About Firebelly Design Branding company in Chicago, United States
We believe design can and should inspire critical thought and positive action. Everything we make, we make together, with a lot of love, intention and respect for our clients’ core values and ideas. Since 1999, we’ve partnered with organizations of ever
Every project is an opportunity. We seek out partners who share our fire and fervor for social progress. But why just talk about it when we can be about it?
From Camp Firebelly and Reason to Give to Typeforce and Firebelly University weve been all about serving the greater good since day one. Our longest running program the Grant for Good is an annual award that provides one nonprofit a years worth of our services for free. Its rad! The call for applications goes out every Fall.
Learn All About the Grant
As a community-centered design studio we are committed to diversity and inclusion with the goal of creating a more equitable just world. We understand diversity—across age gender race religion citizenship status ability sexual orientation education class and culture—builds perspective and empathy which are critical to responsible design.
We create brave spaces where all voices can be heard biases challenged and solutions arrived at together.
We strive to live our values in all that we do encouraging honesty collaboration generosity gratitude courage and a commitment to doing the work. We pursue positive outcomes for and stronger relationships among our employees partners and the communities we serve.
This work is unending. We remain steadfast in our dedication to use our collective power and platforms to dismantle inequity promote diversity and inclusion and together design a better world.
Managing Director
Executive Director + Founder
Dawn is a troublemaker bleeding heart designer by trade and do-gooder by nature. Two things she likes: ideas and people. Shes been known to put them together in a room just to see what happens.
Since starting Firebelly in 1999 shes been diligent about seeking out fearless allies and building communities that care both within and beyond the studio. Shes founded numerous programs including Reason to Give a nonprofit serving Humboldt Park families; Camp Firebelly an intensive design apprenticeship; and Firebelly University an incubator for aspiring social entrepreneurs. She created AIGA Chicagos esteemed Mentor Program and co-founded Typeforce to shine more light on emerging local talent. In 2003 she launched the Grant for Good an annual award providing a year of free design services to one nonprofit.
Under her tenure the studio has earned a laundry list of accolades from the Webbys Cooper Hewitt Communication Arts Brand New TDC and then some as well as an invite to exhibit a 10-year retrospective at Pratt Institute. In 2019 Dawn was inducted into the NewCity Design 50 Hall of Fame for her profound influence and unwavering leadership.
Named one of Fast Companys 11 Most Generous Designers and a 4-Star Chicagoan by Windy City Live Dawn has worked tirelessly to spread the gospel of good design from Los Angeles to Qatar and countless places in between. Shes spoken at Creative Mornings Design + Diversity Made in the Middle and HOW; appeared on Debbie Millmans Design Matters podcast; contributed to Good Company and Computer Arts; judged Sappis Ideas that Matter; visited ArtCenter College of Design as an Artist in Residency; and featured work alongside the citys preeminent creators as part of CHGO DSGN. In every one of her many roles she leads with tremendous thought and consideration for those around her believing with a fierce sincerity that together we will create a better world one good idea at a time.
Dawn holds a BFA in Visual Communication from Northern Illinois University all the rest she learned along the way.
Senior Director Design + Partner
Will is a designer and also a person-shaped manifestation of pure energy. He leads the studios ever-evolving creative process embracing the chaos of early exploration and steering its evolution with a keen eye and steady hand.
Will joined Firebelly in 2007 and cemented its reputation for stunning yet approachable visual design. Hes developed brands for hometown heroes Divvy Bikes the City of Berwyn and Halfwit Coffee; helmed trailblazing site designs for Affiliated Engineers and SCB Architects; and led award-winning campaigns and identity systems for cult favorites legacy institutions and industry heavies alike including FLOR Planned Parenthood Shanghai American School and Grant Thornton.
Since 2010 hes been the brains (and grizzled hands) behind the iconic annual Typeforce installation and as of 2020 hes one of the events co-chairs. As an instructor at Chicago Portfolio School he teaches Typography Fundamentals mentoring and preparing young designers for leadership. His work has been recognized in the STA 100 Chicago Design Archive Society for Typographic Arts numerous TDC Annuals Fast Companys Innovation by Design Under Consideration and Newcity Design 50. Will has spoken at Creative Mornings and the Type Directors Club somehow run eight marathons fostered 80+ dogs and believes in the persisting power of a good nights sleep.
Will received his BFA in Graphic and Interactive Communication from Ringling College of Art and Design where he also minored in Photography.
Senior Director Strategy
Stefani is a multi-hyphenate of the highest order. Researcher-strategist-designer by trade shes also a skilled woodworker sketch artist educator and recovering wanderer. She joined Firebelly in 2020 on the heels of directing The Studio at dscout where she led a team of researchers who explored brand and product questions for the worlds most iconic and innovative companies.
Her journey from Richmond Virginia to Firebelly is a real page-turner. Ask her about her time in Alaska or the Marshall Islands before heading to Chicago for grad school. Focused on research and strategy at IITs Institute of Design her passion for studying human behavior really came to life. After graduating she took a stint at SC Johnson before landing at dscout to join and then lead their research studio. Since putting down professional roots in Chicago shes also fulfilled her longtime dream of teaching at her alma mater.
When not leading research and strategy teams building furniture in her This Old House-featured workshop or hanging out with her partner and young son you can probably find her visualizing industry workshops and events. Even TED took notice and featured her work.
A whirlwind of curiosity Stefani is driven by the unrelenting desire to solve problems and improve experiences and sees herself as optimistically critical. Simply put she wants to make people less pissed off as they go about their day.
Stefani received a BS from Virginia Tech in Industrial Design and a Master of Design in Research and Strategy from IIT Institute of Design.
