Notepad
Notepad is a UK-based branding agency offering brand strategy, visual identity, and ongoing creative services to startups, scale-ups, and enterprises via three products: BrandScore (AI benchmarking), Evolve (4-week sprint), and Amplify (creative subscription). Operates from London and Birmingham.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersBirmingham, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Notepad does
Notepad is a UK-headquartered branding agency founded in 2017 that delivers brand strategy, identity design, and ongoing creative services to startups, scale-ups, and enterprise clients. The firm operates three core product offerings: BrandScore, an AI-driven brand benchmarking and analysis tool that evaluates brands across six dimensions (Brand Awareness, Brand Storytelling, Competitive Positioning, Trust & Credibility, Brand Consistency, and Employer Brand); Evolve, a fixed-price 4-week brand sprint priced at £14,950 that produces a complete brand strategy and identity system; and Amplify, a tiered creative subscription service with three plans ranging from £3,950 to £14,950 per month.
Notepad's business model combines three revenue streams: fixed-fee professional services projects, a recurring subscription product (Amplify), and one-time sprint engagements (Evolve). The agency executes a dual go-to-market approach — consultative enterprise field sales for strategic brand projects targeting ambitious growth-stage companies and established enterprises, alongside a self-serve subscription funnel through its Amplify service. Notepad serves clients across multiple sectors, including Whisk (acquired by Samsung Next, food technology), Iomart (cloud computing), Glenmorangie (LVMH-owned luxury whisky), Buyapowa (marketing technology), CPW (sustainability engineering), WR Partners (accounting), NHS (government), and Graide (education technology).
In March 2025, Notepad joined Common Thread Group Limited, a multi-agency independent group whose structure also encompasses Ideas + Outcomes Ltd (Notepad's parent trading entity), Ideally Digital Ltd, Threesixty Brands Ltd, and Pull Brand + Creative Ltd. The company holds B Corp certification and has earned eight design awards for branding work. Notepad operates from registered offices in London (23 Goswell Road, Barbican) and Birmingham (Jewellery Quarter) and claims its clients have collectively captured over £500m in market share since 2017.
Notepad firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Notepad
- Legal name
- Notepad Studio Limited
- Website
- https://notepadstudio.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Notepad is a UK-based branding agency offering brand strategy, visual identity, and ongoing creative services to startups, scale-ups, and enterprises via three products: BrandScore (AI benchmarking), Evolve (4-week sprint), and Amplify (creative subscription). Operates from London and Birmingham.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Notepad industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Brand Strategy and Creative Services
- NAICS
- Graphic Design Services (541430), Other Management Consulting Services (541618), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Creative Concepting & Campaign Development (BPAFAEAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Creative & Brand Campaign Development (BPAFAAAB)
Keywords
Where Notepad is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Birmingham
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Notepad business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Brand Strategy & Identity Projects: Fixed-price project engagements for brand strategy, positioning, naming, visual identity, and creative services. Typically structured as defined scope with deliverables.
- Amplify Subscription: Monthly rolling subscription service providing ongoing creative and design capabilities. Three tiers from £3,950 to £14,950 per month with flexible scaling. Cancel anytime after initial 3-month period.
- Evolve Brand Sprint: Fixed-price 4-week intensive brand sprint at £14,950 delivering complete brand strategy and identity system.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Design Essentials - Ideal for amplifying Social Content, PPC Creative, Digital and Print Design |
| Subscription | Monthly | Creative Team - Perfect for amplifying complex creative tasks like social motion, illustration, UX/UI and long-form content |
| Subscription | Monthly | Full Stack - Built for those looking to scale their brand fast with end-to-end creative capabilities |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Evolve Brand Sprint - 4-week comprehensive brand strategy and identity development |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Notepad product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Notepad is a creative branding agency that helps ambitious companies differentiate through brand strategy, visual identity, and ongoing creative production. Its offering is structured around three core products: BrandScore (AI-driven brand benchmarking), Evolve (a 4-week intensive brand sprint delivering a complete identity system), and Amplify (a flexible monthly creative subscription providing scalable design and content services).
Product overview
Notepad is a branding agency offering three interconnected service products: BrandScore (AI-powered brand benchmarking and analysis), Evolve (a 4-week brand sprint for developing brand identity), and Amplify (a flexible creative subscription service). These offerings work together to provide end-to-end branding support from initial brand assessment and strategy through to ongoing creative execution.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- BrandScore: AI-driven brand benchmarking and analysis service that evaluates brands across 6 key areas: Brand Awareness, Brand Storytelling, Competitive Positioning, Trust & Credibility, Brand Consistency, and Employer Brand.
- Evolve (Brand Sprint)
- Amplify
Products and services
- BrandScore AI-driven brand benchmarking and analysis service that scores brands across six key areas and provides actionable insights for improving brand performance; targets marketing and brand leaders at startups through enterprise companies.
