Hoot Design Company is a women-owned, culture-driven branding agency based in Columbia, Missouri. Founded in 2010 by Kristen Graham Brown, we help disruptive founders build brands that scale through deep strategy, visual identity, and culture-building. We’ve worked with hundreds of brands, from startups to enterprise companies including Dropbox, EquipmentShare, and Bowery Farming.

Most agencies start with aesthetics. We start with strategy. Hoot’s Brand Being Method goes deep into culture, values, and positioning before a single visual is created. We’re a women-led agency that brings candor, empathy, and genuine partnership to every engagement. We don’t do production without purpose. Every deliverable is rooted in strategic intention.h-stage companies who are ready to scale. Our ideal clients understand that brand strategy is a business investment, not just a logo. We’ve partnered with mission-driven startups to enterprise organizations including Dropbox, EquipmentShare, Bowery Farming, Veterans United Home Loans, and Missouri Army National Guard.

The Brand Being Method™ is Hoot’s proprietary brand strategy process built on the idea that brand is the being, marketing is the doing. It’s built around three phases: Brand Heart (vision, purpose, and values), Brand Positioning (messaging that attracts your ideal customer), and Brand Personality (the visual identity that brings it all to life).

The Bird House is Hoot Design Company’s creative studio and community space in Columbia, Missouri. Designed for breakthrough thinking, The Bird House was created to host The Brand Being Method™ workshops. It serves as home base for the Hoot team and the broader community of founders and brand builders we serve. A place made for gathering, creating, and connecting.

Parliament is Hoot’s newsletter and blog series written by founder Kristen Graham Brown. It covers leadership, brand strategy, culture, and the candid realities of building a business.

Reach out through our contact page at hootdesigncompany.com/contact. We’ll schedule a discovery call to learn about your business, goals, and where you are in your brand journey. From there, we’ll recommend the right engagement for where you are.

We’re intentionally selective. Hoot does not offer public relations, software development, or production without strategy. We also don’t design logos without doing the strategic work first. A beautiful logo without brand foundation is just decoration. If you want deliverables without depth, we’re probably not the right fit.

Hoot is based in Columbia, Missouri at 1007 N College Ave. We work with clients locally and nationally. Our process is designed to work deeply regardless of geography.

These are the three phases of the Brand Being Method. Brand Heart is your north star: the vision, purpose, and values that guide all future business decisions. Brand Positioning is the strategic messaging that communicates who you are, who you serve, and what makes you different. Brand Personality is the visual and tonal expression of your brand, including logo, color, typography, and the look and feel that brings everything to life.

Hoot works best with disruptive founders and growth-stage companies who are ready to scale. Our ideal clients understand that brand strategy is a business investment, not just a logo. We've partnered with mission-driven startups to enterprise organizations including Dropbox, EquipmentShare, Bowery Farming, Veterans United Home Loans, and Missouri Army National Guard.

A full Brand Being engagement includes deep discovery, Brand Heart development (vision, purpose, values), Brand Positioning strategy (messaging, ideal client profile, value proposition), and Brand Personality design (logo, visual identity system, brand guidelines). We also help operationalize your brand so it lives throughout your culture, team, and customer experience.

Timelines vary by scope, but a full Brand Being engagement typically runs 8 to 12 weeks. We're a high-touch agency that values depth over speed. We take the time to truly understand your business, your team, and your vision before we design a single thing.

Yes. Hoot has partnered with enterprise organizations including Dropbox, EquipmentShare, Bowery Farming, Veterans United Home Loans, and Missouri Army National Guard, among many others. Our Brand Being Method scales to any organization size.