Why Glyn, Why Now?

Five years ago, I had a conversation with my brother about furthering my studies. I'd found design and some success with it. I thought that was enough to charter my life's course. He asked me a question that changed everything: "Do you think you'll still be designing in twenty years?"

I said yes. He laughed.

While I still believe I'll be designing in some capacity 15 years from now, I lost that argument and reluctantly went back to school. Since then, I've earned a Bachelor's in Advertising, PR, and Branding, and a Master's in Management—credentials I never thought I'd need, but that transformed how I see business, leadership, and creative work.

Now, in 2025, as I finish my Master's program, I've thought a lot about what's next. Would I go back to freelancing or look for a job? I had the idea of starting my own studio, but I never gave it much thought as I'm not business-oriented. You see, I'm a beautiful contradiction: I want to be respected in my field but not famous. I want to be the best at what I do, but not necessarily number one. I never wanted a boss, yet I wasn't sure I wanted to be one either. It's fine—I also can't understand myself sometimes 😂.

So when the thought of starting my own studio came to mind, it was easy to shut it down. I didn't feel ready. But today, I'm launching Glyn Studio LLC, a brand studio for founders and businesses who want their brands to mean something. This journey is completely unorthodox for me. I've thrown myself into the deep end of many things I'm scared of.

But in retrospect, this is a natural evolution of who I've always been. I've always prided myself on being a one-man agency, and anyone familiar with my projects knows I've always strived to be as good as the best agencies out there.

‍

The Soul Behind the Name

When it came to naming the studio, I didn't have to look far. No one in my family, except my father, knows how Glyn came to be one of his names. Maybe he just loved it, enough to fit into his initials and address himself whenever he picked up a call: "Stephen Glyn-Owen on the line," with pride.

My parents have always been the biggest supporters of my ventures, and it was the same with design. My father saw me before I saw myself. He believed in my creative path when I couldn't define it. He taught me collaboration, perspective, and the value of working with people better than you. Naming this branding studio after him felt like the only honest choice—a tribute to where I come from and a reminder of what drives me forward.

The essence of my parents is the driving force behind Glyn. That's why the studio’s philosophy is simple but essential: giving brands souls. By aligning their story, system, and culture. Because brands that feel real perform better, internally and in the market.

After years of working in-house and freelancing with businesses across industries, I noticed something missing in many great companies: a soul. The reason beyond the profit margins and quarterly targets. The shared purpose that makes teams care deeply about brand consistency, makes founders sweat the details, and turns employees into believers in the vision.

Pretty work is good. But soulful branding—work that connects strategy to culture, design to purpose—that's what creates lasting impact. The soul has to be cultivated, and that's why culture building is an important part of the Glyn framework.

At Glyn, we don't just want to design brand identities. We want to help founders build brands that their teams believe in, that their customers feel connected to, and that stand the test of scale.

And the best place to start is with Glyn itself. Everything about our identity is intentional. The colour palette, the slanted serif typography that mimics how my parents write, even the menu silhouette avatar of my dad on mobile, it's all designed to convey the feeling I get from my parents. Every decision has been soulful and deliberate.

‍

How Glyn Works

We're building a founder-led design studio that collaborates with exceptional creatives to deliver high-quality brand systems. We'll lean on the genuine connections I've built over the years and discover new talent along the way. Eventually, we'll grow an in-house team with full-time positions and paid internships for emerging designers.

My goal is to build Glyn into a movement for soulful branding, where brand strategy meets culture building, and where founders find partners who care as much as they do.

‍

Who We Serve

I've always called myself a "design nomad"—I love the versatility of working across different industries and creative challenges. That's one of the reasons branding resonates with me so deeply.

At Glyn, we want to work with ambitious founders across three core verticals:

Tech & Future — Fintech, SaaS, and AI companies building tomorrow's infrastructure
Culture & Lifestyle — Fashion, beauty, and hospitality brands shaping how we live
Performance & Passion — Sports, wellness, and gaming brands driven by emotion and excellence

‍

Our Offerings

We've designed our services for businesses at different stages of growth:

Launchpad — A 3-week brand sprint for startups that need to launch fast with a brand identity that gives them an unfair advantage. Perfect for pre-seed to seed-stage founders who want to look like industry leaders from day one.

Anchor — A 3-4 month partnership for established businesses that have outgrown their current brand or are pivoting their services. This is for Series A/B founders ready to evolve their brand strategy, refine their positioning, and scale with intention.

Compass — Launching soon: a one-hour one-on-one brand consultation session with founders to diagnose brand challenges, clarify positioning, and strengthen internal culture around your brand.

You can explore these in detail on our Services, Launchpad, and Anchor pages.

‍

Looking Ahead

It's been an intensive three months planning Glyn—learning business strategy, pricing models, positioning frameworks, and operations at a pace that's sometimes overwhelming. I'm grateful to everyone in my network who shared insights and encouraged this leap.

There's still a lot to figure out. I'm doing this scared. Both feet planted on uncertain ground, walking by faith, trusting that soulful work will always find its audience.

Let's build something meaningful together.

‍

Vote of Thanks

Heartfelt thanks to my parents—my dad for always being an inspiration to me, my mum who has taken a keen vested interest in this venture and supported me every way. My siblings for their support, especially Stephanie, who even paid for Glyn's Webflow year plan 🤪. My girlfriend, who has never stopped supporting me, bouncing ideas off each other, and listening to my long explanations.

Huge thanks to Creative Boom's Katy Cowan, who I was fortunate enough to be one of the first people I spoke to about this. Femi Grey, Funsho Felix, Seyi Olusanya, and Tunji Ogunoye, who lent me their expertise. Akin Theodox, Alice Ogah, Collins Ido, Deji Ajetomobi, Iko Ameeji, Japhet Onojie, Comfort Adetoro, Teslim Abu, and so many more people I was able to discuss this with, who offered their help, ideas, and strategies—I'm grateful to you all. This will be our win.

Ready to give your brand a soul? Visit glyn.studio to explore our services or book a discovery call.