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Branding · New York · 2026

The 10 best branding agencies in New York

Ten studios chosen for identity craft and brand-system depth, each profiled with ownership, verified work, and the situation it actually fits.

See the ten Read our methodology

What this list covers

Branding covers three different jobs under one word: identity systems, corporate rebrands that face a board, and trademarks meant to outlast the company.

These ten cover that range: four identity studios, three enterprise consultancies, one launch specialist, one trademark firm, and one working across brand and product. Ranked on verified identity work, brand-system depth, and client fit. Eight are independent; the two inside holding companies are marked. The studio at ten may still be the right answer for your situation.

How to read it

Three things to hold in mind before you shortlist.

Range, not fit

Position reflects range and depth of brand work, not suitability for you. The studio at ten may be the correct answer for your situation.

Match the tier

A corporate rebrand that has to survive board scrutiny needs a consultancy. A consumer launch does not, and will pay three times over for process it never uses.

Ask who is assigned

The senior pitch team and junior delivery team problem is real and correlates with agency size. Ask for names in writing.

The ten at a glance

Focus, ownership, and the situation each studio fits. No scores — the fit is the point.

# Studio Focus Ownership Best for
01 Clay Global logoClay Global Brand & product design Independent Identity + product in one engagement
02 COLLINS logoCOLLINS Brand strategy & experience Independent Ambitious reinvention
03 Red Antler logoRed Antler Startup branding & launch Independent Pre-product launches
04 Wolff Olins logoWolff Olins Brand transformation Holding (Omnicom) Consequential corporate change
05 Gretel logoGretel Identity & motion Independent Media & consumer, motion-led
06 &Walsh logo&Walsh Expressive identity & art direction Independent · woman-owned Brands that take creative risks
07 Base Design logoBase Design Identity & communications Independent · B Corp Cultural institutions, global reach
08 Siegel+Gale logoSiegel+Gale Strategy through simplicity Holding (Omnicom) Complex, regulated enterprises
09 Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv logoChermayeff & Geismar & Haviv Trademarks & identity Independent A mark meant to last decades
10 Pentagram logoPentagram Partner-led identity Independent · partner-owned Landmark, partner-level projects

The profiles

Ranked on verified identity work, brand-system depth, and client fit. Full profile for each, with ownership marked.

How we rank →
Clay Global logo
01

Clay Global

Brand and product designed as one problem.

In short:
Clay started as a UX practice for mobile and enterprise software and grew into a full brand and web studio. It works across identity, product strategy, and front-end build, which makes it the rare studio where a brand system and the software it lives in come from the same team.
Brand strengths:
Brand identity, design systems, digital and web design, product strategy, motion.
Work to know:
Brand and digital work for Google, Amazon, Slack, Coinbase, Snapchat, Sony, Coca-Cola, and Stripe.
Best for:
Tech and enterprise teams that need identity and product-grade design in one engagement rather than two.
Details:
Global, remote-first, New York office at 148 Lafayette St, plus San Francisco, Austin, Denver, Lisbon, and Belgrade. Independent.
Visit clay.global →
COLLINS logo
02

COLLINS

The most decorated independent brand studio in the city.

In short:
COLLINS reframes what a company is rather than restyling how it looks, building brand systems that behave like products across identity, motion, and experience. It has stayed independent while working at a scale that usually pulls studios into a holding company.
Brand strengths:
Brand strategy, visual identity, brand experience, naming, motion.
Work to know:
Category-defining brand work for Figma, Spotify, Dropbox, and Twitch, alongside Mailchimp, Equinox, ESPN, and Target.
Best for:
Established brands ready for an ambitious reinvention and able to match the investment.
Details:
New York and San Francisco. Independent.
Visit wearecollins.com →
Red Antler logo
03

Red Antler

The studio that wrote the playbook for launching brands.

In short:
Red Antler built its reputation launching direct-to-consumer names from zero, combining positioning, naming, identity, and go-to-market into a single engagement. Few studios anywhere have shaped as many recognisable startup brands.
Brand strengths:
Brand strategy, naming, visual identity, packaging, launch campaigns.
Work to know:
Launch branding for Casper, Allbirds, Brandless, Burrow, Keeps, and Prose.
Best for:
Venture-backed startups that need positioning and identity built together, before there is a product to point at.
Details:
Founded 2007. Brooklyn, New York. Independent.
Visit redantler.com →
Wolff Olins logo
04

Wolff Olins

Holding (Omnicom)

High-stakes brand transformation.

In short:
Wolff Olins works on large, consequential brand change for global organisations, usually at moments of restructuring or repositioning. Its central idea is that strong brands carry a distinctive point of view, and its engagements are strategic as much as visual.
Brand strengths:
Brand strategy, identity, brand experience, naming, brand architecture, organisational alignment.
Work to know:
Brand work for Uber, TikTok, The Met, Google, (RED), and the London 2012 Olympics.
Best for:
Organisations that need the market to understand something has fundamentally changed.
Details:
Founded 1965 in London. Offices in London, New York, and San Francisco. Part of Omnicom.
Visit wolffolins.com →
Gretel logo
05

Gretel

Image-driven identity with motion built in.

