Julia brings 25 years of brand strategy experience, making human connections for some of the world’s biggest brands. She has tackled challenges and challengers, building rapport and trust with her client partners to take brands to unexpected levels.

Determined to work on projects she was passionate about, Julia founded Beardwood&Co in 2004. Starting out with strategy and research projects, the company evolved as clients asked for help executing through the entire brand experience from naming to logos, packaging, print, web sites and ad campaigns.

Julia has created a unique work place founded on the idea that the journey of a project is as important as the final destination – making sure each project is exciting and eye-opening, so that clients feel they learn something valuable every time. She’s earned the title of “Brand Therapist” because she is so good at listening to client’s problems and staying ahead of their needs.

Julia started her career in brand management for P&G in Europe. When she moved to New York, she transitioned to advertising and worked with leading healthcare, household and food brands for P&G and Kraft for a decade.  She went on to lead the Brand Identity practice for Landor New York, where she spent seven years creating strategies and design solutions for over 100 iconic brands including Smirnoff, Gatorade, Pizza Hut, Motorola, Lipitor, Florida, LG, Pepperidge Farm and Clairol

Outside of work, Julia can be found gardening in her Brooklyn backyard, at the theater, running in Prospect Park (and in two Brooklyn Half-marathons!), traveling, or spending time with her husband and sons.

An adventurous problem solver with 15 years experience in innovation and branding, Ryan is known for his breakthrough ideas balanced with commercial reality. He has uncovered insights and developed innovative branding solutions for a broad sweep of clients spanning categories and continents, from consumer goods and new technologies to service brands, pharmaceuticals and multi-million dollar private jets.

Described alternatively as “human caffeine” and a “wise old monk,” Ryan moved to New York City by driving cross-country with two suitcases and a tent to pursue a career in branding. He became recognized as a fearless strategist inspired by juicy problems that frighten most people. As an innovation consultant at ?What If!, Ryan helped Astra Zeneca understand the needs of their schizophrenic patients and patented two new packaging solutions; envisioned the future of retail banking for Citi; developed candy ideas with kids for Hershey in India; and partnered with eBay to increase top buyer loyalty.

Bringing passion with purpose to each project, Ryan spent 10 years leading branding and innovation projects at Landor where he developed global brands and new products for clients including Diageo, Blackberry, HBO, Pfizer and American Express.

In his down time, Ryan puzzles over crosswords, watches cartoons, and gardens.

As Creative Director at Beardwood&Co, Sarah views every project as an opportunity to see the world with fresh eyes and discover a solution that is not only creatively invigorating, but makes her proud. A “design explorer” for almost a decade, Sarah is always scouting out new inspiration from the tip of Patagonia to Tokyo’s Design Week to Zanzibar.

Her design adventures at Beardwood&Co span from telling the punk rock story of legendary CBGB's, to delivering girly glamour for Bath & Body Works, and channeling her inner scientist with Pfizer’s next blockbuster brand. Not bad for a small town girl from Michigan, who set off for New York City with a one-way ticket and $50 in her pocket.

Sarah began her career in branding at Landor developing a new national airline brand, Song, and repositioning Blackberry for a mass market. Sarah also conducted major branding projects for the NYC Olympic Bid, Burger King and Clairol. She joined Beardwood&Co as Creative Director to build an energized studio environment where designers could thrive on cross-pollination of ideas and diverse projects.

Sarah fuels her creativity by blogging for The Scout and makes every weekend into a design safari.

As Design Director, Allison is a focused and flexible creative team leader. A member of the Beardwood team since 2007, she is as adept at designing boutique perfumes as she is at branding major financial institutions. Always one step ahead of project goals, Allison enjoys collaborating with clients, including CBGB, Bath & Body Works, Mike's Hard Lemonade, Thornton Tomasetti, and Bed Bath and Beyond.

Allison's experience in branding was established at Landor Associates as a corporate identity and packaging designer for major global brands including Pfizer, Clairol, Citibank, Diageo, and American Express.

A tireless trend hunter, Allison looks anywhere from 1920's social customs to Brazilian movie posters to obscure post-punk bands for inspiration. This ongoing cultural research helps to inform her adaptable creative style for a wide range of project types. The most notable items are curated on her website, Inspirational Imagery.

Allison's extra-curricular interests include awesome music (usually incorporating a sax solo), celebrity gossip, exploring places near and far, and studying consumer spending habits (a.k.a, shopping). She was recently cast as a leg model for a shoot with Martha Stewart's dogs.

Equal parts mother figure and team cheerleader, Dani’s been known to dole out high fives, rock-star kicks—  and the occasional hug.  But clients love her because she brings insightful strategic deliverables to projects in industries spanning from medical devices to hospitality to packaged goods. Dani is devoted to tackling each initiative with curiosity, energy and inventiveness. 

