26 Best Brand Identity Designers in NYC

Looking for a brand identity designer in NYC you can work with directly?

This guide brings together 26 independent designers with different strengths, from typography and packaging to websites and campaign systems.

The right choice depends on what you are building, the work you need, and the designer’s approach—not simply the size of their client list.

I’m Arek Dvornechuck, the designer behind Ebaqdesign, and I have included my own practice in this selection so you can compare it with the other options.

A strong identity starts with deliberate design decisions, from early sketches to the finished system.

How I selected these designers

This is an editorial selection of individual designers and personal practices, rather than an objective ranking or a list of agencies.

For this update, I checked public portfolio and profile information for an NYC base, independent or freelance work, and a focus on identity or related brand systems.

Some designers operate under a studio name or collaborate with other specialists; the profiles here focus on the individual and their work.

Locations and services are self-reported, so confirm current availability, who will do the work, and project fit when you contact someone.

Past agency projects should be read with the credits on each portfolio: working on a project is not the same as creating every part of it alone.

26 independent brand identity designers in NYC

Use the specialties below to build a shortlist, then examine complete projects rather than judging a designer from a portrait or a single logo.

1. Barbiana Liu
2. Nicole Pivirotto
3. Brooke Qualman
4. Laci Harmon
5. Tony Safran
6. Adam Ho
7. Gurjinder Singh
8. Daniel Koppich
9. Arek Dvornechuck
10. Suze Myers
11. Sydne Leavitt
12. Eric W Lee
13. Johanna Nager
14. Adrienne Hapanowicz
15. Mike Tully
16. Shruti Agrawal
17. Yuka Doyama
18. Graham Clifford
19. Rebecca Matt
20. Sam Bumbalo
21. Kevin Ebrahimoff
22. Erica Bech
23. Maria Cynthia
24. Matthew Lewicki
25. Luciana Diehl
26. Ronin Wood

1. Barbiana Liu

Barbiana Liu is a NYC-based freelance visual designer whose work spans branding, websites, and content.

Based in New York City.

Focus Brand identity and graphic design.

Her public portfolio includes Studio Petra and Scenery Modern Supplements, offering a starting point for evaluating her approach to visual identity.

Consider for Lifestyle and creative brands looking for identity with a digital component.

2. Nicole Pivirotto

Nicole Pivirotto is an independent creative director and designer based in Brooklyn.

Based in Brooklyn.

Focus Visual identities and art direction.

Her portfolio moves between visual identity, packaging, and websites, with projects including Gelée, Rank & Style, and a brand refresh for Bala.

Consider for Consumer, wellness, and lifestyle businesses seeking a cohesive visual world.

3. Brooke Qualman

Brooke Qualman is a freelance brand designer and design director based in NYC.

Based in New York City.

Focus Brand design and creative direction.

Her portfolio includes branding for Fields Good Chicken, Revere Ware, and Atelier Eva, with identity extending into packaging, menus, and websites.

Consider for Food, hospitality, and consumer brands that need identity across physical and digital touchpoints.

4. Laci Harmon

Laci Harmon is a Brooklyn-based brand designer and illustrator who works with founders and growing businesses.

Based in Brooklyn.

Focus Identity and packaging.

Her services cover logo and identity systems, packaging, creative direction, and ongoing design support.

Consider for Founders who want brand identity and packaging developed together.

5. Tony Safran

Tony Safran runs an independent creative practice in Brooklyn under the name Butchy’s.

Based in Brooklyn.

Focus Brand identity, marketing and merchandise.

His work spans sport, lifestyle apparel, music, and entertainment, combining brand identity and positioning with campaigns and merchandise.

Consider for Brands whose identity needs to translate into apparel, merchandise, and marketing.

6. Adam Ho

Adam Ho runs an independent design practice based in Queens.

Based in Queens.

Focus Brand identity, imagery and interaction.

His work connects brand identity, image-making, and interaction design; his portfolio is useful for assessing how an experimental visual language can extend into digital experiences.

Consider for Brands open to expressive typography, imagery, and digital interaction.

7. Gurjinder Singh

Gurjinder Singh is a NYC-based freelance brand and web designer focused on fintech, B2B, and businesses that depend on trust.

Based in New York City.

Focus Brand and web design for fintech and B2B.

His practice connects positioning, brand systems, and websites, with both project and fractional ways of working described on his site.

Consider for Companies with complex products that need a clearer visual and digital presentation.

