Why the usual fix fails
A logo from a contest or an AI generator gives you a mark with no rules around it. The moment your team needs a deck, a product screen or a launch campaign, everyone improvises, and the brand drifts further every week.
You raised, launched or repositioned. Your brand still looks like the side project it started as. We build identity systems that make buyers, investors and hires take you seriously on first sight.
02In short
We design brand identity systems for funded tech, SaaS, AI and Web3 startups: the mark, colour, type, tone of voice and the places people meet the brand first, from the website and product to decks and social. A focused identity usually takes three to six weeks; TICKIZ went from kickoff to a complete system in four. Priced after a short call.
How a project runs · Studio facts · A one-page brief for your team · Moving upmarket
Sound familiar?
If one of these sounds like your team, read on.
- 01
Our logo was a placeholder we never replaced.
- 02
Every deck, ad and landing page looks like a different company.
- 03
Enterprise buyers ask if we're still in beta.
- 04
We raised, but we still look like a pre-seed project.
- 05
Our designer left and nobody knows the rules.
- 06
We look exactly like every other AI startup.
What you need
A positioning-led identity system: the story, the visual language and the rules, built to work across your product, website, decks and launch creative from day one.
- Revision rounds
Round five of revisions, and the work still isn't right.
What we do insteadYou sign off one direction before production starts, so revisions refine it. If the direction isn't right, you can stop there and owe nothing more.
- Templates and AI tools
Fast and finished-looking, and interchangeable with the next startup.
What we do insteadPositioning comes first. Then we test directions on your product, site and deck before anything is final.
Client proof.
See every client result
A complete brand identity for a $5M+ ticketing platform, in four weeks
- 4 weeks
- from kickoff to a complete identity system
- 2
- audiences served by one system
- $5M+
- raised by TICKIZ
“Super smooth experience working with Alterra, one of the most high quality design teams we've ever worked with.”
Adrien, Chief Executive Officer, TICKIZWho does the work.
At many agencies a senior person pitches and a junior designer delivers. Here the people on your first call do the work. Ryan leads the call, and the people below are named in your written scope and stay on it to handover.
- Ryan HofmannFounder & CEO
Leads your first call, strategy and client relationships.
- Koen Van VlietHead of Branding
Koen leads our brand identity work: positioning, logo, type and color systems, and the guidelines teams use afterwards.
@koendesigns on X, 16.5K followers - Max Van den BergProject Manager
Max runs project schedules, so milestones, feedback and handover land on the dates we agreed.
What happens, week by week.
You see the work at every stage, and you sign off the direction before production starts.
- Week 1
Discovery & positioning
Workshops on audience, competitors and the story you need to tell. We agree what the brand has to make people believe.
Positioning briefCompetitive auditMoodboard directions - Weeks 2–3
Identity directions
Two to three distinct directions shown in real applications: product, site, deck and social. You pick the one that fits.
Identity conceptsApplied mockupsRecommendation - Weeks 3–4
System & rollout
We refine the chosen direction into a full system, then build the guidelines and templates your team will use daily.
Final identityGuidelinesTemplates & source files
Typical engagement
Identity refresh
Teams with brand equity that's drifted and needs tightening.
- Logo refinement
- Updated color & type
- Core templates
- Guidelines
Typical engagement
Full brand system
Teams raising, launching or repositioning that need a new identity.
- Positioning & strategy
- New identity
- Full guidelines
- Deck, social & web direction
How we do it
How we work on it.
Positioning first
We pin down who you're for, what you replace and why you win before a single shape gets drawn. The visuals carry that argument.
Built for real surfaces
We test the identity in your product UI, website, pitch deck and social before calling it done, not on mockup business cards.
A system your team can run
Guidelines, templates and organized source files so anyone on your team can ship on-brand work without calling us.
Ready for what's next
Your identity connects straight into the website, product and launch work, with the same team and the same strategy.
What can be included
Before you book
- Who does the work, and from where?
- The people on your first call do the work, and they're named in your written scope. We're based in the Pacific Northwest, USA, and work with clients remotely, worldwide.
- Can you hit our date?
- Launch-critical work is planned backwards from the date you give us, and the plan is agreed in writing at kickoff.
- How do changes work?
- You sign off one direction before production starts, so revisions refine it. If the direction isn't right, you can stop there and owe nothing more.
- Do we own the files?
- Yes. Once paid, the final deliverables made for you are yours, with organized source files and documentation your team can keep building on.
- What happens after launch?
- We review what moved with you after launch. On website projects we also watch Search Console with you for 30 days and fix anything that drops.
- What did clients get?
- A launch video with 1.9M+ views for iAgent, a launch film that helped drive 260,000+ wallet connections for Watt2Trade, and a full identity for TICKIZ in four weeks. Every client result →
Priced after a short call, then a fixed price in a written scope. How we price
Not sure what you need yet? The Brand & Website Diagnostic, a ranked plan in 5 working days.
Brand & answers.
What founders ask before hiring us for brand identity.
How long does a brand identity project take?
A focused identity system usually takes three to six weeks. TICKIZ, a ticketing platform, went from kickoff to a complete identity system in four weeks. The timeline depends on how many directions you want explored and how many applications we design.
Can you evolve our existing brand instead of starting over?
Yes. If your brand has recognition worth keeping, we refine it: keep what works, fix what's inconsistent, and build the system around it.
Do we get the source files?
Yes. Once paid, the final identity, guidelines and organized source files are yours. Fonts, stock and other third-party assets stay under their own licenses.
Can you design our website and pitch deck in the same engagement?
That's where we're strongest. The same team carries the identity into your website, deck, product and launch creative, so nothing gets lost in a handoff.
How many directions do we see, and how do revisions work?
You see two to three distinct directions, shown in your product, site, deck and social, and you pick one. You sign off that direction before production starts, so revisions refine it. If the direction isn't right, you can stop there, keep that work and owe nothing more.
Will a rebrand hurt our search traffic?
Not if the website move is planned. When a rebrand changes your site, we map every old URL to its new home with a 301 redirect, carry over titles and metadata, and crawl both sites to compare. After launch we watch Search Console with you for 30 days and fix anything that drops.
Read before you decide.
Practical guides on brand, websites, product and launches, written by the team that does the work.
All insights- Brand7 min read
Brand Refresh or Rebrand? When a Startup Should Do Each
A startup should rebrand when its brand no longer matches the company it has become, and refresh when the core still fits. Seven signals, three bad reasons, and brand refresh vs rebrand compared.
- Hiring design7 min read
What is a design partner, and when does a startup need one?
What is a design partner? How an ongoing senior design team differs from a project agency, a design subscription or a hire, and when a startup needs one.
- Brand5 min read
How we turned our logo into a type family
We measured the Alterra wordmark, traced its five letters, and grew it into three display weights and a text companion. The grid, the rules and what we'd do differently.
- Brand9 min read
Startup brand identity examples, and why they work
10 startup brand identity examples from Linear, Vercel, Stripe, Figma, PostHog, Perplexity and more: the one specific choice each makes, why it works for its buyer, and how to brief your own.
Also from us
Other services, same people.
Website Design & DevelopmentWebsites that explain the product and book the call→Product & UI/UX DesignInterfaces people understand on the first try→Motion, 3D & Launch VideoLaunch films that stop the scroll and explain the product→Design PartnershipSenior design every month, planned around your roadmap→
Book a 30‑minute call.
Pick a time on the calendar. Under a minute, start to finish.
Prefer email? hello@alterra.studio
Ryan HofmannFounder, leads every first call30 minutes, free, with the people who'd do the work. You leave with a recommended scope and price range, even if we're not the fit.
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