People

An experienced and passionate team. A thoughtful and transparent culture.

We are a team because we genuinely care about one another.
We work together because we believe in a common system of professional values.
We partner with clients and agencies who are like-minded, trust and inspire us, and require our best work.

Beth Almeida

Cofounder + Design Director

Client Experience: New England Baptist Hospital, GBH, Cure Alzheimers Fund, +Rise, Matillion

Multiple awards across several categories: Advertising, Design, Collateral, Identity, Posters, Websites

Graduate of MassArt; Best in Show Winner Kakehashi Creators Program, Japan Internship: MIT’s Seung Lab

Passions: Fantasy (Magic, Fairies, Dragons!) / Techno and Dancing / Nature / Art / Music / Exploring / Discovering / Learning

Marlene Cole

Cofounder + Senior Designer

Client Experience: Cure Alzheimers Fund, Harley Davidson, New England Baptist Hospital, +Rise

Multiple awards across several categories: Advertising, Design, Collateral, Identity, Posters, Websites

Assistant Professor of Design, MassArt Director, 4As New England Council Graduate of MassArt; MassArt x Seoul Tech Design Exhibition, South Korea Graduate, 4As Institute of Advanced Advertising Studies

Passions: Empathy and Emotions / Meaning and Purpose / Heritage / Traveling and Learning / Stories, Lore, and Narratives / Food and Taste

Jeff Monahan

Founder + Design Principal

Client Experience: Vera Wang, Bang & Olufsen, Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, Wedgwood, Godiva, Matillion, Atlas Venture, NEST Fragrances

Founding Member, 4As CX Council Board Chair, 4As New England Council Board Cochair, 4As Foundation Director, 4As Eastern Region Board

Graphis Annual Awards (multiple awards, multiple categories) Graphis 50 Best Design Studios, USA Graphis 50 Best Branding Studios, USA Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian National Design Award Nominee

Passions: Music / Hiking / Camping / Reading / Helping / Learning / Driving / Pizza / Dogs

Henk Groenewald

Head of Strategy

Client Experience: Citibank, Zurich Insurance, Chubb Insurance, Accenture, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Sanofi, Merck, World Health Organization, Boeing, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Unilever, SAB Miller, Diageo, Starbucks, P&G, Desmond Tutu Peace Trust, Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, The Nature Conservancy, MSPCA, Harvard

Founder, The Brand Ecologist Senior Vice President of Planning, Havas Group Strategy Director, Mind + Matter Global experience: North America, Europe, Africa, Asia

Passions: Baking / Travel / Gardening / Skiing /Reading / Woodworking / Hiking / Friendship

Jenny Nicholson

Head of Brand Experience

Client Experience: P&G, Sherwin-Williams, MSNBC, Samsung, Sony, Travelocity, Signet Jewelers, Norwegian Air, Nationwide Insurance, NextGen Personal Finance, GNC, Dupont, Virgin Mobile, Little Caesars, Carmax, Coinbase

Former Head of Brand Experience, McKinney Former Group Creative Director, McKinney

Member: 4As CX Council, International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences

Passions: Books / Yoga / AI Art / Wide-Ranging Conversations / Family

Adele Park

Head of Retail Design

Client Experience: Bloomingdales, Bergdorf Goodman, Calvin Klein, Dior, Hasbro, Jason Wu, Neiman Marcus, Natori, NEST Fragrances, Nordstrom, Ole Henriksen, Papyrus, QVC, Saks Fifth Avenue, Sephora, Simple Human, Target, TJMaxx, Ulta, Walmart

Master’s, Interior Architecture, RISD

Former Faculty at Boston Architectural College

Passions: Martial Arts (Training Muay Thai & Boxing) / Volunteering (Global Builds with Habitat for Humanity and Fuller Center for Housing) / Fragrance (Olfactory and Visuals/Packaging)

Jesse Poe

Head of Customer Experience
 

Client Experience: Citibank, FT, Genentech, Pepsico, Mountain Dew, Kering, L’Oréal, Novartis, Microsoft New York Life, Invesco, H&R Block, Bloomberg, Nuveen, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, MetLife, Beam Suntory, Keurig, Michelin, TD Ameritrade, Sunbrella, New York Review of Books, JPM Wealth, BNYM Wealth

Architected and implemented Havas’ Global CX team (1200+ staff, 18 offices) Former VP, AKQA Former Director, Creative Strategy, Code & Theory Member, 4As CX Council Former Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Kauffman Foundation Global experience: Asia, Europe, Americas

Passions: Listening / Learning / Reading / Music / Swimming in Warm Water / Drawing / Haunting Used Bookstores / Strolling Cities and Wandering Forests / Being Papa to My Amazing Daughter

