Freelance brand identity design and brand guidelines

Who it’s for

• Founders and ventures that need an identity and guidelines before launch
• Companies adding a subbrand or product brand to an existing group
• Marketing teams refreshing a brand and the templates that carry it
• Agencies that need a senior brand designer on an identity project

What’s included

Brand proposals and visual identity

Concept routes, logo, colour, typography and graphic language.

Brand guidelines

A guidelines document that other designers and agencies can work from.

Subbrand architecture

How a group and its related entities look distinct and still belong together.

Launch assets

Brochures, social graphics, templates and stationery built on the new identity.

Where I’ve done this

I led the brand development for Tokenise, a regulated financial venture in the VERO ecosystem. The identity had to stand apart from VERO for legal and regulatory reasons and hold three related entities: the Brokerage, the Stock Exchange and Digiclear. I’ve also designed the brands for Ambr and What’s For Dinner?!, two products I co‑founded, and worked on the Iron Mountain brand refresh at Ogilvy. At Cushman & Wakefield I was the brand manager, which means I’ve been the person enforcing the guidelines as well as the person writing them.

More about Maria

Questions clients ask

Do you create brand guidelines as well as the logo?

Yes. A brand identity project usually covers the visual identity and the guidelines that explain how to use it. For Tokenise I produced the brand proposal, the guidelines and the subbrand architecture.

Have you designed brands for regulated or financial companies?

Yes. Tokenise is a regulated financial venture, and its brand had to feel credible and secure to investors. Earlier in my career I worked on campaigns and brand communications for Mastercard, Santander and HSBC.

Can you work within our existing brand rather than redesign it?

Yes. Much of my work is new creative inside an existing brand system. I was brand manager at Cushman & Wakefield, acting as brand guardian across campaigns, internal communications and stakeholder materials.

Do you design the launch materials after the identity is agreed?

Yes. For Tokenise that included an investor-facing brochure, social graphics, video assets and business cards across the group and its subbrands.

All questions

Other services

• Presentations & pitchesExecutive decks that turn strategy into a clear story.
• Editorial & publicationMagazines, reports and books with concept-led artwork.
• Infographics & dataDense information turned into clear visual stories.
• Freelance design supportA senior designer for agencies and in-house teams.
• Digital product & UX/UIProduct concepts and interfaces that feel simple and human.
• Motion, video & socialVideo, social and event creative for fast-moving channels.