Senior Director Development
Nate is an interdisciplinary hacksaw. When hes not writing stacks on stacks of impeccable code and leading the studios dev team hes living a not-so-secret second life as a cartoonist and literally herding cats.
Since joining Firebelly in 2011 Nate has graciously accepted every challenge thrown his way from engineering seamless back-end integrations to wrangling SASS and crunching webpacks. Hes been coding since the 80s when he received his first Commodore 64 with a 15-pound floppy drive. More recently hes built boundary-busting websites for Chicago Learning Exchange Onward CGRE and Chicago Freedom School.
Nates also a brilliant illustrator and photographer whos been self-publishing zines and comics since 1995. Hes created custom illustrations for Duke University and McSweeneys shown work at the MCA given artist talks at SAIC and the Center for Cartoon Studies and regularly contributes to Southern Cultures.
Nate studied Computer Science at Virginia Tech and lived in the woods of Washington without electricity for a while.
Interim Managing Director + Associate Director Project Managment
Meg is a bright-eyed bundle of excellent vibes and a believer in the beauty of details. Shes also a policy wonk brazen feminist and ENFJ to the core. As leader of project production and client accounts she ensures a smooth process from start to finish while inspiring genuine trust transparency and creative partnership.
Meg previously served as Director of Research Operations and Strategy at the University of Chicagos Lindau Lab where she helmed strategic planning grant analysis financial operations and relationship management. In former lives Megs taught English and Math at a Nepalese orphanage worked in chronic disease management at a community health center and as a graduate student researched the effect of local and federal legislation on the social sector. Her passion for health equity runs deep as does her ear for good messaging and eye for design.
When shes not trying to save the world Meg approaches parenthood like she does everything else: with a little grit and a lot of grace.
Meg earned her BA in English and Womens and Gender Studies at Boston College and AM in Social Sector Leadership and Nonprofit Management from the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago.
Associate Director Development
Matt is a tea-drinking rock-climbing plant-based gem of a human being. He is also a seasoned web dude and one half of the studios full-stack development team.
He joined Firebelly precisely three days before our first annual Crosspark Challenge and hes been indispensable ever since. In a fun twist on standard practice Matts often involved in a project from day one digging into discovery and helping clients and colleagues translate wild ideas into accessible beautiful web experiences. Hes the character behind the code for Sustain Chicago a one-stop resource for going green as well as TDC.org and Unstoppable both big-time award winners in interactive design.
A born community-builder Matt founded the CodePen Chicago meet-up to connect local nerds and share ideas for making the web a cooler place. Hes given lightning talks at HTML5 Chicago and JSCHi taught photography for After School Matters as well as development courses at General Assembly. Hes lived abroad in Chile biked through the Great Plains and currently roams the country out of Susanne the Van in search of simple joys and decent wi-fi.
Matt attended Columbia College Chicago where he majored in Photography and minored in Black World Studies.
Associate Director Design Strategy
Elaine is a walking talking ray of sunshine and designer who wears (and looks great in) many hats. Our very own unicorn shes as skilled at knocking out taglines and wrangling content as shooting portraits and mocking up websites. Curious to the core and expressive to the max she lives like she designs—in full glorious color.
Elaine fell in love with art as a young pup following a long family line of dreamers and makers. Photography was her first obsession; from there she studied photojournalism and fine art before zeroing in on graphic design which worked out great for us.
She joined Firebelly in 2017 as a seasoned art director and designer. In her time here shes made herself indispensable. Whether writing brand strategies talking one-on-one with clients or co-facilitating workshops shes always ready with a kind word and get-it-done attitude. An anti-diva through and through she treats no task as too small to merit anything less than her best. When shes not busy in the studio you can find her reveling in domestic bliss in the mid-century modern dream house she shares with her adoring wife (and boss) Dawn and deaf pitbull Neko.
Elaine earned her BFA in Graphic Design from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Senior Designer
Tom contains multitudes exquisite multitudes. He is a documentary photographer illustrator and gifted cocktail party conversationalist as well as self-taught designer.
Since emigrating from China at age nine hes worked methodically to understand the world around him. Perceptive and steadfastly proactive hes talked his way into several jobs simply by observing an unmet need and meeting it—for instance as political cartoonist for his high school paper and managing editor for the Chicago Maroon. Drawn to the cerebral aspects and human effects of visual communication he talked his way into freelance projects for IDEO the University of Chicago and Postcards from Ferguson before joining Firebelly in 2015. Hes directed UI/UX design for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Sustain Chicago developed brand identities for Girls Garage and Plant Chicago and led studio experiments in 3D modeling and GIS design. The STA Brand New Typewolf and Communication Arts have (wisely) seen fit to honor his work.
Tom holds down the Firebelly presence in Portland where hes continued his foray into woodworking and statistical programming. You know for fun!
Tom put the arts in his Bachelor of Arts which he earned in Political Science from the University of Chicago.
Designer
Dean is a human swiss army knife—a type nerd and illustrator with a killer eye for detail and a background in front-end development. He is the quintessential team player bringing humility and discipline to every task.
Prior to joining Firebelly fresh out of college Dean polished typefaces for Google Fonts oversaw the design of Kent States poetry magazine and interned at VSA. Since coming on board hes led web design for NowPow Onward GFOA and Designing a Better Chicago; played with power tools in support of the annual Typeforce installation; and helped refine the studios visual language and communication strategy. His work has been recognized by Communication Arts and the International Society of Typographic Designers.
He has been called an Obsessed Perfectionist (a real undergraduate award!) and an absolute mad yoke (an Irish term of befuddled endearment bestowed by a former professor) thanks to his bottomless appetite for a job well done. From career panels to studio visits he takes every opportunity to encourage young designers to go on and get weird and unusual.
Dean earned his BFA in Communication Design from Kent State University.
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