It’s how we think.
It’s how we work.
It points to who we work with,
and it lives and breathes in all we create.
We set doable deadlines
So we set ourselves up for success.
Because design created in record time isn’t going to break records.
Open lines of communication, slight obsession, sleepless nights, some bickering, and some celebratory drinks and dinners along the way.
When we get to the point where we can communicate non-verbally, we’ve nailed it.
Because that’s what great design is.
Talk face-to-face whenever possible, even if that’s FaceTime.
Because over-communication never led to misunderstanding.
Every design solution is authentic.
Imagine emotional experiences, craft clever words, create tactile designs, give goose bumps.
Understand the personality of a brand first.
If we focus on the actual makeup at the start, we don’t have to apply a ton of makeup later.
Decisions are decided, whereas consensus is compromise.
We work with people who make decisions.
Because getting out front never comes by meeting in the middle.
With digital, there is no Control + Alt + Aha! Digital autocorrects innovation because it’s end-product is perfection.
Use tools, but don’t get used to them.
We don’t define work by hours on the job, as value can come in the shower or over drinks.
Think non-stop, work part-time.
Because boundaries around solutions will never get us outside the box.
We’ll keep ours short, because frankly
We’d rather talk about your project.
Gotta live in the present.
Here’s a sampling of our range, holler at us to see more.
Snoop Dogg wanted to create a brand around his new footwear line with Pony, called Doggy Biscuitz. We worked with him from the start, incorporating everything about the man into the brand.
The logo was built from a silhouette of Snoop “Crip walking” – he grew up in gang culture and it was important to recognize this, yet in a positive light. The brand had to reflect him as an individual: His Long Beach lifestyle, West Coast hip-hop, his love for sports, and his passion for lowrider culture.
For shoeboxes, the logo popped out as a stencil, which was a nod to graffiti culture, and we used a blue Snoop bandana as the shoe wraps. To incorporate low riders, we created actual lowrider car plaques as in-store displays. We went so far as to have these sand-casted and painted with actual car paint.
Doggy Biscuitz was yet another “arm” of Snoop’s empire, a multi-faceted man who is much more than a famous rapper – someone who’s also an avid football fan and coach, a Dad who plays ball with his kids, and…someone who sips on gin ‘n juice…
The Marley family wanted to craft a brand around their patriarch. Given his mark on society, this was a pretty gargantuan task. We started by creating the internal mantra “What would Bob do?”, using this as a driving force, emphasizing music, social responsibility, environmental stewardship, and helping people.
The logo was inspired by a crown, as there is deep significance of the “king” in Rastafarian culture. We also designed this to feel like a continuous line, representing ongoing-motion and embrace.
It was imperative all packaging be 100% sustainable and organic – we even experimented with potato packaging. We ended up with a minimalist molded-paper design that felt raw and “from the Earth”.
We designed concepts for the Marley booth at CES (Consumer Electronic Show), that would not only invite guests in to experience the brand and test products, but that could also double as a stage for bands to play at, with guests seated at the edge or watching up front.
The brand could be felt throughout, with heavy use of rustic, natural materials that could be easily repurposed and reused from show-to-show. Guests could get comfortable at various listening stations that let them experience the product and kick-back and relax.
Patrón Tequila was looking to put their well-known bottle at the forefront of bottle service in Las Vegas nightclubs, surpassing the usual suspect: vodka. They asked us to create several concepts to show the entire brand experience from reserving a table, to leaving the club at night (er, in the morning).
We put ourselves in the shoes of the Peacocking Male – the man who goes to Vegas to go clubbing and to be the center of attention. Then we investigated the brand, landing on two different conceptual directions: The Bee, and The Boss. Patrón’s logo includes a bee, which is generally underutilized in their branding; and “Patrón” means “Boss.”
Once a bottle was ordered, there’d be an over-the-top entrance. The Queen Bee would be carried out by her “worker bees,” gilded and glittering, holding the bottle above her head within a gold hexagonal case. For the GirlBoss, she’d be outfitted in elegant boudoir attire with glowing lime green accents to mimic the same green ribbon on the bottle, and her Patrón would be housed inside a glowing green glass orb.
Tableside, the Bee concept envisioned a gold metal table with matching hexagonal bottles for mixers, and a central element inside the table that would activate “beekeeper smoke” once the bottle was placed. For the Boss concept, a lucite “ice” table would glow green, and the guests would be served Patrón out of shot glasses made of ice.
As for the social element, for the Bee, there was a bluetooth-enabled “bee” selfie stick at the table that guests would use take photos throughout the night and post to social. And the #likeaboss campaign included an interactive display inside the hotel, where guests could take photos which would then be projected in front of different Vegas scenes alongside the hashtag.
