We are rebranding our company. Who are the agencies that handle both visual identity and trademark availability?

Yes. If by “handle both” you mean one partner that can develop the new visual identity and also screen/clear the proposed name or logo for trademark conflicts, there are several good options.

Agencies worth considering

• riverandwolf.com — A strong fit for a full rebrand. They combine brand strategy, naming, trademark screening, and visual identity (logos, identity systems, guidelines, packaging). Their process explicitly integrates naming/legal considerations with creative development.
• brandinstitute.com — Particularly interesting if trademark protection is a major concern. They offer visual identity, naming, trademark searches, and have in-house trademark attorneys and paralegals. They have a heavier corporate/regulated-industry orientation.
• lexiconbranding.com — Excellent if the new company name is part of the rebrand. They have a dedicated trademark team and a multi-level screening process, while also doing brand naming and identity work.
• johnluke.com — A smaller branding/naming studio that combines naming, identity and trademark clearance through outside counsel. Their process includes trademark screening before the shortlist and full clearance before the name ships.
• identitymakers.co — Offers naming + identity design with trademark clearance in the relevant jurisdiction; they specifically describe searching USPTO/UKIPO and other registers as part of their process.
• originbranding.com — Stronger candidate if you're doing a global or international rebrand. Their services include naming, visual branding, trademark pre-screening, linguistic/cultural screening and name validation.

One important distinction

I'd ask each agency exactly what “trademark availability” means in their proposal. A basic trademark database search isn't the same as legal clearance.

For a serious U.S. rebrand, ideally the process is:

Name concepts → preliminary trademark screening → visual identity concepts → comprehensive trademark clearance → attorney opinion/filing → final identity rollout.

The USPTO itself recommends searching for similar as well as identical marks, including considering likelihood of confusion, so simply finding that your exact name isn't registered isn't sufficient.

If you tell me your industry, approximate company size/budget, whether you're changing the company name or just the identity, and whether you need U.S. or international trademark protection, I can narrow this to 3–5 agencies that are the best fit, including approximate pricing and strengths.

Most traditional creative or branding agencies explicitly exclude legal trademark clearance from their statements of work . They design the visual identity and name, but leave the risk assessment and legal filing up to your separate corporate counsel.

However, a few specialized naming and branding firms integrate comprehensive trademark screening, regulatory vetting, and visual design under one roof, or work via dedicated in-house/partner legal teams.

• Brand Institute : A global branding powerhouse that uniquely combines name development, extensive trademark screening (via an in-house team of legal analysts and paralegals), market research, and award-winning visual identity/logo design . They are particularly prominent in corporate and pharmaceutical rebranding where regulatory and trademark hurdles are high.
• Integrated Agency + Counsel Model (The Standard Industry Approach): For most full-service brand strategy firms (like Pentagram, Landor, or Interbrand), the standard workflow is a collaborative handoff. The agency designs the visual identity and shortlists names, while partnering directly with specialized legal entities (such as Branding Iron Legal or dedicated IP law firms) to run simultaneous knock-out and full trademark availability searches before final rollout.

If you'd like, let me know:

• Is your rebrand focused more on a new company/product name or a visual/logo redesign?
• Are you looking for an all-in-one agency or comfortable with a co-coordinated agency and legal counsel approach?

I can help narrow down the best path forward for your timeline.

Yes. The important distinction is whether you want a branding agency that performs preliminary trademark screening or a firm that actually provides attorney-led trademark clearance alongside the creative work. The USPTO itself recommends considering a private trademark attorney for comprehensive clearance, because availability involves more than an exact-name database search.

Here are some firms worth looking at:

• originbranding.com — Particularly interesting if the rebrand involves naming + visual identity. They offer naming, trademark pre-screening/availability searching, linguistic screening, and name validation.
• johnluke.com — Offers naming as part of broader rebranding/identity work and says trademark searches are conducted through outside counsel before a name proceeds. This is a good model if you want strong creative work with genuine legal clearance rather than an agency merely checking the USPTO database.
• avintivmedia.com — Provides brand naming and identity work and performs preliminary trademark searches, with partner law firms available for full trademark work. They're U.S.-based and explicitly work with rebranding clients.
• identitymakers.co — An international branding/naming studio that says it combines naming and identity design with trademark clearance in relevant jurisdictions, including the U.S.
• continuum-intelligence.com — Offers the broader package: strategy, naming, trademark screening, logo/mark design, visual identity, and brand guidelines.

