A senior brand designer, without the agency overhead
I'm John Bolster, an independent brand identity designer and art director with more than two decades of experience. Small businesses, growing companies, schools, nonprofits and agencies across the US hire me for strategy-led brand identities that hold up over time.
Why work with an independent designer
You work with me, directly
No account managers or junior handoffs. The person you talk to is the person doing the strategy and the design, start to finish.
Strategy before design
Every identity starts with positioning, audience and messaging, so the visuals have a reason behind them. I also built Distinkt, an AI brand strategy tool for designers, so strategy is a big part of how I think.
Agency experience, freelance flexibility
Two decades of work for national brands in healthcare, legal, education, retail and food, scoped to what you actually need.
Brand design for small businesses
If your business has outgrown a logo someone made in a weekend, a clear brand identity makes everything easier: your website, your signage, your social posts and your sales conversations. I help small and growing businesses define what makes them different, then build a logo, color and type system and guidelines that make it easy to look consistent everywhere.
Freelance art direction for agencies
Marketing and advertising agencies bring me in as a freelance art director and senior designer when they need an extra pair of experienced hands on brand identity, campaigns, print and digital work. I can plug into your team for a single project or an ongoing relationship, and work under your brand or mine.
What I do
Brand Strategy
Strategy comes before design. Positioning and differentiation, audience definition, and the voice, mission, vision and onlyness statements that give a brand something real to stand on.
Brand Identity
Logos and the full visual system around them, built to hold up over time and work everywhere the brand shows up.
Art Direction
Campaign concepts and the imagery that carries them, from photo direction to the look and feel of a launch.
Brand books, brochures and collateral with type set with care and details people feel even when they do not notice them.
Web and Digital
Websites, social media design and digital assets, plus presentation design for pitches and leadership teams.
How remote projects work
- DiscoverA conversation about your business, your audience, your competition and what success looks like.
- StrategyPositioning, audience and messaging, so every design decision has a reason behind it.
- DesignConcepts, refinement and the full identity system, with you involved at each step.
- DeliverFinal files, guidelines and the launch pieces you need, ready for your team or your printer.
Everything happens over video calls, shared presentations and email, and it works just as well as being in the same room. If you are near Saratoga Springs, NY, we can also meet in person.
Industries
Selected work
- Alliance 180: Brand strategy, visual identity and web design for Alliance 180, a peer to peer program for veterans and first responders.
- King Brothers Dairy: A crown, a point of view and a brand people remember. Brand strategy, identity, packaging and environmental design for King Brothers Dairy.
- DLG: A bold black and white rebrand and a hardcover brand manifesto for national litigation firm DLG, designed by John Bolster.
- SAINT: A science forward healthcare brand identity for SAINT, a breakthrough treatment for treatment resistant depression.
- Siena University: Social media campaigns, motion graphics, a logo and a campus banner for Siena University, designed by brand identity designer John Bolster.
- Finish Line: Creative direction and a recruitment brand book for Finish Line, built to attract a new generation of talent across 700+ stores.
Questions about pricing, timelines or how projects work? See the FAQ.
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