SOCIAL MEDIA ZEITGEIST

Rebranding offers creative studios a moment to pause, reflect, and realign. As teams grow and markets shift, visual and verbal identities can lose sync with purpose. Revisiting brand strategy helps reaffirm values, sharpen communication, and ensure that how a studio presents itself matches the impact, culture, and direction it strives to embody.

Sian Tunstill | Head of Marketing and Business Growth at Bond Bryan

For over three decades, Bond Bryan has built a reputation for thoughtful, collaborative architecture. Yet as the practice evolved, its visual identity lagged behind its ambitions. Recognising this, Head of Marketing and Business Growth, Sian Tunstill led an 18-month rebranding process to better reflect the studio’s confidence, creativity, and cultural values. Partnering with Leeds-based agency Rabbithole, the team embarked on a journey of introspection, clarity, and collaboration – culminating in a bold, authentic identity aligned with Bond Bryan’s strategic vision. In this interview, Sian discusses how the process re-energised the business and created a brand built to grow.

Beedier: Why did Bond Bryan decide to rebrand?

Sian: We recognised that our previous identity – which hadn’t been updated for over five years – no longer truly reflected who we were as a practice or where we’re heading. Over time, our work, our people, and our ethos have evolved – and our brand needed to evolve with us. We wanted to capture not just our design expertise, but our wider value proposition, culture, and guiding ethos of being “more than design.” It was about presenting a bold and authentic brand that truly aligns with our future growth plans.

Beedier: What were you hoping to achieve?

Sian: The rebrand had several aims: to sharpen our position in the market and ensure consistency across all touchpoints. We also wanted to attract and retain the right talent and give our people a brand they could be proud to represent. Internally, it was about creating clarity and energy across our nine studios; externally, it was about ensuring our message resonates with clients, collaborators, and the wider community.

We talk a lot about legacy, and the rebrand was very much part of that conversation. It wasn’t just about how we look today, but about building a brand that will grow with us, reflect our values, and stand the test of time. Our aim was to create an identity that speaks not only to who we are now, but also to the positive impact we want to leave for our people, our clients, and the communities we design for.

Bond Bryan | New logo design

Beedier: How long has the whole rebranding taken, and what was its scope?

Sian: The process has taken around 18 months, from the first strategic conversations through to launch earlier this year. Importantly, it was much more than a new logo or website. The scope covered brand strategy, tone of voice, visual identity, templates, and digital presence, as well as the creation of our seven guiding principles, which serve as touch points for the business and underpin everything we do.

Beedier: Who led the rebrand internally?

Sian: I led the rebrand as Head of Marketing and Business Growth, in collaboration with key stakeholders and oversight from our CEO, Matt Hutton. It’s great that everyone really values the impact it has on the business, and were keen to be involved.

Beedier: How did you go about the rebranding process?

Sian: We started with a period of introspection, listening to colleagues and clients and really examining who we are, how we’re perceived, and where we want to be positioned in the market. We chose Rabbithole, a Leeds-based design agency, because they really understood us and weren’t afraid to challenge our thinking. I hadn’t worked with them before but I knew their work for the creative industries and for cultural clients such as Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture. Together, we distilled our values and identity into a coherent brand strategy that feels meaningful and practical. They were an absolute joy to work with and it’s an ongoing relationship that will grow with the brand.

Bond Bryan | New visual language

Beedier: Did you have a firm idea of how you wanted the new branding to turn out?

Sian: We knew what we wanted it to embody – confidence, authenticity, and alignment with our culture — but we didn’t go into the process with a rigid idea of a final look. By focusing on values and principles, we allowed space for creativity and collaboration. Rabbithole were excellent in exploring the visual identity – they pushed in all the right directions. The result is a brand and website that feel genuinely like us: bold, meaningful, and authentic.

Beedier: What was the biggest challenge in the rebranding process?

Sian: The biggest challenge was striking a balance between ambition and practicality. We wanted a distinctive, future-facing identity, but it also had to work across everyday practice needs. Another challenge was ensuring that the whole practice felt engaged and invested in the journey, so that the new brand would be adopted consistently and with pride. We were quite near the end of the rebranding process when the Fairhursts acquisition happened and that naturally added another layer of complexity. But really it was perfect timing, as we now have a unified brand for the entire business, and their specialism within it.

Bond Bryan | Branded stationary and business cards

Beedier: Are you pleased with the outcome?

Sian: Absolutely. We’re incredibly proud of what’s been achieved. The new brand has brought renewed energy, clarity and cohesion across the business, and feedback from both clients and colleagues has been overwhelmingly positive. It’s more confident, more bold, and more down to earth. It feels fresh and contemporary, but most importantly, it feels genuinely like us.

Beedier: What marketing benefits do you think the new branding will bring?

Sian: The benefits are already becoming clear. We’re seeing improved success rates in bids, more relevant and higher-quality enquiries coming through, and stronger recruitment outcomes, with candidates who align closely with our culture and values. Digital engagement has also increased, with higher web traffic including an increase in enquiries via the website, longer dwell times, and more interaction on social platforms. Ultimately, the rebrand strengthens our visibility, credibility, and differentiation, giving us a powerful foundation for sustainable growth.

Bond Bryan | Social media branding

Bond Bryan’s rebrand exemplifies how design studios are increasingly treating identity as an extension of strategic thinking, not surface change. It reflects a sector-wide recognition that communication – visual, verbal, and cultural -must evolve alongside practice. The project’s success lies in its process: sustained introspection, openness to challenge, and a willingness to translate internal values into an external language.

In an era when many rebrands chase novelty, Bond Bryan’s approach feels grounded, prioritising coherence over reinvention. It’s a case study in how branding, when handled thoughtfully, becomes less about image and more about organisational clarity and intent.

Sian Tunstill is Head of Marketing and Business Growth at Bond Bryan, where she leads strategies that strengthen the practice’s market position and long-term growth. Combining strategic insight with creative direction, she has played a central role in articulating the studio’s evolving identity and values.

Rabbithole, founded by Tim Dee and Mark Martin, is a Leeds and Glasgow based design studio known for conceptually driven, visually distinctive work. The team creates intelligent, culturally attuned brand identities and campaigns for creative, cultural, and civic organisations across the UK