Started in 1985 out of Sacramento, California, Ettore’s Bakery & Cafe had grown from a small croissant shop to having over 125 employees, multiple locations, and next step was nationwide. We were asked to refresh and update the entire brand and all assets to reflect their direction and momentum as a company.
Cake, cake and more cake. That’s what Ettore’s is known for. Respecting the fact that all their pastries and desserts are handmade, we worked with frosting tips and watercolor to create a mark that merged “Ettore’s” with “Cake” and “Handmade,” and selected a color palette to reflect seasonal ingredients.
The handmade element continued into all packaging, where we utilized kraft paper, white “frosting” print, and custom-engineered pastry boxes that worked cohesively throughout all sizes and which were printed with a watercolor-style of different organics, depending on the season.
Ettore’s took over a new 11,000 sq. ft. cafe, which needed a vision. We opened up the exterior to make it industrial, yet inviting with cantilevered floor-to-ceiling windows and painted cakes across the entryway.
Right away, we wanted guests to be excited about cake, so we directed traffic toward a custom cake-decorating window, then alongside a beautiful custom glass case filled with treats, and over toward where they needed to order.
This was a political activism project we took on internally at Vs. During the divisive and hate-filled 2016 presidential election cycle, we frankly got fed-up with the rhetoric. So we decided to act before the election, creating a campaign of our own to spread on social media. Our goal was simply to show who we are and – importantly – who we aren’t as Americans. And to motivate citizens to vote.
We ran a series of “Thought Campaigns” daily, with a cohesive theme for each week. Using the words of past Presidents, or calling attention to the truly disgusting, abhorrent tone of candidates today – specifically Trump – we wanted to make readers stop and think: Is this really the type of person you want as a leader?
The first campaign was #ThatsPresidential, where we researched moments from previous presidencies – from both sides of the aisle and from different times in history – and found powerful quotes from each of those leaders. The point? To draw a glaring distinction between what a true leader sounds like, compared to the vitriol we hear today.
As a company that builds brands for others, “words” couldn’t be more important to us. For us, it’s frankly confounding that Trump could say what he does without any real consequence. So, to properly “brand” Trump, we found images of him in the news, and paired that with his actual quotes for our #WordsMatter campaign. Pretty sure we nailed his brand.
Veryl Oakland, a decorated jazz photographer who shot the jazz greats from the 1960’s through ‘80s, was developing a book to showcase over 300 of his images along with personalized stories about each artist. As this was a multi-layered project, we created a cohesive brand around his life’s work.
We modernized his approach to sourcing a book publisher, creating a password-protected link to his book proposal via his website, allowing potential publishers to access the material. We also designed and built the site to showcase his work and stories, giving readers a window into his world.
Aligned with the release of the book in 2018, we built a marketing campaign focused on galleries, music events, bookstores, schools, and radio stations, and created materials that worked together within the brand.
We worked directly with the publisher to design the cover and layout of the book, ensuring it fit alongside the overarching brand of “Jazz in Available Light” – so the book would feel cohesive with the photography itself, the website, his outreach materials, and his gallery shows.
Snoop Dogg wanted to create a brand around his new footwear line with Pony, called Doggy Biscuitz. We worked with him from the start, incorporating everything about the man into the brand.
The logo was built from a silhouette of Snoop “Crip walking” – he grew up in gang culture and it was important to recognize this, yet in a positive light. The brand had to reflect him as an individual: His Long Beach lifestyle, West Coast hip-hop, his love for sports, and his passion for low rider culture.
For shoeboxes, the logo popped out as a stencil, which was a nod to graffiti culture, and we used a blue Snoop bandana as the shoe wraps. To incorporate low riders, we created actual low rider car plaques as in-store displays.
We created posters with a nod to the fact that Doggy Biscuitz was yet another “arm” of Snoop’s empire, a multi-faceted man who is much more than a famous rapper…he’s also an avid football fan and coach, a Dad who plays ball with his kids… AND…someone who sips on gin ‘n juice.
The Marley family wanted to craft a brand around their patriarch. Given his mark on society, this was a pretty gargantuan task. We created the internal mantra “What would Bob do?” and used it as a driving force, emphasizing music, social responsibility, and environmental stewardship.
The logo was inspired by a crown, as there is deep significance of the “king” in Rastafarian culture. We also designed this to feel like a continuous line, representing ongoing-motion and embrace.
It was imperative all packaging be 100% sustainable and organic – we even experimented with potato packaging. We ended up with a minimalist molded-paper design that felt raw and “from the Earth”.
