What NB Studio does

NB Studio is a London-based independent branding and communication agency founded in 1997 by Nick Finney and Alan Dye. The firm operates as a privately held partnership with 11-50 employees, delivering strategic creativity, brand identity, packaging design, and communications services to clients across spirits and alcoholic beverages, arts and culture, education, financial services, and technology startups.

The agency's core offerings center on strategic brand work — identity systems, packaging design, brand communications, and visual strategy — for enterprise clients. Its most material long-standing engagement is a 16+ year relationship with Pernod Ricard covering Chivas Regal, Ballantine's, The Glenlivet, The Kraken Rum, and Beefeater. The firm also serves cultural institutions (Southbank Centre, Vineyard Theatre) and is actively expanding into fintech, agritech, and tech startup verticals. In 2024, NB Studio launched Library Street, a publishing arm extending into book and editorial design, and produced the Ballantine's & Cola RTD launch — Pernod Ricard's first ready-to-drink product.

The business model is project and retainer-based creative services fees tied to brand strategy, identity development, packaging design, and communications deliverables. Revenue is generated primarily through enterprise client engagements, with diversification across cultural, education, and emerging tech clients. The agency has accumulated 48 D&AD pencils and ranks #5 globally per its own profile data, positioning it as a category-leading independent brand studio in the UK market.

Name

NB Studio

Legal name

NB Studio

Website

https://nbstudio.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NB Studio is a London-based independent branding agency founded in 1997, providing strategic creativity, brand identity, and packaging design for clients across spirits, arts, education, financial services, and technology sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Branding and Design Services: NB Studio generates revenue through project-based fees for brand identity, packaging design, and communications work. They also maintain ongoing retainer relationships with clients as brand guardians, providing continued design services and brand management.
2. Publishing (Library Street): NB Studio operates Library Street, an independent publishing house that commissions, designs and produces books about creativity. They published Michael Wolff's book 'Leap before you look' and sold copies directly.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

NB Studio is a London-based branding agency that designs brand identities, packaging, and communications for clients across sectors including arts and culture, premium spirits, education, and growth-stage companies. The studio develops adaptive, elastic brand identity systems and offers ongoing brand guardianship roles for long-term clients such as Pernod Ricard. Alongside its agency practice, NB Studio operates Library Street, an independent publishing house producing books on creativity and branding.

Product overview

NB Studio is an award-winning London branding agency specialising in strategic creativity. Rather than a traditional software product company, NB Studio offers a portfolio of creative services including strategic branding, packaging design, communications, adaptive brand identity systems, and publishing. Their work spans diverse sectors including Arts & Culture, Education, Food & Drink, Start-ups, and Financial Services. The studio is led by co-founders Alan Dye and Nick Finney and has operated since 1997. Notable service offerings include brand refresh and evolution (brand guardianship), collaborative brand design involving creative communities, and Library Street, their independent publishing arm. Projects range from cultural institutions (Vineyard Theatre, Philharmonie Luxembourg, Birmingham Royal Ballet) to spirits brands (The Kraken Rum, Chivas Regal, Ballantine's) to tech startups (Mergdata, Streamtime, Kudo) and heritage brands (Royal Mail, Museum of London).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Library Street: NB Studio's independent publishing house that commissions, designs and produces books about creativity.

Products and services

• Brand Identity Design

Quantifiable outcome

• 8 major awards in one year for Almeida Theatre including Olivier Awards
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Vineyard Theatre Collaborators (Eddie Opara, Kate Melvin, Graham Taylor, Paul Owen, Matt Willey)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNB Studio collaborates with New York-based designers for Vineyard Theatre's key art - each designer creates a unique logo interpretation for different productions. This collaborative approach has become a defining characteristic of the brand, allowing the theatre to engage with the creative community while maintaining a cohesive overall identity.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Pentagram: Partner-led, no-title design agency with a similar London and global presence. Closely comparable to NB's model of founder/creative-director-led brand identity, packaging, and communications work for premium and cultural clients.
• Wolff Olins: Global branding agency that competes directly with NB for brand identity, verbal identity, and brand strategy work for major enterprise and cultural clients. Operates at a larger network scale but in the same strategic creativity category.
• Moving Brands: London-headquartered brand and experience design firm with a strong adaptive/flexible identity offering. Highly comparable to NB's emphasis on elastic brand systems and motion-led identity work.
• DesignStudio: Independent, London-rooted branding agency working on brand identity, motion, and digital brand experience for global clients. Directly comparable in scale, geographic reach, and creative reputation.
• Ragged Edge: Independent London branding agency specializing in brand strategy, identity, and naming. Closely comparable in size, positioning, and type of clients (financial services, challenger brands, culture).
• Mother Design: Creative network's design arm operating in identity, brand world-building, and campaign design. Comparable to NB on creative ambition and cultural/institutional client work, with a larger network backbone.

Broad incumbents

• Landor & Fitch: Large global branding consultancy with a much wider service portfolio (brand strategy, research, architecture, experience). Competes with NB for premium brand identity engagements but at significantly greater scale and as part of WPP.
• Superunion: Global brand and design consultancy formed from the merger of Brand Union, FITCH (design) and others. Competes in the same branding and design category as NB, with broader geographic and service coverage.
• Imagination: Independent brand experience agency combining brand strategy, design, and experiential/architectural work. Comparable in creative pedigree and cultural-institution work, with a stronger focus on physical brand experiences.

Regional players

• Bureau Borsche: Munich-based design studio known for premium cultural, arts, and brand identity work. Comparable in creative reputation and museum/arts client base, but operates primarily in German-speaking markets rather than the UK.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NBStudio
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nb-studio
• Instagraminstagram.com/nbstudio_london

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 NB Studio