Splash Creative vs Clay: Who Should Pick Which for Branding and a Website

Pick Splash Creative if you want a founder-led studio and one consistent senior team, based in Englewood, NJ and serving New York City and North Jersey, for brand strategy, identity, and a website. The scope and the fee are fixed in a written proposal. Brand identity is from $15,000. Websites are from $15,000. Brand and website together are from $30,000. Shopify builds are from about $20,000. Retainers are from $2,500/month. A focused identity takes 4 to 6 weeks. Full strategy plus identity takes 8 to 12 weeks.

Pick Clay if you want a global branding and UX agency that also designs digital products and websites, with cofounders overseeing the work, and you are ready to get the fee in a custom proposal. Clay's homepage, services page, and about page do not publish a dollar starting price. The homepage FAQ describes time and materials, a fixed fee, or a retainer, then a proposal with a timeline and an estimated cost after discovery.

That split is the useful one for a founder who needs full-service branding and a website, including a founder at a company that already has revenue and needs the brand and the site handled together. Splash Creative wrote this page and included itself. It is a buyer's comparison, not an independent ranking, and it does not score Clay. The Clay notes describe Clay's own pages as read on November 6, 2026. They are not a review. This page does not repeat Clay's client list, quotes, or case-study results. A starting price is quoted only when that firm publishes one.

How this comparison was made

Three checks decided what is in the table:

• What the firm says it does. Services are taken from the firm's own pages. Splash services are the published list. Clay services are the ones named on the homepage and the services page.
• Where the firm says it works. Addresses are the ones printed on the site.
• Whether a starting price is published. If the page does not state a dollar fee, the cell says Not published. Nothing here is an estimate.

"Ideal client" is a short description of the work that firm describes. It is not a rank, and it is not a claim about who either firm turns away.

At a glance

Clay

Clay calls itself a global branding and UX design agency. The homepage says the studio began as a UX design agency in San Francisco, focused on mobile apps and enterprise and SaaS software, and later added brand design and marketing websites. The services it names there are branding, digital products, websites, development, content, and generative AI. Content, on that page, includes copy, illustration, motion, photo, and video. The same FAQ says SEO is considered on web projects and is not offered as a standalone service.

The services page describes Clay as a full-service digital innovation partner and groups the work into branding, digital products, websites, content, and development. Branding there includes brand strategy, brand architecture, verbal identity, visual identity, brand guidelines, and brand experiences. Digital products include user research, UX and UI, motion, and design systems. Websites include content strategy, web design, interactive experiences, content production, frontend and backend development, and CMS implementation. Development includes mobile apps, web development, and what Clay labels emerging tech. The page says Clay works with big brands and startups across the industries it lists, including fintech and B2B and enterprise software.

The about page states 78 global team members, 16 years in business, 529 projects completed, and a San Francisco headquarters. It says co-founders lead dedicated senior-level teams. The homepage lists offices in San Francisco (300 Broadway, San Francisco, CA 94133), New York (148 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10013), Austin, Denver, Lisbon, and Belgrade, and the homepage FAQ says the company is remote-first, with people in the United States, Europe, and South-East Asia. The homepage FAQ also says cofounders oversee every project, with a design director leading the work, and that Clay works with startups and with enterprise companies. A common scenario it describes is preparing a SaaS startup for enterprise buyers by revamping the brand, the product, and the marketing site.

On price, none of those three pages gives a dollar starting point. The homepage FAQ says Clay offers a blended rate and three models: time and materials, fixed fee, and retainer. After discovery conversations and project briefings, it writes a customized proposal with a timeline and an estimated cost. If you need a number before that proposal, it is not on these pages.

Clay is the relevant comparison when the job is a digital product, a design system, or a brand that has to live inside software, and when you are ready to scope that in a proposal. It is a poor comparison when you need a published starting fee for an identity and a marketing site.

Splash Creative

Splash Creative is a founder-led studio at 34 S Dean St, Suite 206, Englewood, NJ 07631. There is no New York City office. The studio serves New York City and North Jersey from Englewood. David Herskowitz, Founder and Creative Director, started the business in 2010. It was named Splash Creative in 2017. The team model is one consistent senior team. This page does not publish a headcount.

The published services are brand strategy and positioning, visual identity and logo design, website design and development on WordPress and Shopify, copywriting, email and lifecycle marketing in Klaviyo, social media design, video production, mobile app design and development, packaging and print, rebrand and brand refresh, and AI implementation. Branding is the strategy and identity. Web design is the site. Shopify is the store build. They can be one engagement or separate ones. The page that walks through the engagement is How we work.

