What How&How does

How&How is a privately-held, bootstrapped branding agency founded in 2020 by Cat How (Executive Creative Director) and Rog How (Managing Director), operating from London headquarters at 40 Great Eastern St, Shoreditch, and a second studio in Venice, Los Angeles. The agency provides end-to-end brand services — brand strategy and narrative, verbal identity and naming, visual identity, brand architecture, website design and build, motion design, 3D animation, and illustration — to challenger brands, venture-backed startups, and established institutions across sectors including climate tech, AI, e-commerce, conservation, healthcare, telecommunications, and cultural institutions. Named clients include giffgaff, Holland & Barrett, Chester Zoo, Big Cartel, Ideogram, Pachama, and Bristol Dockyards, with 50+ projects delivered since founding.

The agency's core technology stack spans industry-standard creative tooling (Figma for design systems, Cinema 4D and After Effects for motion, Illustrator for illustration) combined with custom NextJS headless CMS website builds using modular styled-component codebases. Their distinguishing methodological asset is a narrative-first, atomic design-system approach: brand strategy, verbal identity, visual identity, and digital execution are delivered by integrated in-house teams to eliminate handoff friction. Revenue is generated through project-based engagements and retainers, with no public rate card disclosed. The business is bootstrapped with no institutional funding, achieved B Corp certification in January 2025, and operates with publicly transparent salary bands including a 5% across-the-board pay rise in 2024.

Go-to-market is sales-led and inbound-driven, anchored by founder thought leadership (Cat How is a D&AD Global Ambassador and Jury President 2026, with bylines in The Drum, Creative Review, and Design Week; Rog How speaks at SXSW), industry awards recognition, and referral. The agency filters for top-tier talent (claims top 0.5%), joins industry initiatives such as Clean Creatives, and runs GetEven, a pro-bono mentorship program for women in creative industries, to reinforce values-driven positioning.

Name

How&How

Legal name

How&How Ltd

Website

https://how.studio

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

How&How is a bootstrapped, founder-led branding agency operating from London and Los Angeles, delivering brand strategy, verbal and visual identity, and website design for challenger brands, startups, and established institutions across climate tech, AI, e-commerce, and conservation sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Branding Agency Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810), Advertising Agencies (54181), Graphic Design Services (541430), Graphic Design Services (54143)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Integrated Full-Service Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Creative Concepting & Campaign Development (BPAFAEAD), Naming & Verbal Identity (BPAFAEAB), Naming & Verbal Identity (Taglines, Messaging) (MPAAAEAB), Packaging & Brand Identity Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAN)

Keywords

• Brand strategy services
• Visual identity design
• Verbal identity naming
• Website design build
• Brand architecture systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Branding and Identity Services: Full-service branding agency providing brand strategy, verbal identity, visual identity, naming, website design and build, illustration, motion design and animation services to clients across enterprise, startup, and challenger brand segments. Revenue is project-based and retainer-based for ongoing client relationships.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

How&How is a full-service branding agency that creates strategic brand identities for businesses, spanning brand strategy and narrative development, verbal identity and naming, visual identity (logos, color, typography, illustration), brand architecture, and digital execution via SEO-optimized NextJS headless CMS websites. Projects are delivered with in-house motion design, 3D animation, and dynamic Figma design systems built atomically for adaptability. Engagements are project-based and retainer-based, serving challenger brands, startups, established institutions, and purpose-driven organizations.

Product overview

How&How is a branding agency that creates verbal and visual identities for companies across multiple sectors including climate tech, AI, e-commerce, conservation, fashion, and hospitality. The agency's offerings span the full branding lifecycle—from brand strategy and narrative development, through verbal identity and naming, to visual identity creation, brand architecture, and digital execution via website design and build. They deliver dynamic design systems (primarily in Figma) and integrate in-house capabilities including illustration, motion design, and 3D animation. Their approach emphasizes strategic narratives, systems thinking, and digital execution with SEO-optimized headless CMS websites built in NextJS. The agency serves clients ranging from startups and challenger brands to established institutions and unicorns, operating from studios in London and Los Angeles.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Brand Strategy & Narrative

Quantifiable outcome

• Brands built have contributed to creation of Unicorns (stated on website)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• giffgaffcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 July 2025How&How announced a partnership with giffgaff as design partners, beginning a collaboration on design projects for the telecommunications brand.
• Clean CreativescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 April 2025How&How joined Clean Creatives, a global movement of creative, ad and PR professionals saying no to fossil fuel clients. Founders Cat & Rog How are also Clean Creative Ambassadors.
• PatagoniaflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 June 2024How&How partnered with Patagonia to host a talk during LA Tech Week titled 'Planet & Profit: can brands have it all?' Panel featured speakers from Patagonia, Seabin, LA Cleantech Incubator, Ecodrive, and The Verticale.
• InPostminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCreated a playful Q&A campaign for InPost's new 'Send A Parcel' service featuring Newcastle United FC players and iconic hairstyles. Collaboration with agency OKCool.
• D&ADcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounder Cat How serves as a Global Ambassador for D&AD, championing creativity and representation. She was Jury President for New Brand Identity category at D&AD 2026 Awards. Also mentors for D&AD Shift program helping students from non-traditional backgrounds.
• Female Founders RisecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounder Cat How is an Ambassador for Female Founders Rise and contributed to The Rise Report 2025, one of the largest surveys of female founders in the UK.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Pentagram: Pentagram is the world's largest independently owned design agency, offering brand strategy, identity, and digital design. It is a primary direct competitor to How&How in the premium branding space, with similar narrative-first and integrated brand/digital offerings but on a significantly larger scale.
• Mother Design: Mother Design is the design arm of creative agency Mother, offering brand identity and design for global brands. Comparable to How&How as a creative agency offering strategic brand building with an integrated agency culture.
• &Walsh: &Walsh is a Brooklyn-based branding and design agency founded by Jessica Walsh, offering brand strategy, identity, and motion design. Directly comparable to How&How as a founder-led, narrative-first creative studio with a similar mix of challenger and cultural clients.
• Pearlfisher: Pearlfisher is a London-based brand consultancy focused on brand strategy, identity, and design for consumer brands. Comparable to How&How as a London-headquartered brand agency offering strategy, naming, visual identity, and integrated digital execution.
• Koto: Koto is a London-based branding studio that creates brand identities for tech, fintech, and consumer companies. Directly comparable to How&How in founder-led culture, London location, and challenger/startup brand focus, particularly in tech and sustainability.
• COLLINS: COLLINS is an independent brand strategy and design agency with offices in New York and San Francisco. Directly comparable to How&How in offering narrative-driven brand strategy, verbal/visual identity, and integrated digital execution for startups and established brands.
• Ragged Edge: Ragged Edge is an independent London branding agency known for strategic brand thinking and distinctive visual identities. Directly comparable to How&How in geography (London), founder-led culture, and focus on challenger/enterprise brand work.
• Saffron Brand Consultants: Saffron is a global brand consultancy specializing in brand strategy, naming, and identity for multinational clients. Comparable to How&How in offering brand strategy, naming, and identity services with a similar premium positioning and integrated brand strategy approach.
• Wolff Olins: Wolff Olins is a global brand consultancy owned by Omnicom that provides brand strategy, identity, and experience design for major enterprises. Comparable to How&How as a brand strategy and identity specialist serving enterprise and challenger brand clients.
• Moving Brands: Moving Brands is an independent London-based brand and experience design agency offering strategy, identity, and digital experience work. Comparable to How&How as a London-rooted, founder-led branding agency with integrated digital capabilities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/howandhow
• Instagraminstagram.com/how___studio

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 How&How