10 Best Design Agencies
By Hire This Agency
The best design agencies specialize in branding, digital products, or service design. Compare these ten options to find the right fit for your next project.
| Agency | Best for | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Pentagram | Brand identity across digital and physical products | Studios in New York, London, Austin, and Berlin |
| IDEO | Human-centered design, research, and prototyping | Cambridge, Chicago, London, San Francisco, and Shanghai |
| frog | Service design | Studios and offices across multiple regions, including New York, London, and San Francisco |
| Landor | Brand design and brand experiences | Offices across North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia |
| Wolff Olins | Brand strategy, identity, and experience design | London, New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles |
| Koto | Brand identity and digital product design | Los Angeles, New York, London, Berlin, Sydney, and additional locations |
| Instrument | Brand, product, website, and campaign design | Portland, Oregon, and New York, New York |
| Huge | Brand, service, customer experience, and product design | New York, London, Chicago, Philadelphia, Austin, Medellín, and Bogotá |
| R/GA | Brand, product, experience, and campaign design | Multiple country offices; U.S. office page lists a New York address |
| ustwo | Digital product design, prototyping, and development | London, Malmö, New York, and Lisbon |
1. Pentagram
Best for: Businesses exploring brand identity alongside digital or physical product design. Pentagram lists brand identity, brand strategy, digital experiences, and industrial and product design among its disciplines. Its portfolio documents work across those areas. The agency lists studios in New York, London, Austin, and Berlin. Its range may suit a brief that connects visual identity with a digital experience or product. Confirm which disciplines and studio would be involved in your project.
2. IDEO
Best for: Projects involving human-centered design, research, and prototyping. IDEO describes work spanning physical and digital products, industrial design, and digital product design. Its design services also include research, prototyping, and strategy. These capabilities may suit organizations investigating user needs or exploring concepts, as well as those defining a design direction. IDEO lists locations in Cambridge, Chicago, London, San Francisco, and Shanghai. Ask how it would approach your brief and which services are relevant.
3. frog
Best for: Organizations examining how a service works across its interactions. frog offers service design to help organizations reimagine existing services and develop new service experiences. This specialty may fit a challenge focused on an overall service, rather than only a standalone visual identity or product interface. Its contact page lists studios and office contacts across multiple regions, including New York, London, and San Francisco. Ask how the agency would define your service-design challenge and which team or location would support the work.
4. Landor
Best for: Brand projects that span different expressions and customer or employee touchpoints. Landor describes design work across visual, verbal, sonic, and motion disciplines. It also describes brand-led experiences across physical, digital, and behavioral touchpoints. This range may suit a brief that extends beyond a visual identity into different ways people encounter a brand. Landor lists offices across North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Confirm which disciplines, office, and team would be proposed.
5. Wolff Olins
Best for: Connecting brand strategy and identity with experience design. Wolff Olins offers brand strategy, architecture, verbal and visual identity, and brand activation. Its experience practice includes experience strategy, ecosystem design, and implementation. These services may suit a brief about both how a brand is defined and how it is experienced, rather than a request limited to a logo or visual system. The agency lists offices in London, New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Ask which services are appropriate and where the work would be handled.
6. Koto
Best for: Bringing brand identity and digital design into the same brief. Koto provides brand strategy and visual and verbal identity services, as well as digital design for websites and digital products. Its listed capabilities include user experience, interface design, prototyping, and design systems. Koto lists studios in Los Angeles, New York, London, Berlin, and Sydney, with additional locations on its contact page. This combination may suit an identity that needs to connect with a website or product interface. Confirm the scope and team for each discipline.
7. Instrument
Best for: Digital-first briefs involving brand, product, website, or campaign design. Instrument describes work across these areas and says its client projects combine strategy, creative, and technology services. This mix may suit a project that needs design support alongside creative and technology capabilities. The agency lists offices in Portland, Oregon, and New York, New York. Ask which services would be central to your brief, how the engagement would be defined, and which office and team would be involved.
8. Huge
Best for: Projects that connect brand, service, customer experience, and product design. Huge lists brand strategy and design, products and platforms, and customer experience among its solutions. Its customer-experience capabilities include service design. This breadth may be worth exploring if your brief touches several related disciplines. Huge lists offices in New York, London, Chicago, Philadelphia, Austin, Medellín, and Bogotá. Ask how it would organize a multi-discipline project and which office and capabilities would support the work.
9. R/GA
Best for: Briefs spanning brand, product and experience, campaigns, or customer relationships. R/GA lists brand design, product and experience design, campaign and content design, and CRM and relationship design as services. Its U.S. office page gives a New York contact address and lists services offered there. The agency also lists offices in multiple countries. This published range can help you assess service fit, but it does not establish which team will deliver the work. Confirm the project’s location and staffing directly.
10. ustwo
Best for: Digital product work involving research, prototyping, design, and development. ustwo describes services from early concepts through product launch, including research, prototyping, digital product design, and development. Its services also include piloting new services and brands through design and development. The agency lists studios in London, Malmö, New York, and Lisbon. This range may suit a project to explore an idea and develop a digital product, or consider a new service. Discuss stages, deliverables, and team setup before defining the engagement.
How to choose a design agency
- Define the work first. Specify whether you need brand identity, service design, digital product design, or a combination. A clear brief helps you compare relevant capabilities.
- Match services to your project. A broad published service list does not confirm experience in your sector or with your particular challenge. Ask for relevant examples and how the agency would approach your brief.
- Check the location and team. Treat listed offices as a starting point. Verify which office would serve the project, who would be involved, and whether the team is available for your timing.
- Clarify scope and delivery. Ask about the proposed approach, deliverables, responsibilities, timeline, and how decisions or revisions would be handled.
- Request a quote. Project pricing varies with the scope of work. Ask for a project-specific quote and confirm what it covers.
FAQs
How should I shortlist a design agency?
Compare your needs with each agency’s published services, then verify relevant experience, approach, team availability, and proposed scope directly.
Do these agencies publish project prices?
No pricing information is included here. Request a quote from any agency you are considering.
Does a listed office mean the project will be delivered from there?
Not necessarily. Confirm which office and team would handle your project.