STENCIL

What STENCIL does

STENCIL Creative is a purpose-led creative agency founded in 2016 in Nottingham, United Kingdom, by Andy Afford (Managing Director) and Sam Bowles (Creative Director). The agency operates from studios in Nottingham (Antenna Building, 91 Beck Street and a second location at 8 Broadway) and London (Confetti London, 41 Commercial Road), employing between 11 and 50 people. Its service portfolio comprises six integrated pillars: Visual Identity, Strategic Positioning, Design Spaces (immersive event and exhibition environments), Digital & Social, Film & Animation, and Print & Editorial. In 2025 STENCIL acquired The Dairy, a brand, digital and marketing agency, bringing additional client accounts and broadening the agency's service depth and scale.

STENCIL serves three primary client segments — progressive brands, forward-thinking charities, and aligned institutions — with named enterprise clients including Marks & Spencer and Dom Pérignon alongside alumni-founded ventures such as Lost Boys. The agency's go-to-market is direct client engagement with project-based, quote-driven pricing; there are no publicly disclosed fees and no subscription or retainer model. A distinctive feature of the operating model is the formal academic partnerships with Nottingham Trent University (Digital Arts and Design School), the Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies, and Nottingham Business School, through which STENCIL recruits interns and apprentices who work alongside the core team on live client projects, creating a community-driven talent pipeline that underpins both capacity and cultural positioning.

Revenue is generated entirely through professional services fees on client engagements. The business is privately held with no institutional investors or external funding rounds disclosed, and there are no patents, proprietary technology platforms, APIs, or AI/ML capabilities described in available materials. The agency's reputation is anchored in third-party recognition — notably the 2023 Goldman Sachs SME Business of the Year award and multiple British Society of Magazine Editors (BSME) nominations and wins from 2023 through 2026 — and in its community engagement across charities including Teenage Cancer Trust, Future Dreams, Spread a Smile, and The Cricketers' Trust.

Name

STENCIL

Legal name

STENCIL Creative

Website

https://stencil-agency.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

STENCIL is a Nottingham- and London-based purpose-led creative agency offering visual identity, strategic positioning, design, digital, film, and print services to progressive brands, charities, and institutions, with a talent pipeline built on academic partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Creative Agency Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (54181), Advertising Agencies (541810), Graphic Design Services (541430), Graphic Design Services (54143), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainability & Purpose Brand Design (ESG Narrative, Impact Branding) (MPAAAEAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Brand Activations & Experiential Campaign Design (MPAAAGAA), Cause, ESG & Sustainability Communications (MPAAADAL)

Keywords

• Creative agency services
• Brand identity design
• Editorial design
• Design services
• Purpose-led creativity

Headquarters

HQ city

Nottingham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Creative Agency Services: Project-based creative services including visual identity, strategic positioning, digital and social content, film and animation, print and editorial design, and immersive event and exhibition spaces. Revenue is generated through client engagements and project fees.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

STENCIL is a purpose-led creative agency delivering branding, graphic and editorial design, digital and social content, film, animation, print, and immersive event/exhibition design spaces. Founded in 2016 in Nottingham and operating studios in Nottingham and London, the agency serves progressive brands, forward-thinking charities, and aligned institutions through a unified portfolio of six integrated service areas.

Product overview

STENCIL is a purpose-led creative agency offering a unified portfolio of design services. The core offering comprises six integrated service areas: Visual Identity, Strategic Positioning, Design Spaces, Digital & Social, Film & Animation, and Print & Editorial. Following the acquisition of The Dairy, the agency has expanded its capabilities to include additional brand, digital, and marketing services. All services are delivered by young creative talent through an apprenticeship and internship model, supported by academic partnerships with Nottingham Trent University and Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Visual Identity

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Nottingham Trent University - Digital Arts and Design SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Formal academic partnership providing access to elite young creative talent. STENCIL offers exceptional internship experiences and apprenticeships, often leading to real creative industry jobs. From day one, interns work side-by-side with the core team on client projects, supported by academic study.
• The DairycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025STENCIL acquired The Dairy, a well-established brand, digital and marketing agency. The acquisition brings a portfolio of new client accounts, broadens service depth and scale, and creates additional stability through a diversified client base. Managing Director Nigel Rowlson joins on consultancy basis; Chris Skeggs joins the senior creative team.
• Confetti Institute of Creative TechnologiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership through Confetti.ac.uk for developing young creative talent. STENCIL employs graduates from Confetti and offers internship and apprenticeship opportunities to students.
• Nottingham Business SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership providing access to emerging talent from Nottingham Trent University's business programmes, complementing the creative talent pipeline.
• Nottingham Young Creative AwardsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSTENCIL supports the Nottingham Young Creative Awards as part of their community involvement and talent development ecosystem.
• Teenage Cancer TrustminorOthersSTENCIL supports Teenage Cancer Trust as part of their social responsibility initiatives alongside other charities and community groups.
• Future DreamsminorOthersSTENCIL supports Future Dreams charity as part of their community and social responsibility programme.
• The Cricketers' TrustminorOthersSTENCIL supports The Cricketers' Trust as part of their charitable giving and community support initiatives.
• Spread a SmileminorOthersSTENCIL supports Spread a Smile charity as part of their social responsibility and community engagement.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Studio Output: Studio Output is an independent creative studio combining brand strategy, design, motion, and digital production for ambitious brands. It is a UK independent peer with comparable service breadth and award-winning positioning to STENCIL.
• Mother Design: Mother Design is the design arm of Mother, a globally recognised independent creative company with strong editorial, identity, and brand-design capabilities. It is a direct peer for STENCIL in the purpose-driven, award-winning creative space serving progressive brands.
• Ragged Edge: Ragged Edge is an independent London brand agency combining strategy, identity, and narrative work for ambitious challenger brands. It competes head-to-head with STENCIL for purpose-driven, progressive brand mandates.
• DesignStudio: DesignStudio is a London-headquartered brand and design agency focused on identity, strategy, and digital experience work for progressive brands and institutions. It competes directly with STENCIL for purpose-led enterprise clients in the UK and shares a similar values-driven, multi-disciplinary positioning.
• B-Reel: B-Reel is a global creative studio with strong capabilities in film, animation, digital, and interactive storytelling, serving progressive brands and entertainment clients. It is comparable to STENCIL on the film/animation and digital content side of the portfolio.
• Made Thought: Made Thought is a London-based independent creative studio working across brand identity, editorial, digital, and spatial design for cultural, charitable, and progressive brand clients. Its values-led, multi-disciplinary service model is directly comparable to STENCIL's purpose-led positioning.
• Koto Studio: Koto is an independent brand and design studio focused on identity, strategy, and digital experience work, particularly for challenger and purpose-led brands. It is a comparable emerging independent peer competing with STENCIL for similar client mandates.

Regional players

• Studio Dumbar: Studio Dumbar is an award-winning independent Dutch design studio with a focus on identity, motion, and editorial design. While based outside the UK, its purpose-driven, multi-disciplinary positioning and similar award profile make it a relevant regional peer for STENCIL.
• SomeOne & Others: SomeOne & Others is a London-based independent design and branding studio with strong identity and editorial capabilities. It is a comparable UK independent peer with overlapping service lines and client types to STENCIL.

Broad incumbents

• Pentagram: Pentagram is one of the world's largest independent design studios with a partner-led, multi-disciplinary model spanning brand identity, editorial, digital, and environmental design. It is the clearest scaled incumbent comparison for STENCIL's purpose-led, multi-service creative positioning in the UK and global markets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/stencil_uk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stencil-uk
• Facebookfacebook.com/stencilagency

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 STENCIL