8. Daniel Koppich

Daniel Koppich is a Brooklyn-based designer with experience in identity, exhibitions, and publications.

Based in Brooklyn.

Focus Identity, exhibition and editorial design.

Previously an associate partner at Pentagram, he describes an independent practice on his portfolio.

His professional profile also lists Fictive Kin, so confirm his current availability for direct commissions.

Consider for Cultural, architectural, and institutional projects that require identity across several formats.

Previously an associate partner at Pentagram (2021–23), with earlier work at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Project Projects.

His official bio also lists work with Wolff Olins, 2×4 and C-Lab.

9. Arek Dvornechuck

Can I humbly put myself in the top ten?

I’m Arek Dvornechuck, the designer behind Ebaqdesign, and I work directly with clients from my base in Brooklyn.

Based in New York City.

Focus Brand strategy, identity and web design.

I have over 20 years of design experience, have worked with Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv and agencies in Poland, and have been fully freelance since 2016.

Consider for A direct relationship with a senior designer across strategy, identity, websites, and motion.

10. Suze Myers

Suze Myers is a graphic designer and art director based in Brooklyn.

Based in Brooklyn.

Focus Brand identity and websites for creative businesses.

Her independent practice focuses on branding and websites for small businesses and entrepreneurs, particularly creative, craft, and food-and-beverage businesses.

Consider for An owner-led business bringing a creative venture to market.

11. Sydne Leavitt

Sydne Leavitt is an independent designer based in New York City.

Based in New York City.

Focus Brand identity, strategy and art direction.

Her portfolio brings together strategy, brand identity, and art direction, with identity projects including MedGeo and Hometown Flower Co.

Consider for Clients looking for a visual identity supported by creative direction.

12. Eric W Lee

Eric W Lee is a Brooklyn freelance graphic designer specializing in logos, branding, packaging, and illustration.

Based in Brooklyn.

Focus Logo systems, branding and illustration.

His portfolio includes identity work for Canoeist and Two Lions Trading alongside illustration and merchandise projects.

Consider for Brands that want characterful illustration integrated with their logo and visual system.

13. Johanna Nager

Johanna Nager is a Queens-based web and brand identity designer who also freelances for agencies.

Based in Queens.

Focus Web, identity and packaging.

Her portfolio includes identity, packaging, and digital projects such as Ultra Pouches, Magnifique Couleur, and Exponent.

Consider for A project that connects a visual identity with packaging or a website.

Designed websites and helped launch brands at Doily Studio before freelancing for agencies; her site currently mentions work with timestwo.

14. Adrienne Hapanowicz

Adrienne Hapanowicz is an independent designer based in Brooklyn.

Based in Brooklyn.

Focus Visual branding, art direction and web.

Her visual-branding services include logos, wordmarks, guidelines, color, typography, and imagery, and she works both directly and with agency teams.

Consider for Clients who need a practical visual language and clear guidance for using it.

15. Mike Tully

Mike Tully is an independent designer based in New York City.

Based in New York City.

Focus Cultural identity, editorial and exhibition design.

His practice spans identity, editorial, and exhibition commissions for artists, architects, publishers, and institutions.

Consider for Arts and cultural projects where identity needs to work with editorial content or exhibitions.

Former design director of The Brooklyn Rail; his official bio lists work with The New York Times, Wolff Olins and Lincoln Center.

16. Shruti Agrawal

Shruti Agrawal is a freelance product and brand designer based in Brooklyn.

Based in Brooklyn.

Focus Brand identity, strategy and digital experiences.

Her portfolio connects branding with digital experiences, including projects categorized as brand and web work such as Create+Collaborate and Measure Twice.

Consider for A brand identity that needs to carry through into a usable digital experience.

17. Yuka Doyama

Yuka Doyama is a freelance designer based in New York City whose experience spans the United States and Japan.

Based in New York City.

Focus Branding, packaging and collateral.

Her work includes branding, packaging, and collateral across sectors such as beauty, apparel, and food.

Consider for Consumer brands evaluating identity and packaging together.

18. Graham Clifford

Graham Clifford is an independent designer and art director with a New York City practice.

Based in New York City.

Focus Brand identity and art direction.

His portfolio includes identity work such as WE LOVE NYC and SKYY vodka, and his practice works directly with brands as well as with agencies.

Consider for Clients looking for an identity specialist with extensive brand-design experience.