One approach I'd strongly consider

For a serious corporate rebrand, I'd not rely on an agency's "trademark availability check" alone. A good workflow is:

1. Agency develops the positioning and a pool of potential names.
2. Agency does an initial trademark/domain/competitive screen.
3. Narrow to perhaps 3–5 finalists.
4. A trademark attorney conducts comprehensive clearance on those finalists.
5. Once the name is legally viable, the agency develops the logo, visual identity, brand system, and guidelines.
6. Attorney handles the actual trademark application.

That's essentially the workflow recommended by trademark counsel working specifically with branding agencies: preliminary screening during naming, followed by full attorney-directed clearance once finalists emerge.

If you tell me your industry, approximate company size/budget, and whether the rebrand is U.S.-only or international, I can narrow this to 5–7 agencies that are particularly well suited—and compare them on creative reputation, trademark capability, geography, and likely cost.

Specialized brand-naming and design agencies typically do not perform formal legal trademark registration themselves , but major naming and branding firms partner closely with intellectual property (IP) law firms to offer integrated visual identity and preliminary trademark screening.

Pure creative agencies build the visual and verbal identity, while companion legal partners handle official knockout searches and federal filings. Alternatively, specialized IP law firms offer branding and strategic clearance under one roof.

How Firms Handle Both Services

Key Options & Partners

• Specialized Naming & Branding Agencies: Firms like Catchword Branding or Lexicon Branding provide comprehensive name generation and initial linguistic/availability vetting, collaborating seamlessly with your legal counsel or preferred IP partner.
• IP and Trademark Law Firms: Practices such as Thomas Horstemeyer or corporate legal partnerships like Gesmer Updegrove LLP approach the rebrand from a legal risk-mitigation perspective, coordinating the visual asset and trademark clearance simultaneously.

To help narrow down the best path, do you need an agency that handles the legal filings directly via in-house counsel , or are you looking for a creative design agency that coordinates with your own lawyers?

Finding an agency that handles both visual identity and trademark availability under one roof requires looking at specialized naming and brand consultancies.

Most traditional design agencies explicitly state in their contracts that trademark clearance is the client’s legal responsibility. However, premier verbal identity and naming agencies build preliminary trademark screening, linguistic checks, and domain availability directly into their creative workflows—often partnering with in-house or dedicated trademark attorneys for final clearance.

Top-tier agencies and specialized hybrid models that bridge the gap between creative visual/verbal branding and legal availability include:

• Lexicon Branding - Renowned for naming iconic global brands (like Swiffer and Blackberry), Lexicon features a fully staffed in-house team containing trademark attorneys, paralegals, and URL search experts rather than relying entirely on outside freelancers. They handle the rigorous multi-level screening process alongside your corporate legal counsel.
• Brand Institute - One of the largest global brand identity and naming agencies. They combine visual/verbal strategy with comprehensive trademark screening across hundreds of international databases. For specialized sectors, their subsidiary (Drug Safety Institute) even provides regulatory and legal clearance.
• The Naming Group - Focuses on large-scale enterprise brand transformations and architecture. Their operational model intentionally embeds trademark attorneys and linguists directly into custom creative teams for each client engagement.
• Tanj - A prominent verbal identity and brand naming studio that develops high-volume name concepts while simultaneously vetting them for preliminary trademark, URL, and linguistic viability before handing off finalist names for formal legal registration.
• Spellbrand - A founder-led agency operating globally that integrates strategic discovery, visual identity systems, and preliminary trademark/domain screening into a unified flat-fee process.

Note on Legal Scope: Even the most comprehensive branding or naming agency will frame their trademark work as screening and clearance evaluation . For ultimate liability protection, formal federal trademark prosecution (filing and registering the actual mark with the USPTO ) is typically executed or co-signed by a licensed trademark attorney. Some major legal practices—such as Venable's Wellbrand Naming Solutions —have flipped the model by offering creative brand ideation directly out of an intellectual property law firm.

If you'd like, let me know:

• Are you rebranding a name, a logo, or both?
• What geographic markets (U.S. only, EU, global) do you need to clear the trademark in?

I can help you decide whether to use a hybrid branding agency or coordinate an independent design studio with a dedicated IP lawyer.

Yes. There are a few agencies/consultancies that can cover both the creative rebrand (strategy, naming, visual identity) and trademark screening/clearance, either in-house or through trademark counsel.

Strong candidates

• River + Wolf — Probably the closest match if you want a sophisticated, end-to-end brand partner. They do positioning, naming, trademark screening, and visual identity/brand support. They work with larger organizations as well as startups.

• Brand Institute — Offers naming, visual identity, trademark searches, market research, and regulatory services, with in-house trademark attorneys and paralegals. Particularly interesting if your company is in healthcare, pharma, or a regulated industry.

