Redefining Brand Design: The Rise of the Strategic Brand Designer™
In 2018 I introduced the term and job title Strategic Brand Designer™ in my book How to Design a Logo and in 2022 the book was published.
As a pharmacist-turned-designer, my branding journey has been one of exploration and transformation. Over the years, I recognized the need for a new tier of designers, those who can bridge the gap between strategy and creativity. That realization led me to pioneer and formalize the role of the Strategic Brand Designer™.
Since then, designers, agencies, and organizations worldwide have embraced the title, making it part of how the industry speaks about branding today. What began as a concept in my book has now grown into a movement, redefining the intersection of design and brand strategy.
Of course, the idea of designers integrating strategy had existed in scattered, individual efforts across the world. But it never had a clear shape, defined process, job title, or description—until I gave it structure and a framework to follow in an aim to elevate the industry's role at the C-suite table and help designers become more on the consultant side of the table rather than just pixel pushers following the 5 model framework: Discover, Define, Align, Differentiate, Design.
What is a Strategic Brand Designer™?
A Strategic Brand Designer™ is a brand identity designer who integrates both visual and strategic aspects of branding in a holistic way. The goal is to create intelligent brand identity systems that not only look good, but also transform businesses into authentic brands, ensuring strategy translates into design and implementation, not just documents.
As branding evolved, the roles of logo designers and brand identity designers became well established. Yet, as the industry matured, a debate surfaced: Who adds more value? Who deserves higher pricing? Who truly drives brand-building?
At the same time, the once-distinct pillars of business, branding, marketing, and sales began to merge, creating overlaps and new collaborations. I watched these shifts closely, even resisted them at first, until I realized the power of integration.
Instead of choosing between strategy and design, I fused them, on my own terms.
Why not just become a brand strategist? Because I didn’t shift careers to leave design behind. I shifted for the love of design. I thrive on the creative process. I enjoy building bold, intelligent, well-crafted logos and identity systems. For me, strategy is not the destination—it’s the enabler. It allows design to have depth, precision, and intent.
My background in pharmacy sharpened my analytical thinking, problem-solving, and refinement skills. These seamlessly transferred into branding and enabled me to create a structured, repeatable, strategy-driven design process. I captured this in my book How to Design a Logo, where I introduced the Creative Strategy Process—a holistic guide for building brands from the inside out, ensuring their external image authentically reflects their core identity.
I wrote this book for brand identity designers who want to level up, add more value, and truly participate in brand-building, rather than just giving brands a “pretty face.”
Hadeel Sayed Ahmad
Strategic Brand Designer™
Strategic Brand Designer™
