Hi This Is Bry named UK top 10 for Best Business Branding at the Small Business Awards
- May 12
- 4 min read
Being named in the UK top 100 for Best Creative Arts Business was already more than I expected. Then I found out I'd also been named in the UK top 10 for Best Business Branding at the Small Business Awards. Top ten. In the whole country. I had to go for a little walk after I read that one.
What this award actually looks at
The Best Business Branding category isn't judged on whether something looks nice. The judges are looking at whether a brand is consistent, strategic, and whether it genuinely reflects the business behind it. That's a much harder bar to clear than having a pretty logo.
I'm really grateful that the judges connected with my story and with what I actually care about. That part landed more than anything else.
This felt like a sign that I did.
Why my brand looks the way it does
My brand is unapologetically pink, sparkly, and feminine. Early in my career I was told that wasn't how a serious designer should present herself. I tried toning it down for a while. It felt completely wrong every single time.
Hi This Is Bry is inspired by Elle Woods: someone who gets underestimated right up until the moment she doesn't. My brand is a direct response to being told I needed to look more corporate, more neutral, more like everyone else. It's a reflection of who I actually am, my story, my values, the way I think about work.
And it informs everything. How I show up on social media, how my services are structured, how I price my work, how I look after my clients. Wherever you find me, I look and sound like me. The same person on Instagram, on my website, in a proposal, in a Zoom call. That consistency doesn't happen by accident.
No AI. Everything human-made.
Every illustration, every graphic, every piece of brand collateral is made by me. Not generated, not prompted, not touched by an AI tool. All of it is human-made, from scratch.
That's a deliberate choice. AI-generated visuals have a quality to them that people pick up on even when they can't name it. They look polished but hollow. They don't have the specificity that comes from a person thinking carefully about one particular brand. Judges notice that. Audiences notice it too. You can't build a real connection with something that was generated rather than made, because there's nothing personal underneath it. It looks like it could belong to anyone, because it basically could.
My brand doesn't work that way. Neither does my client work.
What goes into a brand that actually wins awards
Having a standout brand requires real strategy underneath it, not just graphics that look good on a screen.
For my own brand that meant working through who I'm talking to and what they actually need to hear, how to position myself honestly in my space, what makes Hi This Is Bry genuinely different in how I work not just what I say, how every single touchpoint reinforces the same story, and what I want someone to feel when they find me for the first time.
That's not a one-afternoon job. It's something I've built over time and kept coming back to as things have changed.
What this means for the businesses I support with their branding
I now have real insight into what makes a brand get noticed and win recognition, not just look good at launch. And I take that into every client project.
When I'm building a brand for someone I'm thinking about their future, not just their first Instagram post. I'm thinking about how to differentiate them from their competitors, how to build something completely bespoke around that specific founder and that specific audience, and how to set them up so that in a year or two they're the ones being nominated for things.
None of my client brand identities are templated. They're built from scratch every time. That's what makes them impactful.
FAQs
What does the Best Business Branding award recognise? It's part of the Small Business Awards UK, a national programme for independent businesses. The Best Business Branding category looks at the strategic quality, consistency, and authenticity of a brand across all touchpoints. It's not just about visuals, it's about whether the brand actually holds together and means something.
Do you use AI in your branding work? No. All of my creative work is human-made. I don't use AI to generate visuals or brand assets, for my own brand or for my clients. I think AI-generated branding looks it, and audiences and judges can tell. There's no shortcut to a brand that actually connects with people.
Can you help my business build a brand like this? Yes, and it's my favourite thing to do. I build completely bespoke brand identities built around your story, your values, and your audience. Have a look at my services or get in touch to talk about what you need.
Final thoughts...
Being named in the UK top 10 for Best Business Branding at the Small Business Awards means a lot. Not just as a personal win, but as confirmation that the approach actually works. The human-made work, the deep strategy, the consistency, the honesty about who I am and why I do this.
I'm grateful the judges saw that. And I really want to help my clients get there too.
Don't go without saying hi!
Hi, I'm Bry (pronounced Br-eye), an Essex and Suffolk based Creative Strategist and neurodivergent founder.
I help small businesses and founders show up with branding, websites, and content strategy that helps them become more visible to the right people.
My work has been recognised by the Small Business Awards (Best Creative Arts Business, UK top 100 and Best Business Branding, UK top 10), and I've been featured in Essex Life Magazine, the Harwich and Manningtree Standard, Business Wire, Greatest Hits Radio, and the 7th edition of Graphic Design School.
In 2026 I also won silver for Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the SME Awards and I was shortlisted for best digital business the East of England StartUp Awards.
When I'm not doing this, I'm probably reading about exotic fish or writing about nerdy marketing stuff. Sometimes both.