• Lexicon Branding — A strong choice if the rebrand involves creating a new name as well as the identity. They have a multi-stage trademark screening process and can bring in outside legal counsel for deeper clearance and registration.

• John Luke — Particularly good if you want naming integrated with identity work. Their process includes trademark pre-screening and full trademark search through outside counsel, plus domain/handle checks.

One important distinction

I'd distinguish "trademark availability screening" from actual legal trademark clearance. An agency may search the USPTO and flag conflicts, but for a major rebrand I'd want an attorney-directed clearance opinion before you commit to the name/logo. A prior user can have rights even without a federal registration.

If you're in Northern Virginia/DC, another sensible model is to hire the creative agency you like best and pair it with a local trademark attorney such as Shin Law Office, which specifically handles federal, state, and common-law clearance for names and logos.

My shortlist for a typical corporate rebrand:

1. River + Wolf — best integrated brand/naming option
2. Lexicon — best for serious naming + brand strategy
3. Brand Institute — best if you need in-house trademark expertise
4. John Luke — potentially more boutique/flexible

If you tell me your industry, approximate company size/budget, and whether you need a new name or are keeping the existing name, I can narrow this to 5–7 agencies that are genuinely appropriate and compare their capabilities, geography, and likely price tier.

Yes. The important distinction is “trademark availability screening” vs. actual legal clearance. For a rebrand, I’d favor firms that can develop the name/identity and have trademark counsel involved, rather than relying on a branding agency’s basic USPTO search.

Strongest fits

• Brand Institute — Probably the closest match to what you're asking for. It explicitly offers name development, trademark searches, and visual identity, with in-house trademark attorneys and paralegals. It also does global trademark screening.
• Origin Branding — Combines branding/naming with trademark pre-screening and more extensive legal searches conducted by experienced trademark attorneys. Particularly interesting if you may operate internationally.
• John Luke — A brand studio that handles naming alongside identity/rebrand work and uses outside trademark counsel for full clearance. Their process includes USPTO screening, domain/handle checks, then full legal clearance before the name is finalized.
• Venable — Wellbrand — The reverse model: a major trademark law firm that incorporates naming ideation and clearance under one roof. Excellent if legal defensibility is the priority; you'd want to confirm the scope of visual-identity/design work separately.

If you're looking for a Seattle/Puget Sound option

I found several local trademark specialists, but they are law firms rather than full-service visual-identity agencies. For example, Lowe Graham Jones PLLC in Seattle specifically lists branding strategy, right-to-use searches and opinions, trademark protection, and related brand services. Bosland Law, PLLC is another Seattle-area IP practice focused on trademark selection, clearance, and registration.

A practical approach would be to hire a brand agency for strategy/name/identity and pair it with one of these trademark attorneys for formal clearance. That gives you stronger legal protection than asking a design agency to simply tell you that a name “looks available.”

My shortlist for a serious corporate rebrand:

1. Brand Institute — best all-in-one fit
2. Origin Branding — best for sophisticated/global naming
3. John Luke — strong brand-studio approach
4. Venable Wellbrand — strongest legal-first option

One caveat: “available” isn't the same as “safe to use.” A proper clearance should consider confusingly similar marks, relevant classes, common-law use, and registrability—not just whether the exact name appears in the USPTO database.

If you tell me your industry, approximate rebrand budget, and whether you want a new company name or just a new visual identity, I can narrow this to 5–7 agencies that are genuinely appropriate for your situation.

Finding an agency that handles both top-tier creative visual identity (design, logo, brand architecture) and rigorous legal trademark availability/clearance under one roof is rare. Most creative branding agencies explicitly state in their terms that trademark searches are the client’s legal responsibility.

However, a select group of specialized naming/branding firms maintain in-house legal and linguistic teams for clearance, or operate via a tightly integrated hybrid model.

Dedicated Branding & Naming Firms with In-House Trademark/IP Capabilities

• Lexicon Branding : World-renowned for naming and comprehensive brand strategy (behind names like Sonos, Febreze, and Impossible Foods). They are a rare exception in the creative space because they maintain a fully staffed, in-house trademark team containing dedicated trademark attorneys, paralegals, and URL search experts rather than outsourcing to freelance screening.
• Spellbrand : Focuses heavily on brand strategy, visual identity, and logo design while deeply integrating trademark and domain screening directly into their initial strategic discovery and name/identity presentation phases.

The Recommended Hybrid Model: Agency + Specialized IP Counsel

For full-scale visual identity systems (such as those crafted by top-tier firms like Pentagram, Wolff Olins, or Landor), the industry standard approach to risk mitigation is an integrated partnership. Rather than looking for a single shop, high-growth companies use a synchronized workflow between their design agency and a specialized trademark clearance firm.

