The building blocks to a strong brand

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your creative background.

When I was young, I was always drawing, imagining things, building little visual systems without knowing that's what they were. I was obsessed with posters, packaging, sleeve art, basically anything that communicated something bigger than itself. At the time, it was all about artistic expression. I just loved making things. But at some point, I realised that creativity could do more than express. It could connect and you could move people with it. That changed everything for me. That realisation pulled me further into design, not just making things look good but making them work.

How has your knowledge and expertise influenced your career?

I've been working in the industry for nearly 20 years across a lot of disciplines, from branding and motion to UI, campaigns, and copy. I'm adaptable, I work fast, and I think in systems. These days, I'm focused on creative direction, largely leading projects from the inside out, helping teams stay aligned and making sure everything has a purpose. I get energy from guiding others through that process too, helping people see the shape of an idea more clearly.

What have you learned along the way?

Some things I learned on the job, often under pressure. That environment shaped how I work. Early on, I cut my teeth in the music scene by designing flyers, posters and brand systems for events and record labels. It was loud, fast and unforgiving but it taught me how to deliver, how to stay sharp, and how to hold the creative process fully.

From there, I moved into studio life, joining a young agency that needed structure. That shift from solo to team-based work taught me a lot, not just about design, but about building something together. Whatever the project, I keep coming back to the same principle: if it's not meaningful, I can't connect to it. The work has to serve a purpose.

How does NOSY help develop and build brands with purpose?

We don't do surface-level design. We start by asking questions - sometimes awkward ones - to get to the truth of the brand. What's not working? What's being misunderstood? What's being overlooked? That process is grounded in curiosity. We dig deep: stakeholder sessions, audits, messaging frameworks, all tailored to the clients' needs. Sometimes we're building from scratch, other times we're unpicking years of misalignment. But we're always looking for the one true thing, which is the core idea that everything else should be built around.

Once we find that, the rest of the work makes sense. We design brands that actually function. That means identity systems that are flexible, templates that teams can actually use, guidelines that make onboarding easier. The goal is always long-term clarity, not just short-term polish.

We're also not afraid to push back because that's part of our role. It's easy to agree and move fast but that doesn't build strong brands. Sometimes a client thinks they need a rebrand, when what they really need is sharper messaging, a new deck or better internal alignment. We need to say that, not to be difficult but be honest around what's needed. We're here to help make decisions, not just visuals, and because we're a small team, we move quickly. We can adapt, respond and stay close to the work, which a lot of our clients appreciate.

What makes a strong brand?

The three key areas are clarity, confidence and consistency. A strong brand knows what it's here to say, and it shows up visually, verbally and emotionally.

That kind of clarity doesn't happen by accident. It takes work because you need to understand who you're speaking to, what you're offering, and what actually matters. When those things line up, the brand feels inevitable and effortless. It just fits.

But strong doesn't mean rigid. The best brands are flexible and they can shift, stretch and still hold their shape. They're recognisable even when the format changes. That's the difference between a brand that's been thought through and one that's just styled. Character matters too. The strongest brands don't try to be everything to everyone. They make deliberate choices and are rooted in something real. That's what gives them staying power.

Why is having a strong brand so important?

Because attention is short and trust is earned. People don't have time to figure out who you are. A strong brand makes that obvious quickly and clearly. Internally, it gives your team something to align around and it defines who you are, how you work, and what you care about. That alignment drives better decisions. It brings consistency across channels, roles, and outputs, whether you're designing a deck or launching a new product. A strong brand also gives you resilience because things will change, market shifts, there's new priorities and different teams. But if the foundation is strong, the brand can move with it. It's not about holding on to one look forever, it's about having a system that evolves without losing itself. When it's done right, it's one of the most valuable assets you can have.

What examples would you draw on to showcase a successful rebrand?

WRS is a good one. They’re one of the UK's fastest-growing POS providers, working with brands like Costa Coffee and itsu. But their identity wasn't keeping up and it felt fragmented, both internally and externally. We started with a full audit, having conversations across the business, a review of how the brand was actually being used and a deep dive into their direction of travel.

The insight was clear: they needed something that could grow with them. We developed a modular identity system, built around the idea of aligned motion. That theme shaped everything from the symbol, the motion language and the structure of the design system. From pitch decks to uniforms to websites, it now moves like the business does: fast, precise, and consistent. It was a full-scale rollout under tight timelines, and it worked because the thinking was solid from the start.

Joe Redston and Raise is another. Joe's personal brand and his business were starting to blur. He needed to separate them without losing the thread that connected them, so we spent time in discovery, through workshops, conversations, values mapping and built two aligned identities. One for him, one for the business. The shared symbol reflects that quiet, balanced and thoughtful relationship. The whole system is designed to hold space for nuance, which is exactly how Joe works.

Eringold was different. Not a rebrand but a new build. A recruitment business with a clear voice and a strong point of view. We didn't need to invent a narrative because the client already had that. Our job was to translate it visually, and we landed on something confident and character-led. The identity system was sharp, the tone was direct, and the brand stood out in a sector that's usually full of noise. That project moved quickly because the clarity was there from day one.

Finally, how do you feel when you help a client build a stronger brand?

I go back to my younger days when I was drawing and visualising things, and how, over time, I started to understand the difference between art and design. Art can just be. Design has to solve something. The idea of creative problem solving and finding clarity and structure to the chaos drives me. I find that endlessly engaging, and it's a big part of how I work today, so it's incredibly satisfying when we finish a branding project and the client is happy.