His official biography lists prior work at Collett Dickenson Pearce, Gold Greenlees Trott, Chiat/Day and Ogilvy, following an early grounding in typography.

19. Rebecca Matt

Rebecca Matt is an independent art director and brand designer based in New York City.

Based in New York City.

Focus Brand identity and art direction.

Her practice covers identity systems and their application to packaging, signage, websites, and campaigns.

Consider for Clients who need an identity developed with its real-world applications in mind.

20. Sam Bumbalo

Sam Bumbalo is a Brooklyn-based freelance designer whose work includes identity systems, typography, and illustration.

Based in Brooklyn.

Focus Identity systems, typography and illustration.

His portfolio includes independent identity work, and his experience also includes a previous role at Red Antler.

Consider for Brands seeking a typographic identity with room for illustration and motion.

Worked as a designer at Red Antler before freelancing full-time.

Earlier roles included junior designer at Order and internships at Pentagram on Paula Scher’s team and Turner Duckworth.

21. Kevin Ebrahimoff

Kevin Ebrahimoff runs the independent Brooklyn practice I’m Off Design.

Based in Brooklyn.

Focus Brand identity, packaging and Shopify.

His services connect identity and packaging with Shopify websites, with a focus on consumer packaged goods and startups.

Consider for A product business bringing its brand, packaging, and online store together.

22. Erica Bech

Erica Bech is a freelance creative lead based in Brooklyn.

Based in Brooklyn.

Focus Brand identity, campaigns and creative direction.

Her practice focuses on brand identity and narrative across campaigns, with design, art direction, and support for internal teams.

Consider for Brands needing a senior creative partner to extend an identity into campaigns.

23. Maria Cynthia

Maria Cynthia is a brand and packaging designer whose portfolio identifies her as based in Brooklyn, NYC.

Based in Brooklyn.

Focus Brand identity and packaging.

Her site also references Jakarta, and her portfolio includes identity and packaging work such as Nectara and Digita Rasa.

Consider for Clients drawn to a visual approach combining branding, packaging, and storytelling.

24. Matthew Lewicki

Matthew Lewicki is a Brooklyn-based freelance designer working across visual identity, printed matter, and digital design.

Based in Brooklyn.

Focus Visual identity, printed matter and digital design.

His portfolio includes Amplify Wellness and Swan Shop Vintage, alongside work for music and hospitality projects.

Consider for Businesses that need identity to connect with print, culture, and digital experiences.

Former lead web and UX designer at Bluemercury, after earlier packaging work there and lead design work for Dolcezza Coffee & Gelato.

25. Luciana Diehl

Luciana Diehl is an independent designer based in Brooklyn who offers branding and Squarespace websites.

Based in Brooklyn.

Focus Brand identity and Squarespace websites.

Her practice emphasizes working directly with clients, bringing identity and website design into one engagement.

Consider for Small businesses seeking a personal, connected branding and website process.

26. Ronin Wood

Ronin Wood is a Brooklyn-based freelance graphic designer whose work includes campaign identities and print.

Based in Brooklyn.

Focus Campaign identity, print and graphic design.

His portfolio includes NYC-DSA membership identity and Amazon Labor Union campaign work, alongside a broader range of graphic-design projects.

Consider for Organizations needing a clear visual voice across campaigns, print, and community communications.

Brand identity agencies in NYC

If you need a broader team, I would also explore these New York studios.

I have kept this section focused on smaller creative practices, alongside Pentagram and Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv.

These are studio options rather than entries in the individual-designer ranking.

I have also worked with Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv, so independent work and agency experience have both shaped my own career.

Gretel

Gretel is a Brooklyn studio combining brand strategy with visual and verbal design.

Its work extends into motion, broadcast and digital experiences.

Order

Order builds identities, typography and design systems through a practical, research-based process.

Its Brooklyn office is led by co-founder Jesse Reed; its portfolio includes Knoll and the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy.

Hyperakt

Hyperakt focuses on branding for nonprofits, foundations and other purpose-driven organizations.

Its portfolio includes the Ford Foundation, the New York Community Trust and NYCLU.

High Tide

High Tide is a New York creative studio working across brand identity, art direction, packaging and web design.

Its portfolio includes Resy, Warby Parker and Inness.

I would explore its work for projects where the identity needs to carry through into packaging, spaces and digital experiences.

PORTO ROCHA

PORTO ROCHA combines strategy and design, with offices in New York and London.

