Brand strategy sheets and identity samples laid out on a table

Brand Identity

Identity designed as a system,not a set of files.

Brand identity from an Amsterdam studio: positioning, logo, visual identity and tone of voice, developed as one system and documented in guidelines, so your team applies the brand consistently wherever it appears.

Discuss your brand

ClientsArlin · Wind & Within · Room to Feel · Gönül Davet

Our approach

The strength of an identity is decided before the design starts.

Positioning determines what the brand needs to say. The identity determines how it is said, everywhere. We work in that order, so every visual decision has a reason your team can explain.

The three pillars of a brand

  • StrategyThe position the brand holds
  • ExpressionHow it looks, sounds and moves
  • SystemThe rules that keep it consistent

Scope

Positioning to rollout.

  • 01PositioningAudience, competitive landscape and the position the brand will hold.
  • 02Brand architectureHow the company, its products and sub-brands relate.
  • 03Verbal identityTone of voice, key messages and writing principles.
  • 04Visual identityLogo, typography, colour, imagery and iconography.
  • 05MotionAnimated logos and short website intros, so the brand moves as deliberately as it looks.
  • 06ApplicationsStationery, social, presentations and signage, designed in the new identity.
  • 07Guidelines & templatesA digital brandbook and the templates your team uses every day.
  • 08RolloutLaunch support and the handover of every source file.

Principles

Principles behind every identity.

The baseline of every identity we deliver. Each addresses a failure we see in most brands.

  • Strategy before styleNo design work starts until the positioning is signed off.AddressesDesign choices nobody can explain.
  • Built for useDesigned for the website, the invoice and the social post, not only the presentation.AddressesAn identity that only works on the mood board.
  • Tested where it livesChecked at small sizes, on screens and in motion before sign-off.AddressesA logo that fails as a favicon.
  • AccessibleColour and type combinations that meet contrast standards.AddressesA palette that fails on real screens.
  • DocumentedGuidelines and templates your team applies without us.AddressesA brand that drifts as the team grows.
  • Yours, all of itEvery source file and the full rights transferred at delivery.AddressesDepending on an agency for every file.

Starting point

The scope follows
where your brand stands.

  • Example · Threads, launched by Meta, 2023

    New brand

    Best for
    New ventures, spin-offs and launches without an existing identity.
    Less suited for
    Businesses with recognition worth keeping.
  • TransferWiseExample · TransferWise became Wise, 2021

    Rebrand

    Best for
    A business whose offer, audience or ambition has changed: after growth, a merger or a new direction.
    Less suited for
    A brand that is still right, but looks dated.
  • Example · Mastercard dropped its name, 2019

    Brand refresh

    Best for
    A brand whose strategy still holds, but whose look and voice have dated or become inconsistent.
    Less suited for
    A business that has changed what it offers or who it serves.

Not sure which fits? We advise on scope after a first conversation.

Discuss your brand

Process

A structured process with clear deliverables.

Five steps, each ending in something you can review and sign off.

  1. 01

    Discovery

    Interviews, brand audit, market and competitor research.

    DeliverableFindings brief

  2. 02

    Positioning

    Audience, position, values and narrative, agreed before design.

    DeliverableBrand platform

  3. 03

    Identity design

    Concept directions, one refined into the full visual and verbal identity, including motion.

    DeliverableIdentity system

  4. 04

    Guidelines

    Rules, examples and templates for daily use.

    DeliverableBrandbook and templates

  5. 05

    Launch & handover

    Applications, rollout plan and the complete asset library.

    DeliverableLaunch-ready brand

AI in our workflow

Designed by people.
Explored with AI.

AI broadens the early exploration and speeds up the testing of variations. Every concept, every refinement and every decision belongs to our designers.

  • Broader early exploration
  • Variations tested at scale
  • Contrast and legibility checks
  • Every decision made by our designers

Selected projects

View our work
FAQ

Frequently asked questions.

  • It depends on whether your position still holds. We assess this in the audit and advise before any design starts.

  • On scope: the depth of strategy, the number of identity components and the applications. You receive a detailed proposal after an initial conversation.

  • A refresh takes considerably less time than a new brand or a rebrand. The timeline is set per phase at kick-off.

  • Most at the start and at each sign-off: interviews, the positioning workshop and the reviews between steps.

  • The brand platform, the identity in all source formats, the brandbook and the agreed templates. All files and rights are yours.

  • Yes. Animated logos and short website intros, as part of the identity or as a separate project.

  • Yes. Our web development team applies the identity directly, so brand and site launch together.

  • To explore more directions early and test variations faster. The concepts and every decision are made by our designers.

You dream it, we build it

Walk in with an idea, walk out with a website that moves you and your business forward.

Contact us