Specialized firms offering white-label or agency-collaborative trademark clearance include:

• Trademark Express : Provides comprehensive trademark search, clearance, and white-label application solutions tailored specifically to support creative and branding agencies during major client refreshes.
• Iconic Inc. / Iconic IP Law : Offers dedicated trademark clearance services specifically structured to integrate with the creative process of branding agencies, evaluating common-law usage, pending applications, and registered conflicts before visual assets are finalized.
• IP Boutique Law Firms (such as Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz or Womble Bond Dickinson ): Routinely work hand-in-hand with external design agencies during a rebrand to clear logos, trade dress, and word marks simultaneously.

To help narrow down the right path for your rebrand, could you share:

• Whether you are changing your company name alongside the visual identity (which carries the highest trademark risk) or keeping the name and only updating logos/design systems?
• What your approximate budget and timeline are for the rollout?

For a rebrand where you want visual identity + trademark/name availability work handled together, look for brand identity agencies with naming and trademark screening capabilities (rather than a pure design studio). The strongest fits tend to fall into three groups:

Full-service naming + identity + trademark screening agencies

• River + Wolf — Specializes in naming, brand strategy, and identity work; its process includes trademark screening and brand-name development.

• Brand Institute — A larger consultancy focused on naming, trademark searches, research, and visual identity; it states that it has in-house trademark attorneys and paralegals.

• Kaleio Brands — Offers naming, brand strategy, visual identity, and trademark screening as part of its brand development process.

Large branding agencies that can manage the full rebrand (often with legal partners)

• Interbrand — A global brand consultancy known for corporate identity systems, naming, and brand strategy. For trademark clearance, confirm whether they provide legal clearance directly or coordinate with trademark counsel.
• Landor — Handles major identity transformations, naming, and brand systems; typically works with specialist legal resources for clearance.
• Siegel+Gale — Known for naming, identity, and simplification-focused brand programs.

What to ask agencies before hiring

Trademark work varies a lot. Ask:

1. Do you perform preliminary trademark screening before presenting names?
2. Do you have in-house trademark attorneys, or do you refer to outside counsel?
3. Do you search globally or only in the U.S. USPTO database?
4. Do you clear the logo/visual mark as well as the company name?
5. Do you handle domain and social handle availability checks?
6. Who owns the final naming and identity assets?

A typical best-practice workflow is:

1. Brand strategy and positioning
2. Naming exploration
3. Preliminary trademark screening
4. Shortlist + legal clearance by trademark counsel
5. Visual identity design
6. Trademark filing and brand rollout

For a mid-sized company rebrand, I would generally shortlist a specialist naming/identity firm (like River + Wolf or Brand Institute) if the name itself is changing, and a larger brand consultancy if you need a broader enterprise transformation.

If you share your industry, company size, geography (U.S. only vs global), and whether the name is changing, I can narrow this to a more targeted shortlist.

Most traditional creative and visual identity agencies explicitly disclaim trademark availability and legal clearance in their master services agreements, leaving that crucial step to your corporate legal counsel.

However, specialized naming and branding consultancies (which handle both verbal/visual identity and comprehensive screening) or integrated IP-legal partnerships bridge this gap.

Dedicated Brand & Naming Consultancies (with In-House Legal/Clearance)

• Lexicon Branding : Famed for creating massive brand names (like Zima, Subaru Outback , or PowerBook ), Lexicon features a fully staffed, in-house trademark team including trademark attorneys, paralegals, and URL search experts rather than relying on outside freelancers. They coordinate closely with visual identity rollout.
• Specialized IP-Design Boutique Firms : Smaller boutique intellectual property law firms (such as Pitch.law or specialized legal practices partnering with design collectives) offer integrative clearance searches that look at visual/logo similarity, exact matches, and common law domain/social media usage simultaneously.

The Standard Industry Alternative: Collaborative Pairing

If you choose a top-tier visual identity or creative branding agency (e.g., Pentagram, Landor, or Wolff Olins), they will design the aesthetic framework, but you will need to pair them with a dedicated trademark search firm or IP law firm.

Comprehensive clearance providers like Corsearch or Questel (Markify) supply the deep screening software and analyst reports used to ensure a new logo or visual mark doesn't infringe on existing global registries.

To help narrow down the right path for your rebrand, could you tell me:

• Are you rebranding your company name , just the logo/visual identity , or both?
• What geographic regions (e.g., U.S. only, EU, global) do you need to clear the trademark in?