Ruston Spurlock

Partner
 

Client Experience: Colgate-Palmolive, AT&T, United Negro College Fund (UNCF), Ericsson, Moët-Hennesy, Carlsberg, Gateway, Samsung, Microsoft, Nokia, InBev, Vonage, Johnson & Johnson

Principal, Gray Global Advisors Cochair, 4As Foundation Former Managing Partner, J. Walter Thompson, Beijing Former Managing Director, Leo Burnett Moscow Former General Manager, Leo Burnett New York Master’s, Marketing, Thunderbird

Global experience: Asia, Europe, United States

Passions: Tennis / Current Events / Learning New Languages / Reading / Traveling Globally / Cooking and Entertaining for Friends and Family / Mentoring

Client Experience

We are lucky to have worked with some of the best marketers in the world.

  • Amazon
  • Ameriprise
  • AT&T
  • Atlas Venture
  • Bang & Olufsen
  • Beam Suntory
  • Bentall Kennedy
  • Bergdorf Goodman
  • Bloomberg
  • Bloomingdales
  • BNYM Wealth
  • Boeing
  • Bose
  • Boston Red Sox
  • British Telecom
  • Cadbury
  • Calvin Klein
  • Carlsberg
  • CarMax
  • Citibank
  • Coca-Cola
  • Coldwell Banker
  • Colgate-Palmolive
  • Crane & Co.
  • CrossBorder Solutions
  • Cure Alzheimer’s Fund
  • Desmond Tutu Peace Trust
  • Diageo
  • Dior
  • End Family Fire
  • Ericsson
  • FT
  • Gartner
  • Gateway
  • GBH
  • Genentech
  • GMAC Home Services
  • GNC
  • Godiva
  • Google
  • H&R Block
  • Hartmann
  • Harvard University
  • Hasbro
  • Hershey’s
  • Hunter Douglas
  • InBev
  • Invesco
  • J&W Seligman & Co
  • Jason Wu
  • Johnson & Johnson
  • JPM Wealth
  • Karl Lagerfeld
  • Kering
  • Keurig
  • Kimberly-Clark
  • L’Oréal
  • Lilly
  • Little Caesars
  • MASCPA
  • Matillion
  • Medisafe
  • Merck
  • MetLife
  • Michelin
  • Microsoft
  • MillerCoors
  • Millipore Sigma
  • Moët-Hennessy
  • Mountain Dew
  • MSNBC
  • Nationwide Insurance
  • Natori
  • Neiman Marcus
  • Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund
  • NEST Fragrances
  • New England Baptist Hospital
  • New York Life
  • New York Review of Books
  • Next Gen Personal Finance
  • Nicholaeff Architecture
  • Nike
  • Nokia
  • Nordstrom
  • Novartis
  • Nuveen
  • Ole Henriksen
  • P&G
  • Pampers
  • Papyrus
  • Pepsico
  • Pfizer
  • Prudential
  • QVC
  • +Rise
  • Rite-Aid
  • SAB Miller
  • Saks Fifth Avenue
  • Samsung
  • Scott’s Bass Lessons
  • Sephora
  • Sherwin-Williams
  • Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
  • Simple Human
  • Solamere Capital
  • Sony
  • SpotOn
  • Starbucks
  • Sunbrella
  • Target
  • TD Ameritrade
  • The DeWolfe Companies
  • The Nature Conservancy
  • The Record Co.
  • TJMaxx
  • Travelocity
  • TRIA Architecture
  • Uber
  • Ulta Beauty
  • Unilever
  • United Nations
  • United Negro College Fund
  • Vera Wang
  • Virgin Mobile
  • Vonage
  • Walmart
  • Wedgwood
  • William Arthur
  • Wrigley

Recognition

Awards matter: Creatively awarded work drives 11x share of market growth and delivers 2x ROI.

—The Link Between Creativity and Effectiveness, and The Long and Short of It, by Les Binet and Peter Field
  • AIGA (multiple)
  • Branding Served (multiple)
  • Cannes Lions (multiple)
  • Clios (multiple)
  • D&AD (multiple)
  • Davey Awards (multiple)
  • Effie Awards
  • FiFi Awards
  • FWA (multiple)
  • Graphis Advertising (multiple)
  • Graphis BrandingUSA (multiple)
  • Graphis Design (multiple)
  • Graphis DesignersUSA (multiple)
  • Graphis Protest Posters
  • IIDA
  • Lovely Package
  • One Show (multiple)
  • Packaging Served
  • PRSA/New York
  • REBRAND (multiple)
  • Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt  National Design Awards (nominee)
  • Telly Awards (multiple)
  • The Ad Club (multiple)
  • The Art Directors Club
  • The Art of the Show
  • The Dieline
  • W3 Awards (multiple)
  • Web Design Served
  • Webbys (multiple)