Unlock imagination, insight and craftmanship as driving forces behind the category–leading brands


We are a curiosity-driven independent branding and design firm providing integrated researchstrategybrand identity developmentwayfinding, and brand experience services to help our clients create, grow, and manage their brands.

Photo by Koy+Winkel


We connect brands with people through

Brand Landscape Research

Identify unique opportunities. Recognize your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses

Brand Strategy Development

Define what drives your purpose, your brand stands for, and with whom it should resonate

Naming and Naming Systems

Express your brand’s unique story with trademarkable names and product naming systems

Brand Identity Development

Build a compelling brand image. Scale it to all channels to build  brand awareness

Startling Brands Explore Conference Branding Visual Identity Planet Labs
Startling Brands Explore Conference Branding Visual Identity Planet Labs
See how we have helped Planet to connect their brand with its stakeholders.
View Case Study


We connect products with customers through

Positioning & Repositioning

Adjust your existing brand strategy and positioning, minimize missteps, and maximize proven results.

Brand Architecture Consolidation

Build comprehensive sub-brands systems to help your customers navigate easily through your offerings

Brand Refresh and Extension

Fine-tune your current brand identity. Extend it with new applications reflecting your organization’s growth 

360° Brand Activation

From websites, through brochures to LinkedIn templates. Activate your brand across all channels through captivating branding touchpoints

Startling Brands Branding Berlin Germany Agile Brand Strategy B2B
See how we have helped Gulec to connect their B2B product with new customers
View Case Study


We connect people with spaces through

Spatial Brand Experience Strategy

Define how your brand translates into physical environments

Workplace / Office Branding

Build the brand equity and drive authentic employee engagement in workplace environments

Wayfinding and Spatial Design

Create immersive design applications for places people love to use and help them navigate through them

Startling Brands Branding Agency Berlin Wayfinding Environmental Graphic Design for Contentful
Startling Brands Branding Agency Berlin Wayfinding Environmental Graphic Design for Contentful
See how we have helped Contentful to translate its brand into their new Berlin workplace
View Case Study


We connect diverse audiences through

Brand Impact Awareness

Understand your brand’s socio-cultural impact. Benefit from the synergy with its surrounding environment

Inclusivity Sensitive Design

Understand and build inclusive and human-centered brands and brand experience environments

Startling Brands NGO Nonprofit Branding Visual Identity Berlin Germany Ipso International Psychosocial Organization
Startling Brands NGO Nonprofit Branding Visual Identity Berlin Germany Ipso International Psychosocial Organization
See how we have helped International Psychosocial Organization to connect diverse audiences to amplify their impact
View Case Study

Three Principles of Our Work

Stay curious

We are grateful for every given opportunity to solve creative and strategic challenges of the organizations we work with. While we adhere to our proven challenge-solving framework, we approach each project with genuine curiosity and refrain from using generic approaches.

Keep fair pricing

We are not expensive, nor a budget agency. We pursue fair pricing and fair compensation. Our rates align with German branding/design industry standards, and we offer reasonable discounts to non-profit organizations or startups that have limited resources but unlimited drive for doing good things.

Be kind, do good

We foster open communication and proactively solve problems that occur. We refrain from working with organizations that promote hatred, injustice or are untruthful about their products or services. We don’t do free pitches and never ask our manufacturers for free work.

People at Startling Brands

CREATIVE DIRECTION

Mario Dzurila

ART DIRECTION

Daniil Petunov

STRATEGY/RESEARCH

Marta Mokhnach

PM/RESEARCH

Niklas Franz

3D

Filip Janik

AUDIO

Paul Bonomo

Press & Media Recognition

Contentful

The architectural platform Amazing Architecture writes about Contentful in “The Future Workspace: Contentful Berlin, Germany by toi toi toi creative studio

The graphic design community platform Abduzeedo writes about how “Startling Brands helps Contentful to create a three dimensional brand experience in its new office

The Middle East branding publication Brandberries praises Contentful project in their feature about “Celebrating The Inclusivity And Playfulness Of The Tech Unicorn Brand Through Wayfinding And Spatial Graphic Design

“Smart, playful, inclusive: This is a different signage system” writes leading German graphic design magazine Page in a feature about our wayfinding and environmental graphic design project we did for Contentful.

The Design Made in Germany publication features this project on their top list.

The global architectural and interior design publication Frame asks “IS THIS BERLIN OFFICE THE HEIGHT OF AGILE WORKPLACE DESIGN?” in the feature about our the work of interior designer partners T3 toi toi toi creative studio.

The OnOffice magazine dedicated architecture and design at work says that “Wellness and inclusivity are at the heart of the new Contentful hub in Berlin” in the feature about our the work of interior designer partners T3 toi toi toi creative studio.

Ipso (International Psychosocial Organization)

Our rebranding of International Psychosocial Organization gets featured in the Design Made in Germany,

as well as in Brand New, and by Transform Magazine.

Gulec Chemicals

Our integrated B2B global branding and marketing solution for Gulec Chemicals gets featured in the leading German design publication Design Made in Germany

as well as in Brandberries, the number one branding gateway of the Middle East and Africa.

and gets spotted by Brand New.

The global magazine for rebranding and brand development Transform also features our work in Transform Monday

Safetown

“Who says insurance can’t be playful?” asks AIGA’s Eye on Design in their feature about Safetown

The logo and identity system we’ve developed for a Scandinavian online insurance brand Safetown has been spotted by Brand New.

A leading Slovak design and marketing magazine Sketcher writes about Startling Brands’s unconventional approach to the insurance branding.

Dacha Media

The logo + identity system we’ve developed for Dacha Media has been featured on various branding and identity design publications. veteran branding blog The Branding Source writes about how Startling Brands interprets Dacha Media

Leading publication on brand and corporate design, Brand New features Dacha Media in their spotted section.

London based global magazine for rebranding and brand development Transform reviews our identity as “cutting-through in a heavily media-centric city“ in their Transform Tuesday roundup.