Gold Transform Awards
Gold CityWealth Brand & Marketing Awards
Silver DBA Design Effectiveness Awards
People make decisions emotionally before they make them rationally, in B2B as much as B2C. Your brand identity is what makes them feel the right thing before they have read a word.
A brand identity is the complete visual expression of your brand: the logo, the typography, the colour palette, the imagery, the way those elements are applied across every touchpoint. Done well, it does not just look distinctive, it communicates exactly who you are and makes people feel confident about choosing you.
We create brand identities for organisations that are rebranding and for those that already have a clear strategy but need the visual system to match. In both cases, the identity starts with understanding, not aesthetics.
What makes a brand identity succeed
Most brand identities fail not because the design is bad but because the brief was wrong. Designers are given an incomplete picture of what the brand stands for. The result looks good in a presentation but does not hold up in the real world, on a website, in a pitch document, in a venue.
Our approach starts with immersion before aesthetics. We research the organisation, its people, its culture, its clients, its competitors, before we open a design tool. That immersion shapes every creative decision: the shapes we reach for, the palette we build, the typographic voice we choose.
The test of a brand identity is not how it looks at launch. It is whether it still works ten years later, when the context has completely changed.
When you need a new brand identity
01 / Your visual brand no longer reflects who you are
You have grown, changed or moved into new markets, and the identity has not kept up. It feels dated, misaligned or simply wrong. Time for a new one.
02 / You look like your competitors
Same colours, same typography, same stock photography. If your identity could belong to anyone in your sector, it is not doing its job. Distinctiveness is not a luxury; it is the point.
03 / Your identity does not work everywhere you need it
It looks fine on a business card but falls apart on a website, a presentation or a billboard. A properly designed identity system works consistently across every context and scale.
04 / You already have your strategy but need the identity to match
Some organisations come to us with clear positioning already in place, they know who they are, they just need the visual expression of it. We immerse ourselves in the strategy and build an identity that brings it to life.
What we do
Immersion and research
Interviews with leaders, clients and staff, plus a competitive visual audit, so we understand the organisation and its landscape before we start designing.
Creative development
Three distinct identity routes, each representing a different strategic interpretation of the brief, developed to a level that allows a genuine decision to be made.
Identity refinement
The chosen route developed fully, logo, typography, colour, graphic language, photography style, tested across real applications before it is finalised.
Brand guidelines
A comprehensive system document that tells everyone, internal teams, designers, printers, agencies, exactly how to use the brand correctly.
Application design
Stationery, signage, digital templates, pitch documents, social media assets, whatever the organisation needs to launch and use the identity from day one.
Max Fordham
A leading building services engineering practice with a reputation that its visual identity did not reflect. Our brief: create an identity that communicated Max Fordham’s genuine distinction, its engineering rigour, its culture and its commitment to sustainability, without looking like any other engineering firm. The rebrand helped drive measurable business growth. Revenue +15%. Profits +28%. New projects +60%.
Anthony Gold
A leading London law firm turning 50, with a reputation for complex, high-value work that its existing identity completely failed to convey. Our brief: shift perceptions from legal aid firm to a practice handling serious cases across personal injury, family, housing and commercial law. ‘The rebranding adds to our strength and gives the firm confidence.’ Turnover doubled.
Rank Prize
A new visual identity for one of the world’s most significant scientific prizes, built to give it the authority its standing deserved and the clarity to reach new audiences. The identity system was designed to work across print, digital, event environments and international communications from day one. Transform Awards winner.
Frequently asked questions
Do you always do strategy before identity?
Yes. We will not start identity design without a clear strategic foundation. If you already have your strategy in place, we immerse ourselves in it before we begin. If you do not, we develop it as the first phase of the project. Either way, the identity needs to be grounded in something real before it can be designed.
How many design routes do you present?
Three. Each route represents a genuinely different interpretation of the brief, not three variations on the same idea. The purpose is to have a real conversation about direction, not to get sign-off on a pre-decided outcome.
What is included in brand guidelines?
Everything needed to use the brand correctly and consistently: logo usage rules, colour specifications, typography, graphic language, photography style, tone of voice principles, and examples of correct and incorrect application. The level of detail depends on the complexity of the identity and the number of people who will be using it.
How long does a brand identity project take?
A full brand identity programme, including immersion, three creative routes, refinement, guidelines and key applications, typically takes four to six months. If it is part of a wider rebrand that includes strategy, website and tone of voice, allow six to nine months for the complete programme.
