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designkitchen

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We are designers, writers and information architects. We are strategists, developers and experiential gurus. We are conceptual thinkers and problem solvers.

At Designkitchen, creative thinking isn't limited to the design team. We expect every member of every team to bring innovative ideas to the table. Whether it's a smart strategic plan from our account team or a never-before-seen use of open source technology from our developers, creativity flourishes throughout the agency.

Collaboration is an ethos and a process. We work together—not only because we enjoy it, but because we've seen time and again that collaboration gets the best result for our clients.

leadership

Sam Landers

President and CEO

Sam Landers is the President and CEO of Designkitchen. Sam spearheads the communications strategies that drive our clients' brand expressions. His experience across a broad range of media and diverse vertical markets fosters the development of rich creative solutions that seamlessly marry brand strategy, design, technology and writing—giving voice to our clients' most important initiatives and business opportunities.

Sam founded Designkitchen in 1992 as a brand identity and design company. Since then, DK has evolved into a full-service digital agency, specializing in online brand activation and strategic content delivery. Sam's hands-on understanding of the creative process and how to leverage it to successfully integrate brand strategy into on- and offline brand messages has fostered successful partnerships with clients including Aon, Cayman Islands, Carrier Corporation, Motorola, The NutraSweet Company and United Technologies.

Published in several national and international design publications, including Communication Arts, AIGA Year in Design and Graphis International, Sam is also co-author of the award-winning book, "Great Chicago Stories.”

Cameron Friedlander

VP, Director of Technology Solutions

As the leader of DK's Technology practice, Cameron oversees the agency's conception, development and delivery of innovative solutions across a range of media and technology platforms, and steers its teams to embrace the constant evolution of formats, functionality and convergence. Under Cameron's tutelage, DK's web development and interactive teams create solutions that seamlessly integrate design and information while ensuring user experience and relevancy.

Drawing on 10 years of leadership and technology expertise, Cameron informs key project phases and deliverables including information architecture, technology and business requirements, application logic, user pathway and site flow development, multimedia and video production, and front/back-end technology integration. He brings new technologies and user experience models to every project—most notably, open-source frameworks such as Ruby on Rails and numerous 2.0 technologies and processes.

Cameron is a graduate of the University of Redlands in California with a BS in Computer Science and is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Computer Science at DePaul University.

Michelle O'Sullivan

VP of Operations

As Designkitchen's Vice President of Operations, Michelle manages DK's operations and business processes. She provides leadership and management expertise to all of DK's functional teams, ensuring seamless delivery across all engagements.

Michelle's expertise in working with the creative and technology teams allows her to promote efficiency and accountability in the overall design and development process. She joined DK in 2002 and has served as lead Account Executive for a number of clients including Carrier Corporation, Fortune Brands, Life Fitness, Oprah's Angel Network and UTC.

A 12-year veteran of the interactive industry, Michelle has built a solid career in interactive design and development. She brings clients a wide breadth of management experience in industries such as finance (Goldman, Sachs & Co.), technology (Motorola) and insurance (Aetna and Arthur J. Gallagher). She has also managed interactive development for some of the best-known brands in the world, including Baskin-Robbins, Bluetooth Wireless Technology, Carrier, Harley Davidson, Life Fitness, Newell Rubbermaid, Oprah's Angel Network and Weber Grills.

A native of Missouri, Michelle studied business as an undergraduate at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, and holds an MBA from the University of Missouri, Columbia.

Matt Simpson

VP, Director of Strategy

Matt is the leader of Designkitchen's strategy and content teams. He works across the agency to develop frameworks and processes that nurture collaboration, driving business insights and communication strategies that translate into measurable results. Through a client-focused approach that combines research, business insight, strategy and a rich understanding of the creative process, Matt collaborates with clients and DK's interdisciplinary teams to create strategic platforms that reach and influence key audiences across a variety of channels.

From product and solution positioning, to ideation, to the development of comprehensive interactive strategies, Matt has played a central leadership role in many of our longest-standing client relationships, including Motorola, Coventry Health Care, Life Fitness, LodgeWorks and United Technologies. Before joining DK, he served as Project Director at Studio Blue, where he conceptualized, managed and produced print and interactive projects for cultural and educational institutions such as the Art Institute of Chicago, Northwestern University and the San Diego Padres.

Matt earned a BA in English and Philosophy from DePauw University and an MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.

Danielle John

Executive Director of Creative Strategy

As Designkitchen's Director of Creative Strategy, Danielle works closely with the design, strategy and content teams to determine the high-level strategic and creative positioning for major brand initiatives and new business pitches. With an eye toward originality and a firm grasp of her clients' brand landscapes, Danielle is known for her ability to translate core messages into unique design solutions that resonate in the marketplace.

Danielle has been instrumental in bridging the design and strategy teams from a creative standpoint. Her expertise and leadership have guided the successful and ongoing development of major brand initiatives for many DK clients, including Acco Brands, HoMedics, LifeFitness, LodgeWorks, Oprah's Angel Network, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Perkins+Will and Wheels.

Danielle joined Designkitchen in 2000 as a graphic designer. She led the design team for 4 years before taking on a more strategic design and development role. Danielle brings a wealth of experience with consumer audiences to DK's projects. She spent the early part of her career in "the Gateway to the West,” working on major brand initiatives for Borders, Waldenbooks, Anheuser-Busch, Edison Brothers, The Sports Authority and Cracker Barrel Old Country Store.

