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Nonfiction is a brand and design agency creating a world with less noise and more meaning. We use strategy and creativity to help big thinkers, change makers, and risk takers give form to the future.

What We Believe

Simplicity

Make everything as simple as possible, but no simpler.

Courage

Different isn’t always better, but better is always different

Insight

Creativity without strategy has nothing to say. Strategy without creativity means no one hears it.

Method

Smarter processes enable smarter, more sophisticated outcomes.

Craft

Each choice, each element, and each word adds soul to the final product.

Our Expertise

01

Brand Creation

We bring the intangible to life to create clarity, alignment, and transformation. You break through the noise to become more desirable and impactful.

You’re just getting started and need to stand out. Maybe your current brand doesn’t reflect who you are any more. Or you have a new strategic plan that doesn’t align with your brand. We’ll help. Together, we’ll reimagine your brand strategy and brand identity system to launch you forward with focus, impact, and meaning.

  • Brand Audits
  • Brand Architecture
  • Brand Strategy and Positioning
  • Naming
  • Verbal Identity + Tone of Voice
  • Visual Identity + Logos
  • Branded Campaigns
  • Brand Guidelines
  • Creative Direction
02

Brand Experience

We use ideas and creativity to help organizations, institutions, and companies of all sizes communicate better. You grow a magnetic and fluid brand that can’t be ignored.

You need help with the tactical rollout of your brand. Maybe you need support for things that keep it rolling. Or you have a special project that needs exceptional attention. We mix strategic message with creative magic. Together, we’ll use strategy, words, and design to connect with the people that matter most.

  • Web Design + Development
  • Copywriting + Content Strategy
  • Print Design
  • Books and Editorial Design
  • Photography Art Direction
  • Packaging Design
  • Social Media Tools
  • Illustration
  • Branded Environments
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Our Team

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Jeff Packard
Partner, Strategy Director
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Neil Wengerd
Partner, Creative Director
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Kimmy Alexander
Creative Operations Director
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Zach Wilke
Art Director
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Jacob Strous
Senior Designer
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Jeff Packard
Partner, Strategy Director

Jeff Packard is a partner and Nonfiction's strategy director. He spent the first half of his career as design director at an internationally known arts center and the second half working on strategic corporate and startup brands. These experiences shaped his belief that creativity and strategy are undeniably linked. His passion is making sure that ground-breaking design is aligned with short- and long-term business goals.

Jeff has also been a marathon runner, race car driver, mountain biker, and spontaneous 8,000 mile road tripper. He has lived in Columbus, Philadelphia, and Boston, but his heart is in the mountains out west.

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Neil Wengerd
Partner, Creative Director

Neil Wengerd is a partner, creative director, and resident dad joke expert. He’s known for making obscure movie references, always having a stack of unread books near by, and having every Seinfeld episode memorized. He’s a husband to one and dad to two. Somehow, he still gets seven hours of sleep every night.

Neil learned the power of hard work from his coal-mining and woodworking family. He leads the studio and creative team with an even keel, and he’s developed brands for scrappy startups, rowdy iconoclasts, established juggernauts, and everything in between. Frankly, he’s too curious to be pigeonholed. With a thoughtful approach and unique instinct for design, Neil has helped Nonfiction cement its reputation for smart, meaningful, and beautiful design.

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Kimmy Alexander
Creative Operations Director

Kimmy Alexander is Nonfiction’s Creative Operations Director, sticky note organizer, and spreadsheet wizard. Kimmy’s a member of the local Stitch ’n Bitch, volunteers with local theatres in the costume department, and loves food and books. Someday, she’ll have a children’s book published (but only one). Kimmy is proudly Filipino and travels back often. Maganda doon!

Kimmy started her career as a graphic designer. She may be a project manager by title, but she's a creative at heart. She has years of experience managing projects, growing accounts, and producing video and photo shoots for big-name clients. We won’t namedrop, but Patek Philippe, Pernod Ricard, PINK, and Pixar are the ones that start with P. Conceptually driven and technically grounded, Kimmy makes sure our work pushes the envelope without tearing it in half.

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Zach Wilke
Art Director

Zach Wilke is an art director, photographer, and has been called Nonfiction’s resident “curator of hobbies”, always learning something new. When he’s not at a computer working, he’s probably trying to get far away from one—hiking, cycling, and dog-walking—or in the kitchen, shaking, slicing, and kneading his way through a new cocktail or recipe.

Zach brings conceptual thinking and a focus on details to every project. He’s worked with social enterprises and nonprofits, arts organizations, local distilleries and breweries, and large-scale retail clients. He particularly loves helping small businesses get off the ground, and passionately believes in the ability of thoughtful design to make his community a more joyful place.

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Jacob Strous
Senior Designer

Jacob Strous is a graphic and web designer, and Nonfiction’s seating and lighting design aficionado. He’s always excited to find inspiration in the latest and greatest finds from the Chicago-based furniture curators he follows on Instagram. Jacob runs an indie record label, Glome Sound. When he’s not at a computer or listening to music, he enjoys playing the piano, cooking pasta, ice skating, rearranging the furniture in his apartment, and taking his cat, Pepper, on walks. With right-brained creativity and left-brained reasoning, Jacob blends compelling ideas with strategic thinking, collaborating with peers and partners to visualize ideas with eye-catching clarity. He’s worked with renowned architects and interior designers, art institutions, defiant startups, local nonprofits, lively restaurants, and spirited breweries. At his core, Jacob believes that thoughtful design connects people to ideas, all while making communities, learning, and living more enjoyable.