We’re the friend you can rely on. The one you call when you’re stuck. We’ll talk with you about your problems, tell you the truth even if it’s hard to hear, and support you when you need us.
That’s how we show up for our clients, our team, the partners we collaborate with, the people who interact with our work, and the communities that benefit from its impact.
We began in 2012 believing a small agency can make a big difference. Fourteen years and hundreds of projects later, staying small is deliberate: we’re a senior-led team with no bureaucracy between your team and ours. The same people stay with you from kickoff through launch, making Friends along the way.
You know your organization and what’s worked (and not worked) before. We bring the process and judgment to turn your knowledge into the results that meet your needs, now and into the future.
Stakes are high, budgets are limited, and time is a precious commodity. That’s why we’ve designed our process to be strategic, inclusive, proactive, and easy for your team. Our goal is transparent communication that keeps us in lockstep from kickoff through launch and beyond.
When you work with us, you’re adding allies, collaborators, and supporters who care about the details as much as you do. These are the people who will strategically guide the creative direction, manage our day-to-day collaboration, and see your project through from kickoff to launch.
Co-Founder and Creative Director
An award-winning design professional and former professor of graphic design, Ross has over 20 years of experience creating engaging brands and interactive experiences, specializing in design for nonprofits. He has been proud to work with hundreds of organizations such as Conservation International, Nature Conservancy, World Central Kitchen, TED, and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. As creative director and founder at Friendly Design, Ross helps clients solidify their goals and objectives and aligns both our process and results to achieve them.
Ross holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from American University, where he has taught and guest lectured over the last 20 years. His projects have won awards at SXSW, The Webby Awards, The Anthem Awards, and more. He has also given talks at George Washington University, Corcoran College of Art, the University of Maryland, and George Mason University.
When not writing emails, he can be found advocating for safer streets around DC or helping to produce and host Super Art Fight, a live-action art competition with shows around the country.
Unlike reality television, we’re here to make friends. These are the people we bring in when a project calls for expertise beyond our own.
We practice what we preach, but we’re not preachy.We practice what we preach, but we’re not preachy.
Our values are evident in the organizations we partner with—as well as how we run our business and treat our team.
Since 2023, we have met verified standards for social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.
We’ve donated 1% of annual revenue to environmental nonprofits every year since 2019. Recent recipients include the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, Potomac Riverkeeper Network, Yosemite Conservancy, and City Blossoms.
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