Brand identity is from $15,000. Websites are from $15,000. Brand and website together are from $30,000. Shopify builds are from about $20,000. Retainers are from $2,500/month. Splash Creative agrees a fixed scope and a fixed fee in a written proposal. A focused identity takes 4 to 6 weeks. Full strategy plus identity takes 8 to 12 weeks. The same starting prices are on pricing. The fee for a specific project is the one in the proposal.

Brand and website in one scope

CoverWhale is one place that scope shows up in finished work. CoverWhale is an InsurTech broker in trucking insurance. The project is a logo, copy, and a website, so the identity and the site were made as one piece. The case study is CoverWhale. It does not add a result this article measured.

A healthcare brand and its site

SwiftHealth is a concierge healthcare platform offering mobile care across New Jersey and New York City. The Splash Creative project is brand guidelines, messaging, and a custom site, so the offer and the website were designed together. The case study is SwiftHealth. The pictures are the work. They are not a testimonial.

A private office

The Oathe Group is a private office for athletes and founders. The project is a logo and a custom website. It is a useful comparison point when the brief is an identity and a site for a professional practice, and when the public tone has to stay restrained. The case study is The Oathe Group. It does not publish a performance number, and this article does not invent one.

A real estate identity and site

Spring Property Group is a multifamily real estate firm. The project is a logo, color, type, guidelines, and a website. The phone frame at the top of this article is that site. It is here because the comparison is about branding and a website, and this is one published example of both. The case study is Spring Property Group.

The four projects are a cross-section of published Splash Creative work: insurance, healthcare, a private office, and real estate. They are not a claim that every founder in those industries should hire the studio. Open the case study and see whether the problem looks like yours.

Which firm fits

Use the job, not the city name.

Clay, when the work is a digital product, a design system, or a brand that has to be built into software, and you are comfortable getting the fee in a proposal. Clay's site says it works with startups and with enterprise companies, and that cofounders oversee projects. It does not publish a starting price. Read the homepage, the services page, and the about page before you treat a directory blurb as the brief.

Splash Creative, when you want brand strategy, visual identity, and a website scoped together, with a fixed fee written in a proposal, from a founder-led studio in Englewood that serves New York City and North Jersey. David Herskowitz leads the studio, and the work sits with one consistent senior team. The page for the branding scope is branding. The page for the site is web design. The prices are on pricing. To talk it through, contact the studio.

A separate note that also includes Lounge Lizard is Lounge Lizard vs Clay vs Splash Creative.

Sources

Clay, read November 6, 2026:

• Homepage, clay.global, including the FAQ on services, team, startups, and price.
• Services, clay.global/services.
• About, clay.global/about, including the published counts and the co-founder team note.

Splash Creative figures on this page are the studio's published starting prices, timelines, services, address, and founder record. The same prices are on pricing. The studio address and founder are on about.

Who should choose Splash Creative, and who should choose Clay?

Choose Splash Creative when you want a founder-led studio in Englewood, NJ, one consistent senior team, and brand identity and a website with a fixed scope and a fixed fee in a written proposal. Brand identity is from $15,000, websites are from $15,000, and brand and website together are from $30,000. Choose Clay when you want a global branding and UX agency that also designs digital products and websites, and you are ready for a custom proposal. Clay's homepage, services page, and about page do not publish a dollar starting price.

Does Clay publish a starting price?

Not as a dollar amount. Clay's homepage FAQ says the studio offers a blended rate and three models: time and materials, a fixed fee, and a retainer. After discovery conversations, Clay writes a customized proposal with a timeline and an estimated cost. The services page and the about page do not add a dollar starting price.

What does Splash Creative charge for branding and a website?

Brand identity is from $15,000. Websites are from $15,000. Brand and website together are from $30,000. Shopify builds are from about $20,000. Retainers are from $2,500/month. The fee for a project is a fixed scope and a fixed fee, agreed in a written proposal.

How long does identity work take at Splash Creative?

A focused identity takes 4 to 6 weeks. Full strategy plus identity takes 8 to 12 weeks. The written proposal names the scope and the fee.

Where is Splash Creative based?

Splash Creative is at 34 S Dean St, Suite 206, Englewood, NJ 07631. There is no New York City office. The studio serves New York City and North Jersey.

What does Clay say it does?

Clay's homepage calls the studio a global branding and UX design agency and names branding, digital products, websites, development, content, and generative AI. The services page lists brand strategy and identity, digital products, websites, content, and development. The homepage FAQ says SEO is considered on web projects and is not offered as a standalone service.