Its portfolio includes PAC NYC, Sundance Film Festival and Twitch.

The work is worth studying for identities that need to move between cultural storytelling, digital products and large public audiences.

Athletics

Athletics brings designers, strategists and technologists together to build brand identities and digital experiences.

Its portfolio includes New Museum, Google Chrome and MoMA School & Teacher Programs.

I would look here when a brand needs both a strong visual system and practical tools for putting it to work.

&Walsh

&Walsh is a New York creative agency working across brand strategy, art direction, design and production.

Its portfolio includes visual identities and creative work for Zooba, Plenty and Baboon.

Motto

Motto combines business strategy, brand positioning and design for technology and innovation companies.

Its official portfolio includes Goodnotes, and its website lists New York among its locations.

Pentagram

Pentagram brings together partner-led teams working across identity, strategy, digital design and environments.

Its New York work includes the Public Theater, the High Line and NYC Parks.

Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv

Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv is an independent New York studio specializing in idea-driven brand identities.

The firm emphasizes direct involvement by its principals and a collaborative approach to every project.

How to find the right brand identity designer

Start with the kind of work your business needs, then use that brief to narrow the list.

Look beyond the logo

Ask to see how a proposed identity works on a website, packaging, social posts, presentations, or whichever touchpoints your business actually uses.

A strong portfolio should help you understand the designer’s thinking and the consistency of the system, not just the appeal of one mockup.

Compare relevant experience

Look for projects with a similar challenge: launching a product, explaining a complex service, repositioning an established company, or connecting a brand with its website.

An exact industry match can help, but it should not replace a conversation about your audience and business goals.

Understand how you will work together

Ask who leads strategy, who makes the design, how feedback is handled, and what happens when the agreed scope changes.

Working independently does not automatically mean working alone; find out which collaborators are involved and who is accountable for delivery.

Other places to explore include Toptal, 99designs, Fiverr, LinkedIn, and agency directories such as Clutch.

Google Maps can also help you discover local practices, but check each portfolio and current services before making a shortlist.

The platform comparison is an illustrative editorial view, not a measured ranking.

Prices and experience vary widely within each platform; the individual designer and project scope matter more than the platform name.

Where to look

I would start with the portfolios in this guide, then use Contra and Upwork to explore people offering freelance services, and Behance and Dribbble to discover visual work.

A polished profile is a starting point.

Follow through to the designer’s own site, check project credits, and ask about availability and how they would approach your brief.

Use portfolios and professional profiles together

A personal website usually provides the clearest view of a designer’s work, while LinkedIn, Behance, and Contra can provide additional context about their practice.

Check the current location and engagement model directly rather than relying on an old directory listing.

How much does brand identity design cost?

The useful comparison is the price for an agreed scope, not an isolated hourly rate.

A logo-only project is different from an engagement that includes research, positioning, messaging, a visual system, brand guidelines, and a website.

Ask each designer to explain what is included, how many review stages are planned, which final files you receive, and what follow-up support is available.

For more context, see my logo design cost guide and branding package guide, then request a quote based on your actual project.

Compare like-for-like proposals: scope, senior involvement, implementation, timeline, and support all affect the value of an engagement.

What to prepare before you hire

You do not need a finished strategy document, but a concise brief will make the first conversation more useful.

• The business: what you sell, who it is for, and what makes it different.
• The challenge: what is not working or what you are about to launch.
• The scope: identity only, packaging, website, motion, or a combination.
• The timing: the real deadline and any dependencies.
• The budget: a working range so the designer can suggest an appropriate scope.
• The decision-makers: who will provide feedback and approve the work.

Work with me on your brand identity

If you want to work directly with an independent designer on strategy, identity, and a website, take a look at my selected projects.

I can help connect the core identity with the places people experience your business, including digital design and motion where the project calls for it.

Book a call to discuss what you are building and whether my approach is a good fit.

Final thoughts

The best brand identity designer for your business is the one whose work, experience, timeline, and approach match what you need.

I would start with three portfolios that feel relevant, look through complete projects, and talk to each designer about the brief before comparing proposals.

A recognizable client name or an impressive logo is useful context, but I would also ask who did the work and how the designer would approach your particular challenge.

Whether you choose an independent designer or a studio, look for clear thinking, a clear process, and a scope you both understand.

And if you want to work directly with me on your brand identity, explore my work and book a call so we can talk about what you are building.