Why one roof, not three vendors
Most brands are built piecemeal, a logo from one designer, a site from another, an app from a third agency. The result reads like three different companies.
Many specialist design and brand agencies pick a lane. A web design shop does websites and treats branding as a bolt-on page. A branding studio designs identities and hands you off for the build. Those disciplines are often contracted out separately again. You end up briefing three vendors, paying three onboarding fees, and reconciling three different opinions on what your brand actually looks like.
We do all four under one roof so the brand reads the same everywhere a customer meets it: on the shelf, on the site, in the app, on a business card. One team, one brief, one accountable engagement. Alessandro founded The Social Target in 2017 and has run it for 9 years as both the agency's operator and a working West End performer, currently eight shows a week in Titanique. That dual identity is the reason the agency thinks like an artist about the work and runs it like an engineer: scoped, deadlined, delivered.
Brand Identity, Design & Rebrands (DB01)
A brand design agency builds the visual and verbal system a company runs on: logo, typography, colour, voice, and the rules that keep them consistent as the company grows. A brand identity agency and a creative branding agency describe the same discipline under different names. A rebrand agency is the specific version of this work for a company replacing an existing identity that no longer fits the business it's become. A branding agency London businesses keep coming back to is one that hands over a system the team can run day to day, not a PDF nobody opens again.
We offer two tiers. Essentials covers a logo system, type and colour, a voice guide, and a single style-guide PDF: built for early-stage brands that need a real foundation fast. Full System adds motion principles, photography and illustration direction, application examples across social, ads, email, and packaging, and a component-library starter pack that hands straight into a website build. Full System is the fit for an established brand rebranding, or a scaling brand that's noticed its identity looks different on every channel.
Not sure whether the problem is your identity or just your site? That's the most common branding question we hear, and we've written the diagnostic: Brand identity vs brand design: what to fix first.
Included:
- Logo system (primary, secondary, clear-space rules)
- Type & colour system
- Voice guide
- Style guide PDF (Essentials) or full brand bible (Full System)
Website Design & Build in London (DB03)
A website design agency in London plans, designs, and builds a business's website end to end, then hands over a site the client can maintain, with analytics and a technical SEO foundation already in place. Search 'website design London' and most results promise the same thing; what actually varies is the stack, the scope, and what's included at handover. We build on the stack that fits the brief: Next.js for custom, performance-critical builds, Webflow for content-heavy sites the client's team will edit directly, Shopify for ecommerce, Framer for a fast launch. Whatever the stack, web development in London comes with the same baseline expectations: performance, accessibility, and an SEO foundation built in from day one, not bolted on after launch.
Every website engagement includes information architecture and design, the build itself, analytics and tracking setup, an SEO foundation, and handover documentation. An optional monthly maintenance retainer covers updates and minor iteration after launch. If your last redesign shipped and nothing moved, that's usually a scoping problem, not a design problem. We've written up why: Why your website redesign didn't move the number it was supposed to.
Ecommerce & Shopify website design
An ecommerce website design agency builds a store that does two jobs at once: converts a browser into a buyer, and gives the business owner a backend they can actually run without calling a developer for every change. We build Shopify sites specifically because it lets most clients manage routine catalogue, inventory, and checkout changes independently after handover, without needing a developer for day-to-day updates.
A Shopify website design engagement with us covers the same full stack as any DB03 build (IA, design, build, analytics, SEO foundation) plus theme customization or a fully custom Shopify build, app integrations (Klaviyo, reviews, subscriptions), and checkout and conversion-path review before launch.
Included:
- Information architecture & site map
- Design system & page templates
- Build on the chosen stack, with a CMS where appropriate
- Analytics & tracking setup (GA4, Meta Pixel, others per scope)
- SEO foundation: technical SEO, schema, sitemap, robots
- Handover documentation & training
Print & Packaging Design (DB02)
A packaging design agency in London designs the physical materials a brand puts in a customer's hands: product packaging, dielines, brochures, business cards, event collateral, signage. A product packaging design engagement specifically covers the box, the label, or the container itself, production-ready for a print vendor.
