Nonfiction is a brand and design agency that uses strategy and creativity to help companies invent what’s next. What we do today determines the future. And if we don’t shape it, it will shape us.

Our Approach

We think first and design later.

Sounds obvious, but it’s not.

We make things smarter.

That requires being infinitely curious.

We create more meaning and less noise.

If everyone is shouting, no one is heard.

We build relationships.

Between you and us, and you and your audience.

We look forward.

Thinking ahead means we aren’t falling behind.

What We Do

01

Brand Foundation

We merge the head and the heart to invent and reinvent brands.

Together, we create meaning, identity, and emotion. You take charge of defining who you are. We bring the intangible to life so you break through the noise to become more desirable and valuable. And you begin to shape your own future, today.

Brand + Messaging Audits
Audience + Competitor Insights
Brand Architecture
Brand Strategy and Positioning
Brand Voice + Messaging
Naming
Visual Identity + Logos
Brand Guidelines + Design Tools
Creative Strategty + Direction

02

Brand Experience

We use emotion, ideas, and dedication to design living, breathing brands.

We mix strategic message with creative magic. You connect with the people that matter most. We balance the timeless and the current. And you grow a magnetic and fluid brand that can’t be ignored.

User Experience + Digital Design
Copywriting + Content Planning
Social Media Assets
Printed Materials
Art Direction and Photography
Packaging Design
Illustration
Branded Environments

Our Team

Jeff Packard

Partner, Strategy Director

Neil Wengerd

Partner, Creative Director

Kimmy Alexander

Project Manager

Zach Wilke

Art Director

Amanda Caskey

Graphic Designer

Jacob Strous

Graphic Designer

Anne Knellinger

Junior 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.

LinkedIn

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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

Project Manager

Kimmy Alexander is Nonfiction’s project manager, 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.

LinkedIn

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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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Amanda Caskey

Graphic Designer

Amanda Caskey is a graphic designer and connoisseur of funky earrings. When she’s not roller skating or making elaborate grilled cheeses, she’s known to watch scary movies or play an un-ironic ukulele. She and her fiancé have a small and wily pack of animals comprised of a French Bulldog, a frog, and a bearded dragon.

Amanda’s experience working in-house with creative teams in the startup world has informed her entrepreneurial spirit and her ability to manage projects with ease. She has an infectious optimism, a can-do attitude, and a passion for creating better solutions. This helps her engage with people through meaningful design experiences. Above all, Amanda is in the business of turning frowns upside down.

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Jacob Strous

Graphic 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.

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Anne Knellinger

Junior Designer

Anne Knellinger is a junior designer and outdoors enthusiast, always up for a trip to the mountains or woods. She’s always got a frisbee close at hand, and when not designing, can most often be found on the Ultimate field. She enjoys trying new recipes and is the fastest Dutch Blitz player this side of the Mississippi.

With a passion for printmaking and painting, Anne has an appreciation for working by hand when developing her own design methods in an increasingly digital world. Being a lifelong curious learner, exploring new processes is critical to her creative practice. She previously worked at a non-profit resettlement agency, using design to further its mission of welcoming and helping new Americans. The experience solidified the importance of empathy and designing with people, not for them. Anne also works on community murals and design projects.