About

In a sea of sameness, Design by Play is a design studio of distinction. We work with our clients so they stand out from their crowd.

We hate same. And don’t fall for the trend trap. For almost a decade, we’ve played alongside our clients to understand, shape, and create their story with strategic thinking and relentless craft. Not to mention, a little bit of play.

The Bouchon | The Silk District for Mount Anvil

Strategic thinking. Exciting ideas. And a playful nature underpins everything we create.

🚀

Strategic thinking. Exciting ideas. And a playful nature underpins everything we create. 🚀

Raptor Bikes | Design by Play

From launches to relaunches. A Brand evolution, revolution or consultation on what good looks like for your organisation.
We’ve got you.

With 20 years of experience in branding, our founder, Lee has worked on projects of all scales across a range of sectors. And we’re always looking for new challenges with new clients in new sectors.

Our services

Get in touch

Logo Design

Naming

Packaging

Print Design

Shopify Optimisation

Typography

Wayfinding

Branding

Brand Strategy

Consultancy

Copywriting

Digital Design

Environmental

Illustration

If you’d like to discuss working together, would like to see more work, or just fancy a bike ride in the sun. Let’s chat.

Who we’ve worked with

Queens Cross logo
Art Invest Real Estate logo
UK Parliament logo
Peabody logo
Unispace logo
The Verdean logo
Excel London logo
rising tide logo
The Clubhouse logo
THE SILK DISTRICT logo
Round Wheels logo
The logo of InsideOut, featuring the word 'insideout' in lowercase letters with a speech bubble inside the letter 'o'.
Text reading 'Rouluer Travel' in dark blue font on a white background.
Dockside Canada Water logo
Mount Anvil
UCI (Union Cycliste International) logo
London 2012 Logo

We create work
that works

We’re not interested in awards. We don’t enter them. But what we are interested in is making sure our work works.

What do we mean by that? Well, it just works. It answers the brief or rewrites the brief if need be. It endures. It’s tried and tested — something we do as part of our development. But most importantly, it performs.

Work that works, also performs.

Our work for The Verdean was Mount Anvil’s (and London’s) fastest selling development in 2020. Launched during the COVID-19 pandemic in summer 2020, it sold out in less than a fortnight. Exceeding quarterly targets in less than 48 hours. Raptor have secured over £500,000 in investment and exceeded sales targets since their launch.

Results like this are better than any award.

  • “We’ve collaborated with the Design by Play team for over 4 years now, and I see Lee in particular as a vital extended part of our team here. He's ensured we’ve never stood still — pushing us to adapt and evolve at each new opportunity.”

    — Tom Beardmore, Mount Anvil

  • “The team know how to challenge your brief to get the best outcome. Lee's patient, responsive and produces truly different concepts that help you push the boundaries for your brand.”

    — Chloe Petherick, Unispace

  • “I’ve worked with quite a few creative agencies over the years and I’ve never known any of them to produce such consistently high levels of work as frequently as the Design by Play team do. Looking forward to many more years of partnership!”

    — Tom Beardmore, Mount Anvil

  • “It doesn't matter if it's visual identities, rebrands, events, digital campaigns or a re-design of a website — they nails it every time.”

    — Chloe Petherick, Mount Anvil