Danielle is a native of New Jersey. She earned her BFA at Washington University in St. Louis and currently lives with her husband in Lincoln Park.

Scott Yanzy

Executive Creative Director

As Executive Creative Director of Designkitchen, Scott oversees the quality, vision, operations and direction for the creative team. Evaluating the clients‘ brand, marketing, and business objectives, Scott develops synergies across all mediums within the campaign—web, print, and video. Scott has built an impressive track record, developing unique creative strategies for some of the nation's top brands. His talents have been proven in some of the most competitive industries, including financial services, retail, automotive, telecommunications, and others.

In his tenure at Designkitchen, Scott has served as Creative Director for key accounts such as Motorola, Life Fitness, Oprah's Angel Network, Bluetooth, Newell Rubbermaid and The Nutrasweet Company. Scott joined Designkitchen from Avenue A | Razorfish, where he provided creative direction for AT&T's award-winning consumer web site and online advertising campaigns. Working with Discover Card, Scott lead a successful online brand restage and redesign of Discovercard.com. Other key accounts included JCPenney, Omni Hotels and Avon. Prior to Avenue A | Razorfish, Scott worked as Director of Design at Arc Worldwide, where he lead creative efforts for USG, Whirlpool, Scion, Purina, and Energizer.

Kathy Beymer

Director of User Experience

Kathy serves as DK's Director of User Experience. Her 20-second philosophy: "I believe that understanding people and what they're trying to do—their goals, tasks, mindsets and motivations—helps teams brainstorm great ideas for features and content... as well as providing strong rationale for UX and design decisions. It's all about the marriage of people, brand, technology and design.”

Before joining Designkitchen, Kathy worked for eight years at Arc Worldwide, a Leo Burnett Company, where she was the Vice President of Experience Planning. Kathy has a depth of digital experience across a wide range of clients including: United Airlines, Raytheon, Miller Brewing, McDonald's, JC Penney, and Philip Morris. Previously she worked at Andersen Consulting (Accenture) for five years, with stints in their Multimedia Factory and Internet Center of Excellence.

Kathy has been sought after as a speaker and panelist on user experience at industry events like @d:tech and in trade publications like Internet World and Communication Arts – to name just a few.

Kathy graduated from DePauw University with a BA in Psychology and Management and has a graduate degree in Design from UTS in Sydney, Australia. She and her husband Shane live in Chicago and love to barbeque on the back deck of their condo.

Laura Maness

Director of Business Development

As Designkitchen's Director of Business Development, Laura leads the agency's efforts to identify and secure strategic partnerships that strengthen its expanding footprint in the B2C and B2B interactive marketplace.

Laura brings over a decade of marketing and business development expertise to DK, as well as a driving passion for building relationships and establishing interdisciplinary teams that are matched to each client's unique needs. Since joining the firm in 2006 as a senior account lead, Laura has helped grow Designkitchen's portfolio and added blue-chip accounts such as ABN AMRO, Aquila, Brunswick (additional divisions), Coventry Health Care, and Marriott Vacation Club to DK's client roster.

Laura began her career in account management for Giant Step (Leo Burnett's interactive arm at the time), servicing one of the agency's largest accounts, Oldsmobile. Prior to joining Designkitchen, Laura led the business development strategy and execution efforts for Black Dog Interactive that resulted in the wins of Ace Hardware, Bally Total Fitness, Citi, CORT Furniture, LPGA, McDonald's and Weyerhaeuser.

Laura earned her BA in Communication and Marketing from Loyola University Chicago.

Darren Redel

Director of Multimedia

As Designkitchen's Director of Multimedia, Darren manages the Motion Graphics, Video and Flash Interactive teams in the development and execution of interactive motion design and branding solutions. He is instrumental in defining innovative ways to enhance and re-shape user experience and interaction through motion.

Since Darren joined DK in 2004, his new media expertise has tied movement to back-end technologies and added real-world functionality to emotive brand experiences. His insight has been integral in overseeing the development of applications, presentations, advertisements and microsites, both on-line and off-line, for Bally Fitness, Hu-Friedy, IBM, Lifefitness, Microsoft, Motorola and United Technologies Corporation.

Darren has been on the leading edge of interactive media for over 15 years. His experience includes photography, video compositing and editing, on-set video technical direction, information architecture, architectural design, graphic design, motion design, and web development. He has studied Architecture Design at the Hammonds School of Architecture in Springfield, MO and Photography and Graphic Design at the School of The Art Institute of Chicago.

Paul Schmit

Director of Interface Development

As Director of Interface Development, Paul strives to set and maintain the highest standards of client service as it relates to implementing technology solutions for our clients' business objectives. Paul manages the daily acitivities of DK's web development team comprising of experienced user interface developers, partnered vendors, and QA specialists. Paul is a business leader responsible for coordinating web development, research into innovative front-end interface technologies, and seamless execution of Designkitchen's web initiatives.

Paul's professional experience spans 9 years of web development and team leadership on interactive projects comprising of advanced multi-device and multi-platform technologies, standards-driven web development, application integration on various frameworks and tier-based architectures, web accessibility, and multi-discipline team management. Paul has effectively led the delivery of design concepts into real interactive solutions for many of DK's top-tier clients, including Bally Fitness, Carrier Corporation, Life Fitness, Motorola and Oprah O Ambassadors.

Paul is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago with a background in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). He also received a certificate degree in Webmaster and Internet Technologies from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

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