Brandon D Hunt Design

09/03/2026

So excited to share this one! My friend Daniel Guillaro asked me to build the brand identity for his new venture, Pittsburgh Piano Bar — and it was an absolute joy to work on.

Pittsburgh Piano Bar is a mobile piano entertainment experience: Daniel comes to you, bringing live piano karaoke, curated sing-a-longs, and cabaret-style entertainment to restaurants, bars, corporate events, private parties, and more. The brand needed to capture all of that energy while also being built to potentially grow into a physical location someday.

The logo is a bold, ornate gold and black badge with Art Deco-inspired typography, piano keys arching across the top, and a microphone on each side: the kind of mark that looks like it belongs above the door of the most fun bar in the city. The business card extends the brand beautifully, with a Pittsburgh skyline illustration on the front and a warm gold "The Piano Bar Experience That Comes to You!" on the back.

Couldn't be prouder of this one. If you're in the Pittsburgh area and need an unforgettable entertainment experience for your venue or event, look Daniel up! Full writeup at the link below!

https://brandondhunt.com/keys-to-a-great-brand-identity-design-for-pittsburgh-piano-bar/

09/01/2026

One question I ask on almost every project is: "What do you want people to remember after they interact with your brand?"

It's a surprisingly difficult question to answer.

Most businesses immediately start talking about what they do, the services they offer, or the features that set them apart. Those things matter—but they're not usually what people remember.

People remember how you made them feel.
➡️ Did your website make them feel confident enough to contact you?
➡️ Did your presentation clearly communicate your value?
➡️ Did your branding make you look established, trustworthy, and professional?

The strongest brands aren't remembered because they said the most.

They're remembered because they communicated the right message, consistently, at every touchpoint.

Before you invest in your next marketing piece, ask yourself one simple question: What do I want people to remember?

If the answer isn't immediately clear, that's a great place to start.

I'd love to hear your answer in the comments — or if you're ready to build a brand that's memorable for all the right reasons, let's connect.

08/31/2026

One of the biggest mistakes I see isn't a bad rebrand—it's what happens after the rebrand. Businesses invest time, energy, and resources into creating a new identity, launch it with excitement, and then slowly slip back into old habits. A brand isn't built the day your new logo goes live. It's built through the hundreds of small interactions people have with your business afterward.

A strong brand should show up consistently across every touchpoint, including:

✨ Sales materials that reinforce your message and make your business look polished and credible.

📱Marketing channels like your website, social media, and email campaigns, where customers interact with your brand every day.

🤝 Customer experiences, from proposals and invoices to presentations and email signatures. Every interaction should feel like it came from the same company.

📖 Your brand voice. Consistency isn't just visual. The way you communicate should feel just as recognizable as the way you look.

The businesses with the strongest brands aren't constantly reinventing themselves—they're consistently reinforcing who they are. That's what builds recognition, trust, and long-term loyalty.

If you're wondering whether your brand feels as consistent as it should, let's connect. I'd be happy to help you identify opportunities to strengthen it.

08/27/2026

One of my favorite things to do is study great creative work.
Not because I want to copy it, but because every campaign teaches us something about branding, storytelling, and human behavior.

I was recently looking through Ad Age's roundup of standout new campaigns from brands like Apple, American Eagle, Meta, and others, and one thing really stood out:
The best ads don't just sell products. They make you feel something.

Whether it's curiosity, nostalgia, laughter, or even a little discomfort, the creative sticks because it creates an emotional response. That's what gets people talking long after the campaign ends.

As designers and marketers, it's easy to get caught up in making something look beautiful.

But beautiful isn't the goal. Memorable is!

Every color, image, headline, and design choice should support a bigger story. When the strategy is clear, the creative has a purpose. And that's when brands stop blending in and start leaving an impression.

If you're in marketing or branding, I'd recommend taking a few minutes to look through Ad Age's latest creative roundup. Even if your business is nothing like Apple or American Eagle, there's always something to learn from great creative.

Check out the spotlight here:

Apple launches a microdrama telenovela, Meta tackles AI skepticism and Who Gives a Crap rolls out a national parks-themed TP collection.

08/25/2026

A website should do more than display your brand.
It should extend it.

One of my favorite recent projects was designing the website for Platz Beer Garden, where the goal wasn't simply to create an attractive online presence—it was to capture the same character and atmosphere that make the space so memorable in person.