She joined Beardwood&Co, after leading a brand strategy team at Desgrippes Gobé, where she was responsible for leading engagements with Staples, American Express, The Neat Company, RealD, The United Arab Emirates and Dassault Falcon. Dani learned her brand strategy skills at Landor where she revitalized brands for clients including Diageo and Entenmann’s – and came to know and love many of her fellow Beardwoodies.

During the weekends, you’ll find her hitting up the parks and playgrounds of Brooklyn with her growing brood or working her way through her collection of cookbooks.

Kelly is a maker, baker and blogger of all things delicious for the senses. With a curiosity and enthusiastic passion for making things, Kelly brings a hands-on approach to all of her work. Destined to design from an early age, she spent her childhood painting leftover Avon boxes in bold rainbow hues and refinishing second-hand furniture her Mom dragged home.

At Beardwood&Co, Kelly has developed new brands and revamped older ones for Real Simple, Pfizer, Bath & Body Works, Cities of Love and the American Museum of Natural History to name a few. Her work has been featured on the Dieline.

Kelly is the co-founder and designer of Remedy Quarterly, an independent food magazine. She's gathered an international following with her food blog, EatMakeRead where she writes about and photographs her experiments in the kitchen.

Sadie brings a flexible, yet highly organized, approach to research and analysis in brand strategy. Blending the empirical and emotive in equal parts, Sadie has collaborated with clients large and small to hone their positioning and communication frameworks. Sadie focuses on shaping and refining strategy programs and products for brands as diverse as Skiff, Mike's Hard Lemonade, and La Senza. 



Beginning her career in politics and government, Sadie moved to New York to assist the lower Manhattan community in their rebuilding efforts. Her interest in social systems, communication, and how design mediates a dialogue between the two, spurred her to jump into the world of branding. Prior to joining Beardwood, Sadie developed and maintained a sophisticated brand loyalty program with True Value Hardware, re-positioned New York Life Retirement Plan Services through a series of brand workshops, and created mouth-watering campaigns for Balducci’s.

Sadie was valedictorian at the University of Maryland's R. H. Smith School of Business, where she received her B.A. in Marketing, Summa Cum Laude. Her weekends are spent buffing her credentials as a history buff, creating knitwear available in some of Brooklyn's finer boutiques, and wearing out the edge of her seat watching NASCAR.

Fresh out of college Loren dove into branding at Landor associates, learning the ropes from some of the best in the business. Over the past 5 years he has worked with the big guys and the little ones, finding an appreciation for the complexities of both. He’s Developed spirits and beverage brands such as Don Julio Tequila, Mikes Hard Lemonade, and Gatorade and consulted with Camelbak, Whole Foods, and independent filmmakers. Loren brings a wide range of experience and approaches every design challenge with a fresh vision, seeking the best voice for the brand, not just pursuing his personal taste. Always striving for a handcrafted timeless look, a touch of humor and designs that make people jealous.

Feeling at home in the outdoors, he would just assume work from his laptop while rafting down a river if possible. We’re working to make this happen, but in the meantime he is happily finding inspiration in the glass and steel canyons of the big city.

When not experimenting with type and color you might spot him roaming around the globe, riding too fast on his motorcycle or stuffing his face full of sushi.

Kristin is an insightful designer with a broad perspective that blends commercial impact with aesthetic beauty, while keeping those around her in fits of laughter.

Straight out of high school, Kristin was looking for a broader perspective of the world and moved to London, without ever having been, to study with students from over 80 countries as she earned her BA in psychology and photography. Back in the states, she attended the Portfolio Center in Atlanta solidifying her design training.

Excelling in cosmetic and beverage design, Kristin has a packaging patent in her name for work on Dulseda’s groundbreaking bottle. She created brand-cohesive packaging for a new line of Tanqueray gin, the lime-infused Rangpur. Most recently, Kristin has helped Desert Essence completely transform their packaging, reinvigorating the brand with more impact and broader customer appeal.

Kristin is the proud mother of a baby daughter and strives for toothless grins, eight hours of sleep and a pint-sized accomplice in determining the balance of form and function.

Always shooting for the moon and stars, Alexandra brings a fearless attitude to design.

She joined B&Co. after graduating with a BFA in graphic design from Rhode Island School of Design. There she rocketed into unfamiliar territory as the first RISD student to intern at Kennedy Space Center. During her internship, she launched her own design projects that provide a new perspective on advertising for NASA.

At Beardwood, Alexandra strives to make the world a more beautiful place with packaging and branding in beauty and fashion. Some of her clients include La Senza, Lounge, Bath & Body Works, Colgate and Somabella. At free reign, Alexandra doodles her work away with a loose illustration style. She enjoys telling a story through illustration and adding unique charm to each design.

In December 2009, Alexandra was invited to speak on a panel at the Art Institute of New York. She showcased a range of creative work from educational to professional that focused on the importance of illustration in graphic design.

In her down time she is dancing ballet, gardening in Brooklyn, hiking outdoors and practicing Yoga (preferably in the sun).