Design Bridge and Partners

A London-headquartered design and branding partnership formed in 2023 when Design Bridge merged with the Superunion group.

About Design Bridge and Partners

Design Bridge and Partners is a design partnership focused on strategy, identity, brand experience and brand guardianship, which means looking after a brand once it is launched. Its London company profile lists clients including Unilever, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Diageo, Mastercard, Intel, Mondelez, HSBC, Colgate, Reckitt, Fortnum & Mason and the BBC, and also names a project for NASA's Artemis programme.

The profile describes the company as "redefining what design is and what design can do for brands", for businesses, people and the planet. Its own homepage tagline is "We design brands with the power to move people" and it names four areas of expertise: brand strategy, brand identity, brand experience and brand effectiveness. It also claims to be the most awarded global brand design agency, which is its own claim. We did not find a longer mission statement or a list of values.

The firm was created in April 2023 when WPP merged Superunion with Design Bridge. Superunion itself came together in January 2018 from five agencies: Brand Union, The Partners, Lambie-Nairn, Addison and VBAT, and traces its roots to the London design firm Sampson Tyrrell, founded in 1976. Lambie-Nairn was also founded in 1976, by Colin Robinson and Martin Lambie-Nairn. Wikipedia says WPP bought Sampson Tyrrell in 1986, that its early work included the British Gas corporate identity, and that by the early 2000s the Enterprise IG group, a forerunner, topped the Design Week 100 league table. Its client list over the years has included Kodak, Legal & General, Castrol and Mazda. London is the headquarters, and the open roles on the profile were all London office roles.

The profile gives two headcount figures, 1,108 and 850 people across 12 countries, so treat the size as roughly 850 to 1,100 worldwide. It does not describe culture or perks, and we have not made any up. Because the group is a merger of several well-known London studios, there is a long design heritage behind the name, and a lot of different types of people in the building. Some of that heritage, such as a London team of over 100 people by 1991 at Sampson Tyrrell, is documented on Wikipedia and is not a current figure.

The roles seen on the profile include designers and senior designers, motion designers, design directors, strategists and strategy partners, and client managers. If you like drawing, building brands, telling a brand's story or planning how a design will work for real customers, this firm employs people in all those areas.

What they do

• {'desc': "Working out a brand's purpose and creating its look and voice.", 'title': 'Strategy and identity'}
• {'desc': 'Design that people see and use, in store and online.', 'title': 'Brand experience'}
• {'desc': 'Keeping a brand consistent after launch.', 'title': 'Brand guardianship'}

Key facts

• Formed in April 2023 by merging Superunion with Design Bridge (WPP)
• London is the headquarters
• Clients include Unilever, Coca-Cola, Microsoft and the BBC (company profile)
• Superunion roots go back to Sampson Tyrrell, founded 1976

Website: www.designbridge.com