The best visual identity design agencies

A visual identity is more than a logo. It’s the type, color, imagery, motion and layout rules that make a brand recognizable on a billboard, an app screen and a shopping bag, even with the logo covered. These five agencies build systems that hold together across hundreds of uses and the many people who will apply them.

See the 5 agencies Updated 2026

Designer working at a drawing tablet beside printed color swatch sheets and a box of pastels

Quick list

#AgencyKnown forBest for
1Clay Global logoClay GlobalIdentities designed together with the website and productTech companies whose brand lives on screens
2Mission Control logoMission ControlFast, senior identity work for startupsFounders who need a complete system before launch
3DixonBaxi logoDixonBaxiIdentity systems for streaming and broadcastPlatforms where the brand moves and changes size constantly
4Studio Dumbar logoStudio DumbarRule-based systems built with code and soundInstitutions and brands that produce huge volumes of material
5Two Times Elliott logoTwo Times ElliottIdentities that make everyday products unmistakableConsumer brands in crowded categories
Clay Global logo

1. Clay Global

Location
San Francisco HQ, remote-first
Signature project
Wealth: identity and illustration system for an estate-planning platform

Most identities are designed for a launch film and then struggle inside a product. Clay designs the identity in the same team that designs the website and app, so color, type and illustration are tested on real screens from the start. For estate-planning platform Wealth, the challenge was tone: making a heavy subject feel approachable. The answer was an illustration system built to guide users gently through difficult decisions. Clay’s identity work also includes investing app Streetbeat and DeFi platform Sky.

Clients
Wealth, Streetbeat, Sky, Phenom
How they work
Identity, product UX, web and development in one team; time-and-materials, fixed-fee or retainer
Budget signal
Upper mid-market to enterprise
Skip if
Your identity will mainly appear in print, packaging or retail spaces.

Last verified 2026

Mission Control logo

2. Mission Control

Location
San Francisco, team distributed across time zones
Signature project
Client work not yet published

Startups often get a logo and a color palette and are left to work out the rest. Mission Control delivers the whole system: type, color, imagery, illustration, motion and templates, plus the website and first product screens that put it to work. The studio uses AI to explore more directions in less time, while senior designers decide what goes into the system and why.

Clients
Early-stage and VC-backed startups; client list not public
How they work
Brand sprints and ongoing design support, working directly with founders
Budget signal
Flexible, built around startup budgets
Skip if
You need a long public portfolio before signing. The studio launched in 2025.

Last verified 2026

DixonBaxi logo

3. DixonBaxi

Location
London
Signature project
Max for Warner Bros. Discovery

DixonBaxi designs identities that never sit still. For Max it spent a year with Warner Bros. Discovery’s marketing, product and brand teams on a system that had to work on billboards and on tiny app icons. For ITV and ITVX it created a logo system, a custom typeface family and an on-screen presentation system for live television, and its 2021 "Vessel" system for Hulu grew a full design language from a single shape. The studio has also rebranded AC Milan.

Clients
Max, ITV, Hulu, AC Milan
How they work
Strategy, identity, motion and typography for large platforms
Budget signal
Enterprise
Skip if
You’re a small company with a single marketing team and a modest budget.

Last verified 2026

Studio Dumbar logo

4. Studio Dumbar

Location
Rotterdam
Signature project
Feyenoord identity system, 2025

Studio Dumbar builds identities that behave like systems from day one, often using creative coding and sound so the brand can generate new variations within strict rules. In 2025 it brought Rotterdam football club Feyenoord under one coherent system, and its client list ranges from Instagram to the Van Gogh Museum. It suits organizations that produce large amounts of material and still want everything to look deliberate.

Clients
Feyenoord, Instagram, Van Gogh Museum
How they work
Identity systems, motion, creative coding and sound
Budget signal
Mid-market to enterprise
Skip if
You need a quick, simple identity on a small budget.

Last verified 2026

Two Times Elliott logo

5. Two Times Elliott

Website
xx.studio
Location
London
Signature project
Keats skincare

Two Times Elliott’s work is about making everyday products impossible to mistake for anyone else’s. For skincare brand Keats it built the positioning, verbal and visual identity and full design system, with a typographic identity strong enough to carry the brand’s published efficacy data and still show personality. For paint brand LICK it paired utilitarian labels and product codes with a confident voice, turning home decorating into something inclusive and less intimidating.

Clients
Keats, LICK, Kankan, Hello Klean
How they work
Brand strategy, verbal and visual identity, packaging and spatial design
Budget signal
Mid-market
Skip if
You’re a B2B software company whose brand lives mainly in a product interface.

Last verified 2026

What a visual identity has to handle

Before you brief an agency

List every place the brand appears today, from the app and website to signage and invoices. Decide whether you need a full identity or an evolution of what you have. And agree who will maintain the system after launch, since that affects how the guidelines should be built.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the difference between a logo and a visual identity?

The logo is one element. A visual identity is the whole system: color, type, imagery, illustration, motion, layout and the rules for using them together.

What should a visual identity project deliver?

The core elements, guidelines, templates for common materials, and examples of the system in use. Digital brands should also get motion principles and UI guidance.

How long does a visual identity project take?

A focused identity for a startup can take six to ten weeks. A full system for a large organization usually takes three to six months.

Do we need brand strategy before visual identity?

Ideally, yes. A clear positioning gives the design something to express. Without it, decisions come down to taste.

How often should a visual identity be refreshed?

There’s no fixed rule. Many identities last ten years or more with small updates; a refresh makes sense when the business changes or the system no longer works on new channels.