Best Brand Design Agency

Ranked #2 of 14 for best brand design agency

Pentagram review

An independently owned design studio founded in 1972, whose 23 partners are all practicing designers 1 2.

Updated By the Best Brand Design Agency deskHow we scoreDisclosure

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Verdict

8.2/10

Pick Pentagram for a landmark identity led by one of the partners who own and run the firm: its work runs from Mastercard to the Guggenheim, and D&AD's 2026 design agency ranking puts its New York office 2nd and its London office 7th 3 2 4 5 6 7.

Best for Partner-led landmark identities

Skip it if you need a published price or minimum budget before you make contact 8, or you want brand strategy and web development done entirely by in-house staff: the Pfizer and Reddit case studies credit outside strategists, and Pfizer credits outside web development 9 10.

Visit Pentagram (opens the Pentagram website)

Pentagram at a glance
Founded1972, by Colin Forbes, Alan Fletcher, Mervyn Kurlansky, Theo Crosby and Kenneth Grange1
OwnershipIndependently owned; Pentagram's homepage says its partners own and run the firm 32
Partners23 partners, all practicing designers, plus consulting partner Michael Bierut2
OfficesNew York, London, Austin and Berlin8
Archive2,000+ projects from 1972 to the present (Pentagram's count)11
D&AD 2026 ranking, Design AgencyPentagram New York 2nd; Pentagram London 7th 76
UK companyPentagram Design Limited (01599748), incorporated 25 November 1981; Pentagram Design AG of Zug, Switzerland holds 75% or more of its shares 1213
Published minimum budgetNot published8

How Pentagram scores

Score breakdown for Pentagram
Body of work 30%9.5Identities for Mastercard 4, Pfizer's first formal brand and design system 9, the Guggenheim's global museums 5, Reddit 10 and The Public Theater 14, inside a public archive of 2,000+ projects since 1972 11. Clients run from Pfizer to Hiut, a denim maker with a family-run factory in Wales 3.
Recognition 20%9.5D&AD ranks Pentagram New York 2nd and Pentagram London 7th among design agencies for 2026 6 7. New York also placed 7th in 2025 and 4th in 2024, and London 54th in 2025 and 5th in 2024 6 7. In 2026, Pentagram London's entry for MoN Takanawa won a Graphite Pencil for New Brand Identity 15, and Pentagram New York's entry for INQUE won a Yellow Pencil in Magazine & Newspaper Design 16. New York's 2nd place is the highest 2026 D&AD design agency rank among the 14 agencies on this list.
Strategy depth 15%7.0Brand strategy, naming and verbal identity are listed disciplines: MoN Takanawa covered naming and verbal identity 17 and the St. Louis Symphony project included brand strategy 18. Several flagship case studies credit outside strategists: Pfizer and Reddit name strategy collaborators 9 10, the Guggenheim credits a positioning strategist 5 and the Natural History Museum credits Heavenly for strategy 19.
Access and fit 15%5.5No budget, minimum or timeline is published, and new business starts with an email to one of four offices 8. Pentagram says the owners serve as the primary contact for every client and its portfolio covers clients of every size 2; the homepage shows Hiut, a denim maker with a family-run factory in Wales, and a fast-growing men's health brand next to Pfizer 3.
Range of delivery 10%9.0The About page lists identity, strategy, products and packaging, exhibitions, websites and digital experiences, advertising, data visualizations, typefaces, sound and motion 2, and the work filters add industrial design, signage and environmental graphics, and motion graphics and film 3. Some projects bring in outside specialists, such as web development on Pfizer 9.
Transparency 10%6.5Partners, associates and office addresses are public 2 8. The Mastercard and Pfizer case studies name the partners and the project team, and Pfizer's also names outside collaborators 4 9. No prices, minimum budget or process steps are published 8, and the partner count differs: 23 on the About page and in the site footer, 24 in the homepage's meta description 2 3.

Strengths and weak spots

Strengths

  • Pentagram says its partners own and run the firm 3, and the owners serve as the primary contact for every client 2.
  • Identity work for Mastercard, Pfizer, the Guggenheim and Reddit, with each case study naming the partner and team 4 9 5 10.
  • D&AD's 2026 design agency ranking puts Pentagram New York 2nd and Pentagram London 7th 6 7.
  • One studio covers identity, naming, verbal identity, typefaces, packaging, digital, motion, signage, exhibitions and industrial design 2 3.
  • A public, searchable archive of more than 2,000 projects since 1972 11.

Weak spots

  • No published prices, minimum budget or timeline 8.
  • No intake form or published process: new business goes to an email address for each office 8.
  • Several flagship case studies credit outside strategists, including Pfizer, Reddit, the Guggenheim and the Natural History Museum 9 10 5 19.
  • Partners work independently as well as together, so choosing the partner is part of choosing the studio 2.

Alternatives to Pentagram

Head to head

Pentagram: common questions

How much does Pentagram charge?

Pentagram publishes no prices, day rates or minimum budget. Its contact page lists a new-business email address for each office: London, New York, Austin and Berlin 8.

Who owns Pentagram?

Pentagram describes itself as independently owned and says the owners of the business are the creators of the work 2. Companies House lists Pentagram Design AG of Zug, Switzerland as holding 75% or more of the shares in the UK company, Pentagram Design Limited 12.

Does Pentagram work with smaller companies?

Pentagram says its portfolio covers clients of every size 2. Its homepage features Hiut, a denim maker with a family-run factory in Wales, and a fast-growing men's health brand alongside Pfizer 3. It publishes no minimum budget 8.

Sources

  1. Pentagram. Colin Forbes on the Structure of Pentagram. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  2. Pentagram. About. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  3. Pentagram. Pentagram: The world’s largest independent design consultancy. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  4. Pentagram. Mastercard. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  5. Pentagram. Guggenheim. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  6. D&AD. Pentagram New York. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  7. D&AD. Pentagram London. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  8. Pentagram. Contact. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  9. Pentagram. Pfizer. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  10. Pentagram. Reddit. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  11. Pentagram. Archive: Pentagram. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  12. Companies House. PENTAGRAM DESIGN LIMITED persons with significant control - Find and update company information - GOV.UK. Checked 8 Nov 2026.
  13. Companies House. PENTAGRAM DESIGN LIMITED overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK. Checked 8 Nov 2026.
  14. Pentagram. The Public Theater. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  15. D&AD. MoN Takanawa (D&AD Awards archive). Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  16. D&AD. INQUE (D&AD Awards archive). Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  17. Pentagram. MoN Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  18. Pentagram. St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
  19. Pentagram. Natural History Museum. Checked 9 Nov 2026.