We design brands to stand the test of time. We challenge you to see things in a new light. We ask big questions, and then we work with you to find the right answers. We approach each relationship with empathy, patience, and passion to design brands that stand the test of time.

Our Approach

Create more signal and less noise.

Signal is about talking less but saying more. It’s about putting more meaning into what goes out to the world. And it’s about ideas, not egos. It doesn’t matter where an idea comes from if it’s smart. Design without an idea is just noise.

Build relationships.

Creative and business success isn’t possible without relationships: between us and our clients and our clients and their audience. Building long-term relationships lets us hear things that get lost in everyday noise. Our clients get creative partners that listen to, understand, and challenge them for the long term.

Make things simpler and smarter.

Simplicity cuts through the clutter. Smart solves problems. They both require curiosity. Curiosity is an agent of change. It not only leads to more creative solutions, but those solutions in turn can open the door to bigger, better ideas. That means our clients get answers to questions they didn’t even know they had.

Think sustainably.

Sustainable is what’s best for our planet. It’s what’s best for people. And it’s what’s best for business. We think about both the short- and long-term impacts of design for our clients, because thinking ahead means we aren’t falling behind. Our clients get to shape their own future instead of existing in someone else’s.

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.

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

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
Project Manager
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Lauren Haase
Senior Designer
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Zach Wilke
Senior Designer
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Amanda Burnside
Junior Designer
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  • Selected Clients
  • Selected Partners & Organizations
  • AAAS
  • Antioch College
  • BalletMet
  • Berkeley Haas School of Business
  • Braided River Brewing Co.
  • Cal Poly
  • Capital University
  • Cincinnati Concours d’Elegance
  • Columbus Museum of Art
  • Columbus State Community College
  • Echo Spirits Distilling
  • Huntington Bank
  • JobsOhio
  • Meeder Investments
  • Oculii
  • Olive AI
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jeff-bio
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 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.

neil-bio
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.

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Lauren Haase
Senior Designer

Lauren Haase is a senior designer and wearer of many hats. She’s known for giving unpopular things a shot (like cicadas and soup in the summer), and she’s never met a raccoon she doesn’t like. She hails from thirty acres of farmland in rural Ohio. Now, look for her biking around Columbus or communing with nature.

Lauren’s MO is thoughtful and empathetic. To her, design is most successful if it can connect with someone emotionally. She brings a holistic approach to design, brand, and digital; to her, a brand is only as good as the sum of its parts. Lauren’s combination of expertise gives her a unique perspective on how brands live in the world today.

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Zach Wilke
Senior Designer

Zach Wilke is a senior designer, photographer, and has been called Nonfiction’s resident “curator of hobbies”, always interested in 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 harmonious and joyful place.

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Amanda Burnside
Junior Designer

Amanda Burnside is a junior 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.