Brands that know what they're for.
Kern & Stroke is an independent branding studio working with food, drink and culture clients across the UK. Identity systems, packaging, and editorial — built to outlast the brief.
What we've made.
Four engagements we can show publicly. Further work under NDA is available on request.
A brewery that sounds like its beer
Full identity and 14-SKU packaging system for a new Manchester brewery. Hand-drawn wordmarks, carbonation-calibrated colour, and a bottle-cap language that readers across the country can spot at ten paces.
A cookbook publisher with its own voice
Identity, book-jacket system and editorial typeface for an independent food-writing publisher. Typeface drawn from Marathi and Devanagari forms; jackets that land on the table like a proper piece of furniture.
A gallery identity that leaves the building
Full rebrand for the Holden Gallery including signage, exhibition typography system and the publication template used across eight shows a year. Flexible wordmark engineered to survive any curatorial mood.
Packaging that names the farm, not the blend
Coffee-bag system where the farm, the farmer and the process are the hero — marketing copy pushed to the back. Retail partners reported the shelf read faster and sold through quicker.
How we work.
Four phases. We adjust the length; we don't change the order.
Discovery
Interviews, category audit, brand archaeology. Two to three weeks.
Strategy
Written position, audience map, success metrics. One document, agreed.
Design
Two to three visual routes, developed through live critique with the founders.
Delivery
Production-ready files, written guidelines, plus three months' aftercare.
Brief us.
Most engagements are 9–22 weeks at a fixed fee. We take on three to five new clients a year — so tell us briefly and we'll be honest about fit.
- Studio
- Unit 4, Ducie Street Warehouse, Manchester M1 2JW
- Phone
- +44 161 000 0000
- Briefs
- [email protected]
- Hours
- Mon–Thu 09:30–18:00 · Fri half-day · No evenings