U.K.-based branding and design agency, Handsome Brands – described as a “collective of senior design professionals” – has opened an office in Toronto.
The agency, which is currently renting space in the city’s west end, is led by account director Kristin Germain, who returns to Canada after working abroad for the past six years including 10 months at Handsome.
For now, the Toronto office is working hand-in-hand with the team in the U.K., which is overseen by Handsome creative director and founder, Ian Haughton. The new Toronto office will service the agency’s North American clients, he said.
Though Germain is currently the only employee in Handsome’s Toronto office, she is meeting with potential employees and clients. The plan, Haughton told Marketing, is to grow the agency organically adding staff as the need arises.
“The next obvious step if the work increases is to take on support locally,” he said during a phone call from London. The Toronto office will provide a full range of design services including brand strategy, brand identity, corporate communications and digital design.
What sets Handsome apart, said Haughton, is the agency structure. Handsome employs senior level talent with years of experience, he said. Projects aren’t passed down to junior level.
The agency has worked on rebranding projects for small companies to multinationals including The Body Shop, Sky and Towers Watson.
“We tend to keep the agency quite small on the basis that I want to work with the best people possible,” said Haughton. “We only work with people who have years of experience.”