In short:
Founded by Greg Hahn, who came up through MTV, VH1, and Trollbäck, Gretel is known for bold identity work across screen and print. Motion, typography, and 3D are held in house, so a brand carries from strategy through campaign without being handed to a separate production partner.
Brand strengths:
Brand strategy, visual identity, motion and broadcast design, editorial design, experience design.
Work to know:
Identity work for Netflix, Nike, MoMA, Vice, MasterClass, and Knoll, plus the identity for POPL, the burger project from the team behind noma.
Best for:
Media and consumer brands that need a visual system with real motion capability behind it.
Details:
Founded 2005. New York City. Independent.
Visit gretelny.com →
&Walsh logo
06

&Walsh

Woman-owned

Expressive, art-forward, founder-led.

In short:
Jessica Walsh founded the studio in 2019 after nearly a decade at Sagmeister & Walsh. It makes concept-driven identities with a high visual point of view, working across strategy, motion, packaging, and photography, and its output is deliberately more experimental than most studios its size.
Brand strengths:
Brand strategy, identity, art direction, packaging, motion, campaigns.
Work to know:
Identity for biodesign company Geltor, the LGBTQIA+ app Lex, and vertical farming company Plenty, plus branding for Google I/O and TED Countdown.
Best for:
Brands that want to be noticed and are comfortable with work that takes creative risks.
Details:
Founded 2019. New York. Independent, woman-owned.
Visit andwalsh.com →
Base Design logo
07

Base Design

B Corp

Identity and communications with international reach.

In short:
Base runs as a network of studios that collaborate on large projects while keeping local leadership, so the New York team leads North American work with the wider network behind it. Strong typographic sensibility and a long history with cultural institutions.
Brand strengths:
Brand strategy and identity, packaging, editorial, environmental branding, digital, typeface design.
Work to know:
Brand work for Apple, The New York Times, MoMA, the New York Mets, JFK Terminal 4, and Union Square Hospitality Group, plus the 2024 rebrand of the auction house Phillips.
Best for:
Cultural institutions and brands that want senior local leadership with global capability on the same project.
Details:
Founded 1993 in Brussels. New York studio at 13 S William St, with Brussels, Geneva, Melbourne, and Ho Chi Minh City. Independent, B Corp certified.
Visit basedesign.com →
Siegel+Gale logo
08

Siegel+Gale

Holding (Omnicom)

Simplicity as a business discipline.

In short:
Siegel+Gale applies a simplification methodology to strategy, identity, naming, and experience, with particular strength in complex and regulated categories where clarity is the competitive advantage.
Brand strengths:
Brand strategy, naming, brand architecture, identity, customer experience.
Work to know:
Brand work for Citibank, Pfizer, Humana, PayPal, and American Express, alongside its World's Simplest Brands research.
Best for:
Enterprises in complex or regulated industries whose brand has grown complicated and needs clarifying.
Details:
Founded 1969 in New York. Offices including New York, London, Dubai, and Shanghai. Part of Omnicom.
Visit siegelgale.com →
Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv logo
09

Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv

Marks built to outlast the companies that commissioned them.

In short:
The firm that helped define modern, idea-driven identity design, producing trademarks built on simplicity and abstraction. Its focus remains marks meant to last decades rather than systems designed to be refreshed.
Brand strengths:
Brand identity and trademarks, brand systems, exhibitions, print and motion graphics, environmental design.
Work to know:
Identity work for NBC, Chase, Mobil, PBS, National Geographic, and the US Open.
Best for:
Institutions and corporations that want a timeless, symbol-driven identity rather than a trend-responsive one.
Details:
Founded 1957. New York City. Independent.
Visit cghnyc.com →
Pentagram logo
10

Pentagram

Partner-owned

Partner-led work at landmark scale.

In short:
Pentagram runs as a collective of partners, each a practising designer leading client work directly, so an engagement is with a specific partner rather than a house style. Its New York office is one of the most influential design rooms anywhere.
Brand strengths:
Brand identity, editorial, packaging, wayfinding and environmental graphics, digital, typeface design.
Work to know:
Identity and design work for Microsoft, Citibank, MoMA, Saturday Night Live, The Public Theater, and the High Line.
Best for:
Large or cultural clients who want partner-level authorship on a landmark project.
Details:
Founded 1972 in London. New York is a major office. Independent, partner-owned.
Visit pentagram.com →

Which one fits

Start from the decision in front of you, not the ranking.

Launching something new

Red Antler, or Clay if a product ships alongside the brand.

Reinventing an established brand

COLLINS for ambition, Wolff Olins when the change is corporate and consequential.

Complex or regulated enterprise

Siegel+Gale.

Cultural institutions

Base Design or Pentagram.

Media and content brands

Gretel.

A brand with a strong point of view

&Walsh.

A mark meant to last decades

Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv.

Ten New York branding agencies, profiled in full.

Read the methodology Back to the ten