The website was intentionally designed to reflect the brand's unique identity, drawing inspiration from the venue's historic architecture and stained glass details while creating an experience that felt welcoming, intuitive, and unmistakably Platz.

When I approach a website project, I don't start by asking, "What should the homepage look like?"

I start by asking:

✅ What should visitors feel when they land on the site?
✅ What story is the brand trying to tell?
✅ How can the digital experience reinforce everything people love about the business?

The best websites don't just provide information.

They make you feel like you've already stepped through the front door.

I'm incredibly proud of how this project came together, and even more excited to see the Platz brand come to life online.

Take a look at the project and let me know what detail stands out to you the most:

Website Design When I completed the brand identity for Platz Beer Garden in Keene, New Hampshire, the natural next chapter was getting that brand onto the web. This project was a welcome return to a client and a visual world I know well, and the result is a website that feels every bit as distinctiv...

08/21/2026

I've noticed something lately...

Businesses are starting to ask AI to make branding decisions.

That's a little like asking a calculator to choose your favorite song. It's a fantastic tool — it just wasn't built for that job.

Don't get me wrong — I use AI, and I definitely think it has its place in a creative workflow. It helps speed up workflows, explore ideas, and even get past the occasional creative block (we all have those).

But after nearly 20 years of building brands, I've learned that the hardest part has never been designing the logo or picking the colors.

The real work is figuring out who you are, what makes you different, and why people should care. That's strategy. That's conversation. That's experience.

AI can help you execute a great brand. It can't create one from scratch.

The businesses that will get the most out of AI won't be the ones asking it to think for them. They'll be the ones using it to amplify a clear vision that's already grounded in real human insight.
Technology will keep changing. That's a good thing. But people still connect with people. And the best brands are built with that in mind.

I wrote more about this in my latest blog, "AI Can Design a Flyer. It Can't Build a Brand." If you're trying to figure out where AI fits into your marketing and branding, I think you'll enjoy the read:

Artificial intelligence has changed the creative industry almost overnight. Today, anyone can type a few prompts into an AI design tool and generate a flyer, social media graphic, or advertisement in seconds. For small businesses trying to save time and money, it’s easy to see the appeal. Why hire...

08/20/2026

One of the biggest shifts I've seen over the course of my career is how accessible design has become.

Today, almost anyone can create something that looks good. Between AI, templates, and powerful design tools, creating polished visuals is easier than ever.

But good design has never just been about how something looks.
The real value comes from understanding your audience, communicating the right message, and designing with a clear purpose. That's what turns creative work into a business asset—not just something that gets compliments.

The graphic below highlights the difference I see every day between design that's visually appealing and design that's strategically effective.

Which side do you think businesses focus on the most?

08/19/2026

The funny thing about great design is that people often don't notice it.

They just know something feels...
✔️ Professional.
✔️ Trustworthy.
✔️ Easy to use.

That's because good design isn't trying to show off.

Swipe for the three things I think make a bigger impact than most people realize.

08/17/2026

One of the biggest branding myths I hear is:
"We're too small to need brand guidelines."

I'd argue the opposite. When you're a small business, every interaction matters even more. Every proposal, presentation, website update, and social post contributes to the way people perceive your business.

Consistency isn't something you earn after you grow. It's one of the things that helps you grow.

I wrote about why in my latest blog, and why I believe every business—even a team of one—should have brand guidelines.

🔗 Read it here:

One of the most common things I hear from small business owners is: “Brand guidelines? Those are for big companies.” I get it. When most people think of brand guidelines, they picture a thick corporate manual full of logo rules, color formulas, and pages of technical specifications that only a m...

08/13/2026

One of the biggest misconceptions about design is that clients are paying for the final deliverable—a logo, a website, or a brochure. In reality, what they're investing in is everything that happens before that final file exists. Great design is built on strategy, problem-solving, and intentional decision-making, and those are the things that create real value.

✅ Design starts with understanding the problem, not opening the software.
✅ Every design decision should have a purpose.
✅ The concepts you never see are just as important as the one you choose.
✅ Good design solves business problems.
✅ Creative tools will always evolve, but strategic thinking never goes out of style.

Whether you're launching a new business, refreshing your brand, or tackling a specific design project, starting with strategy will always produce better results than jumping straight into the visuals.

If you're looking for a creative partner who believes design should work just as hard as you do, let's connect:

Have an exciting new project you’d like to get started on? Or do you have a question or comment? I’d love to hear from you! Fill out the form below and I will respond to you as quickly as I can.