"Papyrus?" I asked.
"YES! Oh! It is such a poor choice for a logo! And it's awful on a sign: the stroke is so thin and ragged. But do you know what I hate more? Is when a sign maker just uses any old font and then two months later the business owner realizes they need a logo, and I get called in, and then they have a design that might or might not fit their signage!"
It's true that a fair proportion of folks opening a storefront don't have a logo or a designer. They know they need a sign, but they don't know they need consistent branding even more. In my experience perhaps half of the business owners are trying to launch before they have their logo and collateral.
Depending upon the expected clientèle, a start-up business opening a brick and mortar should budget between $2k and $10k for design. An excellent designer will create a cohesive, consistent, communicative brand with a logo, colors, collateral templates, and usage guidelines, so the business owner can get signs, business cards, webpages, and print collateral.
