What branding agencies actually offer

Every agency says it does strategy, identity and “digital”. We read 46 agency websites to see what they really list and what their case studies show. Use it to check the services you need and to know what to ask before you sign.

What to check before you hire

  • Ask who builds the website. 76.1% of agencies list website design, but only 43.5% say they also develop sites themselves. Another 30.4% don’t say either way. If you need a live site, ask whether the build is done in-house, by a partner or left to you. It changes the timeline and the budget.
  • Need brand, website and product UI from one team? That narrows the list fast. Only 41.3% list visual identity, website design and product or UI design together. If your app has to change with the brand, filter for all three below. Otherwise, plan for a handover between two agencies.
  • Check that naming is a real service, not an add-on. 73.9% mention naming. Ask to see names the agency created that are still in use, and whether trademark screening is included.
  • Ask for results from similar projects. Only 17.4% of recent case studies give a number for the result, such as sales, sign-ups or traffic. 34.1% of agencies show one in their latest three. Most portfolios show what the work looks like, not what it did, so ask in the pitch.
  • Ask when the work shipped and who did it. 23.5% of case studies give a launch year and 37.9% name the team. Check that the projects you like are recent and that the people behind them still work there.
  • Sound and spaces are specialist work. Only 26.1% offer sonic branding and 69.6% environments or wayfinding. For those, start with our sonic branding and brand experience guides.

Find agencies that offer what you need

Tick the services you need. The table keeps only agencies that list all of them on their own website. Names link to the guide where we review them.

46 agencies

AgencyStrategyNamingTone of voiceIdentityMotionPackagingSpacesResearchWeb designWeb buildProduct UISound
&WalshNew York●●●●●●●·●·●·
Adams DesignBoston●●●●··●·●●··
Blok DesignToronto●●●●·●●·●●··
Chermayeff & Geismar & HavivNew York·●·●●·●·····
COLLINSNew York●●●●●●·●●·●·
DixonBaxiLondon●●●●●·●·●·●●
FerroconcreteLos Angeles●·●●·●··●···
Firebelly DesignChicago●●●●●●●●●●··
FurtherLondon●●●●●·●●●·●●
FÖDAAustin●···········
GretelNew York●·●●●·●●●···
How&HowLondon●●●●●··●●●●·
Jones Knowles RitchieLondon●●●●●●●·●·●·
KaleidoscopeChicago●●·●·●·●····
Kinetic SingaporeSingapore···●●·●·●·●·
KotoLondon●●●●●·●●●·●●
LavaAmsterdam●●●●●··●●●●·
LippincottNew York●●●●●●●●●●●·
Los YorkLos Angeles···●●······●
ManualSan Francisco●●●●●●●●●●●●
McGarrah JesseeAustin···●●●●·····
Mighty CitizenAustin●·●●···●●●··
Mission ControlSan Francisco···●····●●●·
Modern SpeciesSeattle●●●●·●●·●●··
Mother DesignNew York●●●●●●····●●
OrderNew York●●●●●●●·●··●
PentagramAustin●●●●●●●·●··●
People PeopleSeattle●●●●·●●●●●··
Pigeon BrandsToronto●●●●●●●●●●··
PreacherAustin●··●●·●·····
ProphetSan Francisco●●●●···●●●●·
ProverbBoston●●●●●·●●●●··
Ragged EdgeLondon●·●●●●●·●·●·
Red AntlerNew York●●●●●●●●●●●●
Siegel+GaleLos Angeles●●●●●●●●●·●·
SomeOneLondon●●●●●·······
SoulsightChicago●●●●·●●●····
SpanChicago●●●●●●●●●●·●
Stockholm Design LabStockholm●●●●●●●●··●●
Studio BlueChicago●·●●··●●●●··
Studio MatthewsSeattle···●●·●·●···
TokoSydney●●·●●●●·●●··
TurnstyleSeattle●●●●●●●●●●●·
UpstatementBoston●●●●···●●●●·
VSA PartnersChicago●●●●●··●●·●·
Wolff OlinsLondon●●●●●·●●···●

46 of the 123 agencies in our guides checked so far. A missing dot means the agency doesn’t list the service, not that it can’t do it.

How common each service is

Share of 46 agencies that name each service on their website. The lower the share, the shorter your shortlist will be if you need it.

  • Visual identity97.8%45 of 46
  • Brand strategy87%40 of 46
  • Verbal identity78.3%36 of 46
  • Website design76.1%35 of 46
  • Naming73.9%34 of 46
  • Motion71.7%33 of 46
  • Environments and wayfinding69.6%32 of 46
  • Research and audits54.3%25 of 46
  • Packaging52.2%24 of 46
  • Product and UI design45.7%21 of 46
  • Website development43.5%20 of 46
  • Sonic branding26.1%12 of 46

What case studies leave out

Share of 132 recent case studies from 44 agencies that include each detail. When a case study leaves one out, ask for it.

  • Client namedThe client or project’s real name appears on the page.100%
  • Date shownA launch year or date appears anywhere on the page.23.5%
  • Team creditedNamed team members or a credits list.37.9%
  • Measurable outcomeAt least one number about the result. Awards alone don’t count.17.4%

By city

Cities with at least five checked agencies. A higher share for brand, web and product means more local studios that can take on identity, website and app design together.

CityAgenciesAvg services (of 12)Brand, web and product
New York88.650%
San Francisco58.8100%
London88.575%
Chicago6816.7%
Los Angeles57.460%
Austin54.80%

How we checked

  • Sample. 46 agencies from our guides by industry, need and city, and 132 case studies from 44 of them.
  • Services. Twelve services, each yes or no. A service counts when the agency names it on its own site.
  • Case studies. The three most recent on each Work page, checked for client name, date, team credits and a measurable result.
  • Rule. If a page doesn’t say it, the answer is no.
  • Checked. Websites were read in October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Where does the data come from?

Only from each agency’s own website: services, capabilities and about pages, the Work page and the case study pages themselves. No surveys, press, award sites or directories.

Does a missing service mean the agency can’t do it?

No. It means the agency doesn’t name it on its website. Ask directly if a studio you like doesn’t list something you need.

Which case studies were checked?

The three most recent case studies in the order each agency’s Work page shows them, skipping image-only gallery items with no text.

Is this a ranking?

No. The table shows which services each agency lists, nothing more. For our view on fit, budget and who should skip an agency, see the guides.