We design 2 to 3 concepts for client choice, then take the selected direction to production-ready files: dielines, CMYK, bleed, and a print spec sheet covering paper, finish, and binding. We hand off directly to your print vendor, or manage the print production ourselves if you'd rather not run that relationship. Packaging work is quoted per project because scope varies by piece count, finishing, and print method, and it pairs strongest with a DB01 identity engagement so the brand system exists before it goes on a shelf.
Included:
- Concepts (2-3 directions)
- Production files
- Print spec
- Vendor handoff
App & Product Development (DB04)
An app development agency in London designs and builds mobile apps, web apps, and internal tools: the full product cycle from spec to deployment. An MVP development agency does the same work scoped tightly to a first shippable version, built to test a real hypothesis with real users before a larger build.
Product work runs spec, design system, engineering, QA, and deployment, in that order, with scope discipline as the single biggest factor in whether it ships on time. This is not a fit for a project with an undefined scope. When the scope is genuinely still open, we sell brand identity and a website first and earn the right to build the product once the business itself is proven.
Included:
- Product spec (user stories, flows, acceptance criteria)
- Design system
- Engineering
- Deployment
How we work
Every design and build engagement starts with a scoping conversation, not a quote off a price sheet. We ask what's actually broken (an identity that doesn't hold up, a site that doesn't convert, packaging that doesn't sell, a product that doesn't exist yet), then recommend the module or combination that fixes it. DB01 (identity) is the prerequisite for DB02, DB03, and DB04 unless you already have a strong brand system. The further down that list you go, the bigger the engagement, and we'll tell you upfront if a project isn't the right fit rather than take it on and under-deliver.
If your business sounds like every other business in the category before you even get to design, that's worth fixing first: Why your business sounds like everyone else.
We're not the cheapest design and build agency in London. We're the one that ships identity, packaging, a website, and a product under one roof, on one brief, without three vendors disagreeing about what your brand looks like.
Tell us about you on the contact page and we'll send a real quote within 48 hours.
↳ Frequently asked
01What does a website design agency do?
A website design agency plans, designs, and builds a business’s website, then hands it over with analytics and an SEO foundation in place. A full-service design and build agency also covers brand identity, packaging, and app development, so the website is built on a consistent brand system rather than in isolation.
02What's the difference between brand identity and brand design?
Brand identity is the visual and verbal system itself, the logo, type, colour, voice, and rules. Brand design is the process of building it. In practice, agencies use the terms interchangeably; what matters is whether you need a first system built (identity) or an existing one diagnosed and fixed (see our brand identity vs brand design breakdown, linked above).
03How much does a website redesign cost?
It depends on the stack and scope: a marketing site is a smaller engagement than a custom Next.js build or a full ecommerce platform. We scope every project on a discovery call rather than quote blind, because the honest answer depends on what the site actually needs to do.
04Do I need a full rebrand, or just a new website?
Only if the identity itself, not just the site, is the problem: inconsistent logo use, a voice that doesn't match the business anymore, or a visual system that predates what the company has become. If the brand still holds up and only the site is underperforming, a website engagement alone is the right scope. Our redesign diagnostic linked above walks through how to tell the difference.
05How long does a website design project take?
A typical website engagement runs 6 to 14 weeks depending on complexity: a marketing site on the shorter end, a custom build or full ecommerce platform on the longer end.
06Can you build an ecommerce or Shopify site?
Yes. Shopify is one of our core stacks for ecommerce and DTC brands specifically because it's client-manageable after handover: product catalogue, inventory, and checkout don't require a developer for routine changes.
07Do you design product packaging too?
Yes, as its own module (DB02): concepts through to production-ready files and print-vendor handoff. Packaging work is quoted per project and pairs best with an existing or newly-built brand identity.
08Are you a web design agency or a creative agency in London?
Both, under one roof. We work as a website design agency for site builds, and as a full creative agency in London for brand identity, packaging, and product work, so a client never has to split branding and build across two different vendors.