Wolff Olins

What Wolff Olins does

Wolff Olins is a global brand consultancy founded in 1965 in Camden, London, by Michael Wolff, Wally Olins, and Jane Scruton. The firm pioneered the corporate identity industry and now operates from four offices — London (headquarters), New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco — with projects spanning more than 150 countries and 75 languages. Its work is anchored in an integrated three-discipline model covering Brand (strategy, visual identity, verbal identity, brand architecture), Culture (employee value proposition, culture strategy, employer brand, change and learning, workplace experiences), and Experience (strategy, innovation, ecosystem design, implementation), plus activation and governance support.

The consultancy's deliverables are bespoke professional services rather than software products: brand systems, custom design languages, proprietary typefaces (e.g., Bower for McKinsey, Decathlon Sans for Decathlon), motion behaviors, brand architecture models, and engagement frameworks tailored to each client's strategic inflection points. Revenue is generated through project-based professional services fees on multi-month, multi-year enterprise engagements. Clients are predominantly large multinational corporations and cultural institutions — including TikTok, Uber, McKinsey & Company, Lloyds Banking Group, Kenvue, GSK, Instacart, The Met, BMG, Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1, LG Electronics, Decathlon, The Economist Group, ABB, and Patreon — typically accessed through direct enterprise sales, competitive pitches, and senior-level referrals. The firm is privately held with no disclosed parent company, no funding rounds, and no public revenue disclosure.

Name

Wolff Olins

Legal name

Wolff Olins

Website

https://wolffolins.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Wolff Olins is a global brand consultancy founded in 1965 that designs brand strategies, visual and verbal identities, culture programs, and experience systems for Fortune 500 enterprises and global cultural institutions across London, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Brand Consulting

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810), Graphic Design Services (54143), Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Brand Consulting, Audits & Research (Brand Health, Equity, Competitive) (BPAFAEAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Employer Brand Strategy & Talent Branding (BPAFAEAH), Sustainability & Purpose Brand Design (ESG Narrative, Impact Branding) (MPAAAEAL), Environmental & Experiential Brand Design (Retail/Exhibit/Signage) (MPAAAEAG)

Keywords

• Brand strategy consulting
• Visual identity design
• Brand architecture services
• Corporate brand transformation
• Experience design consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Brand Consulting and Strategy Engagements: Project-based consulting engagements with global enterprises for brand strategy, transformation, and identity development. Revenue is generated through professional services fees for strategy consulting, design, and implementation projects of varying duration and scope.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Wolff Olins is a global brand consultancy that creates transformative brands for ambitious organizations at pivotal inflection points. The firm delivers project-based professional services across brand strategy, visual identity, verbal identity, brand architecture, culture and engagement programs, and experience design, developing proprietary brand systems, bespoke typefaces, motion behaviors, and verbal frameworks that scale across digital, physical, and environmental touchpoints for global enterprise clients.

Product overview

Wolff Olins is a global brand consultancy offering an integrated suite of services across Brand, Culture, and Experience disciplines. The Brand services encompass strategic brand consulting, visual identity creation, verbal identity development, and brand architecture design. Culture services include employee value proposition development, culture strategy and leadership narrative articulation, employer brand expression, change and learning programs, and workplace branding. Experience services cover experience strategy, innovation, ecosystem design, and implementation. Rather than a software product, the firm delivers professional consulting engagements to help organizations transform their brands, culture, and customer experiences at pivotal inflection points.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Brand Strategy and Consulting Services
• Visual Identity
• Verbal Identity
• Brand Architecture
• Culture Transformation Services
• Experience Design Services
• Activation and Governance

Quantifiable outcome

• 51% increase in brand value ahead of Uber's IPO
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ABBnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with ABB, a global leader in engineering, to develop a distinctive brand positioning and employer value proposition. Engagement program involved cross-disciplinary stakeholder team to co-create work for ABB's 105,000 employees across 100+ markets worldwide. Project focused on internal brand engagement and transformation support.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Landor & Fitch: Global brand consultancy offering strategy, identity design, and experience, housed within WPP. Most direct comparable to Wolff Olins in scale, service breadth, and Fortune 500 client base.
• Interbrand: One of the founding global brand consultancies offering brand strategy, naming, visual identity, and valuation services. Operates within Omnicom and competes directly with Wolff Olins on enterprise brand transformation engagements.
• Pentagram: Independent, partner-led design consultancy focused on visual identity and brand systems. Comparable on craft excellence and bespoke enterprise work, though structured as a partnership rather than integrated consultancy.
• FutureBrand: Global brand consultancy (part of IPG) offering strategy, design, and experience. Comparable on Fortune 500 client mix and full-service brand transformation scope.
• Lippincott: Boutique brand strategy and identity consultancy known for rigorous brand work with major corporates. Comparable as a premium, independently-positioned alternative in the same enterprise brand space.
• Saffron Brand Consultants: Independent brand consultancy with a strong reputation in strategy-led identity and purpose work. Comparable on enterprise client roster and boutique positioning.
• Superunion: Brand-led creative agency within WPP focused on brand identity and design. Comparable as enterprise-focused brand consultancy with similar integrated strategy-design offering.
• MetaDesign: Global brand and design consultancy with strong European heritage, comparable on visual identity craft and enterprise client roster in DACH and global markets.

Broad incumbents

• IDEO: Global design and innovation consultancy with broader human-centered design and product development scope. Overlaps with Wolff Olins on experience design and corporate innovation engagements.
• R/GA: Global digital agency and consultancy within IPG offering brand, experience, and marketing innovation. Comparable on enterprise digital transformation engagements with overlapping scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WolffOlins
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/WolffOlins
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wolff-olins
• Instagraminstagram.com/wolffolins
• Facebookfacebook.com/wolffolins

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wolff Olins