Identity Works is now IW Agency

What is IW Agency?

IW Agency is the same company as Identity Works, founded in Stockholm in 1992. In May 2025, Identity Works merged with its sister agency IW Edition and took the name IW Agency. The name is new. The company, the Stockholm office and the people are the same.

Several client relationships are older than the name. At IW Agency, we did our first work for OLW in 1997, and we have worked with Arla since 2007.

Today we are around 50 people. We work with clients across Sweden, the Nordics and internationally. We judge the work by what it does for the business: whether more people choose the brand, stay with it and are willing to pay for it.

How did Identity Works begin?

Identity Works was founded in Stockholm in 1992 as a brand and design agency. It helped companies decide what their brand should stand for. Then it made that visible wherever customers met the brand, on the pack as much as in the store. Many of the first clients were brands that Swedes encounter every day.

Selected milestones over 30 years

• 1992: GB Glace, Cloetta, Ipren and Svenska Spel.

• 1997: OLW, Falu Rödfärg and Telia.

• 2003: Nogger and Leksands Knäcke.

• 2007: Spotify and Svenskt Smör. The partnership with Arla begins.

• 2008: Gold in the Swedish Design Award (Svenska Designpriset) for Give Hope.

• 2011: Gold at Pentawards, the international packaging design awards, for Pour Te.

• 2013: Swish, OKQ8 and Aftonbladet.

• 2017: Volvo, Blocket and SvD.

• 2019: IW Edition launches, and Identity Works becomes a part-owner of the digital service design agency Adore You. Work for Kry and Google.

• 2021: Holmen, Morakniv and Arvid Nordquist.

• 2023: Hazelight, Gustavsberg, Svenska kyrkan and Region Stockholm.

• 2025: Identity Works and IW Edition become IW Agency. That autumn, IW Agency wins four Pentawards.

Under the Identity Works name, the agency also won Guldägget, a Swedish advertising award. At Pentawards 2025, both Swedish gold medals went to IW Agency, for Arla and Lucky Bait. IW Agency also took silver for Champis and bronze for Svenska kyrkan's graphic manual. See more selected work here and the complete timeline in our archive.

Why did Identity Works become IW Agency?

Identity Works became IW Agency to bring strategy, design, communication, digital and innovation together in one agency, under one name. The groundwork was laid six years earlier.

In 2019, Identity Works launched IW Edition, a digital communication agency. That same year it became a part-owner of Adore You, a digital agency in Stockholm. The idea was three agencies under one roof: brand, communication and tech.

CEO Bjarne Otterdahl explained the reasoning at the time: "Digital development has narrowed the gap between brand strategy, design and communication." The quote is translated from Swedish (Resumé, 2019).

In May 2025, the agencies took the step fully. Identity Works and IW Edition merged into IW Agency to give clients better conditions and to adapt the offer to a new world. For clients, it means the brand no longer has to be handed over between a strategy agency, a design agency and an advertising agency.

How does IW Agency work today?

We work across five capabilities in one agency:

• Strategy: positioning, brand platforms and brand architecture.

• Design: identities, packaging and design systems.

• Comms: communication that takes the brand out to people.

• Digital: websites and digital experiences.

• Innovation: new offers built on what the brand already stands for.

The capabilities overlap. A new positioning changes the pack, and a new pack changes the communication. That is why they sit together. Read more about our five capabilities, or about our work as a design agency.

Frequently asked questions

Is IW Agency the same company as Identity Works?

Yes. IW Agency AB, Swedish company registration number 556621-7021, is the same company as Identity Works. The name change in 2025 did not create a new company.

What happened to IW Edition?

IW Edition was launched in 2019 as the digital communication agency of Identity Works. In May 2025, the two merged and became IW Agency.

Why did Identity Works change its name?

The new name brings strategy, design, communication, digital and innovation together in one agency, under one name.

Do awards and work from Identity Works count as IW Agency's?

Yes. It is the same company, so the awards and work from the Identity Works years belong to IW Agency.

Who leads IW Agency?

Bjarne Otterdahl is CEO. He was already leading Identity Works in 2019, when IW Edition was launched.

Where is IW Agency based?

The office is in Stockholm. From there, we work with clients across Sweden, the Nordics and internationally.

Get in touch

Whether you knew us as Identity Works or are meeting us for the first time, we would like to hear about your brand. Write to us at hello@iwagency.com.

Sources

• Resumé, 12 June 2019: "Identity Works startar kommunikationsbyrån IW Edition" (Identity Works launches communication agency IW Edition).

• Resumé, 25 November 2019: "Identity Works köper minoritetspost i Adore You" (Identity Works buys a minority stake in Adore You).

• Resumé, 16 May 2025: "Identity Works slår samman systerbyråer" (Identity Works merges its sister agencies).

• Resumé, 7 October 2025: "Storslam för IW Agency på Pentawards" (Grand slam for IW Agency at Pentawards).