- Evolve (Brand Sprint) A 4-week intensive brand development program that delivers a world-class brand identity system through a collaborative process including brand workshop, brand strategy, and visual identity creation; priced at £14,950 fixed fee; aimed at companies needing full brand creation or repositioning.
- Amplify A flexible creative subscription service providing scalable world-class design and content capabilities with unlimited design requests, dedicated project management, and end-to-end creative services including UX/UI design, copywriting, motion graphics, and video production; targets marketing teams that need additional creative bandwidth without hiring in-house.
Quantifiable outcome
- Clients capture over £500m+ combined market share
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Notepad
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Notepad technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability1 record
Feature1 record
Notepad partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Common Thread GroupcoreNotepad joined Common Thread Group in March 2025, becoming part of a next-generation independent agency group. Common Thread Group includes Ideas + Outcomes Ltd (Notepad's parent company), Ideally Digital Ltd, Threesixty Brands Ltd, and Pull Brand + Creative Ltd. Notepad remains operational as a brand within the larger group structure.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Notepad competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Ragged Edge: Ragged Edge is a London-based independent branding agency focused on brand strategy and identity for ambitious challengers and established brands. Direct peer to Notepad given overlap in UK base, brand-strategy-led methodology, and similar client segments (startups through enterprise).
- Manual (branding agency): Manual is a small, partner-led London branding and design studio serving startups and scale-ups with brand identity and design systems. Direct peer in size tier, geography, and startup/scale-up customer focus mirroring Notepad's primary segment.
- Koto Studio: Koto is an independent branding studio operating in London and globally, building brand identities for tech companies and challengers. Directly comparable to Notepad on challenger-brand focus, identity-led output, and use of strategy frameworks layered on top of design execution.
- Pentagram: Pentagram is the world's largest independently owned design and branding agency, with partner-led studios delivering brand strategy, identity, and creative services. Directly comparable to Notepad as a creative brand-building firm with a horizontal client base across startups, scale-ups, and enterprise.
- Dragon Rouge: Dragon Rouge is an independent brand and design agency with offices in Paris, London, and New York, focused on brand strategy and identity for ambitious brands. Comparable to Notepad on horizontal brand-building services and enterprise ambition, albeit with broader geographic reach.
- Moving Brands: Moving Brands is an independent global brand and experience agency with London roots delivering brand strategy, identity, and creative execution. Comparable to Notepad on combined strategy + creative model and ambition of using brand as an 'unfair advantage' for challengers.
Emerging players
- Superside: Superside is a tech-enabled design subscription platform offering unlimited design and creative services on monthly plans. Comparable to Notepad's Amplify product on subscription creative model, intersecting Notepad's lower end of the market with a more scalable, AI-augmented delivery model.
- Design Pickle: Design Pickle is a flat-rate graphic design subscription service for marketing teams needing ongoing creative capacity. Directly comparable to Notepad's Amplify product on subscription creative model, but operating at larger scale and with broader global delivery.
Broad incumbents
- Wolff Olins: Wolff Olins is a global brand consultancy (Omnicom-owned) delivering brand strategy, identity, and design for major enterprise clients. A broad incumbent versus Notepad with overlapping brand strategy and identity offerings for ambitious enterprise customers.
- Landor & Fitch: Landor & Fitch is a large global branding consultancy (WPP-owned) operating across brand strategy, identity, and experience design. Broader incumbent offering overlapping services with Notepad but at much larger scale and enterprise reach across geographies and industries.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Notepad social profiles
Digital presenceNotepad compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Notepad financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Notepad leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Notepad funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Notepad M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Notepad
What does Notepad do?
Notepad is a creative branding agency that helps ambitious companies differentiate through brand strategy, visual identity, and ongoing creative production. Its offering is structured around three core products: BrandScore (AI-driven brand benchmarking), Evolve (a 4-week intensive brand sprint delivering a complete identity system), and Amplify (a flexible monthly creative subscription providing scalable design and content services).
Is Notepad a public or private company?
Notepad is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Notepad founded?
Notepad was founded in 2017. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Notepad based?
Notepad is headquartered in Birmingham, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Notepad make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Brand Strategy & Identity Projects are the primary driver. The others are amplify Subscription and evolve Brand Sprint.
Who are Notepad's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Ragged Edge, Manual (branding agency), Koto Studio, Pentagram, Dragon Rouge and Moving Brands. Emerging players are Superside and Design Pickle. Broad incumbents are Wolff Olins and Landor & Fitch.
Does Notepad have an API?
No public API is recorded for Notepad.
What industry is Notepad in?
Notepad's product category is Brand Strategy and Creative Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAFAEAD, Creative Concepting & Campaign Development, with a secondary code of BPAFAAAB, Creative & Brand Campaign Development. Its NAICS code is 541430 and its SIC code is 7311.