label that has a large strawberry illustration and the words 'Strawberry Saison' written on it, with additional decorative strawberry illustrations in the background.
  • A black bag of coffee with a green label that reads 'Coffee First and Then Sawdust,' with notes about cocoa nibs, lemon, brown sugar, and cream, and a website link to drinksawdust.com.
  • A bottle of Peach Saison beer by Harding House Brewing Co. with a label featuring a peach illustration with green leaves and the text "Peach Saison" in a white handwritten style.
  • Red can of Jimmy Red Southern Steam Lager brewed with heirloom corn by Harding House Brewing, featuring an illustration of a red corn cob on a black background.
  • Three bags of Sawdust Coffee Co. coffee with different roast levels, a steaming coffee mug with the text "Coffee First and Then Sawdust," and a coffee grinder pouring brewed coffee into the mug on a wooden surface.
  • Four cans of Joybier American craft lager inside a refrigerator, with one can tilted leaning against the side of the fridge.

Ready to inquire about a project?

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