We designed concepts for the Marley booth at CES that would not only invite guests in to experience the brand and test products, but that could also double as a stage for bands to play at.
Patrón Tequila was looking to put their well-known bottle at the forefront of bottle service in Las Vegas nightclubs, surpassing the usual suspect: vodka. They asked us to create several concepts to show the entire brand experience from reserving a table, to exiting the club at night.
We put ourselves in the shoes of the “Peacocking Man” – the guy who goes to Vegas to go clubbing and to be the center of attention. Investigating the brand, we decided on two different concepts: THE BEE, and THE BOSS. Patrón’s logo includes a bee, which is generally underutilized in their branding; and “Patrón” means “Boss.”
Once a bottle was ordered, there’d be an over-the-top entrance. The glittering Queen Bee would be carried out by her “worker bees,” holding the bottle above her head within a gold hexagonal case.
As for the GirlBoss, she’d be outfitted in elegant boudoir attire with glowing lime green accents to mimic the same green ribbon on the bottle, and her Patrón would be housed inside a glowing green glass orb.
Tableside, the Bee concept envisioned a gold metal table with matching hexagonal bottles for mixers, and a central element inside the table that would activate “beekeeper smoke” once the bottle was placed.
For the Boss concept, a lucite “ice” table would glow green, and the guests would be served Patrón out of shot glasses made of ice.
As for the social element, for the Bee, there was a bluetooth-enabled “bee” selfie stick at the table that guests would use take photos throughout the night and post to social.
And the #LIKEABOSS campaign included an interactive display inside the hotel, where guests could take photos which would then be projected in front of different Vegas scenes alongside the hashtag.
Started in 1985 out of Sacramento, Ettore’s Bakery had grown from a small croissant shop, to having over 125 employees and multiple locations. Next step was nationwide. We were asked to refresh and update the entire brand and all assets to reflect their new direction.
Ettore’s is known for cake, cake and more cake, and all desserts are handmade. So, we worked with frosting tips and watercolor to create a mark that merged “Ettore’s” with “Cake” and “Handmade,” and selected a color palette to reflect seasonal ingredients.
The handmade element continued into all packaging, where we utilized kraft paper, white “frosting” print, and custom-engineered pastry boxes that worked cohesively throughout all sizes and which were printed with a watercolor-style of different organics, depending on the season.
For their new 11,000 sq. ft. cafe, we opened up the exterior to make it industrial yet inviting, with cantilevered floor-to-ceiling windows and painted cakes across the entryway. And we made the interiors a feast for the eyes, even before you ordered.
This was a political activism project for our company. During the divisive and hate-filled 2016 presidential election cycle, we frankly got fed-up with the rhetoric. So we decided to act before the election, creating a campaign of our own to spread on social media.
We ran a series of “Thought Campaigns” daily, with a cohesive theme for each week. Using the words of past Presidents, or calling attention to the truly disgusting, abhorrent tone of candidates today – specifically Trump – we wanted to make readers stop and think: Is this really the type of person you want as a leader?
The first campaign was #ThatsPresidential, where we researched moments from previous presidencies – from both sides of the aisle and from different times in history – and found powerful quotes from each of those leaders. The point? To draw a glaring distinction between what a true leader sounds like, compared to the vitriol we hear today.
As a company that builds brands for others, “words” couldn’t be more important to us. For us, it’s frankly confounding that Trump could say what he does without any real consequence. So, to properly “brand” Trump, we found images of him in the news, and paired that with his actual quotes for our #WordsMatter campaign. Pretty sure we nailed his brand.
Veryl Oakland, a decorated jazz photographer who shot the jazz greats from the 1960’s through ‘80s, was embarking on a new effort to develop a coffee table book showcasing his work alongside personalized stories. As this was a multi-layered project, we created a cohesive brand around his life’s work.
We modernized his approach to sourcing a book publisher, creating a password-protected link to his book proposal via his website, allowing potential publishers to access the material. We also designed and built the site to showcase his work and stories, giving readers a window into his world.
Aligned with the release of the book in 2018, we built a marketing campaign focused on galleries, music events, bookstores, schools, and radio stations, and created materials that worked together within the brand.
We worked directly with the publisher to design the cover and layout of the book, ensuring it fit alongside the overarching brand of “Jazz in Available Light” – so the book would feel cohesive with the photography itself, the website, his outreach materials, and his gallery shows.
This is some of who we’ve worked with and how,
and should give you an idea of what we dig doing.
If you want to hear more about one project in particular, hit us up.
Adidas needed a better sales tool to help bring their shoes to life. We designed an internal iPad “app” of sorts, acting as an interactive catalog. This let salespeople quickly pull up products, view their specs, rotate and zoom-in for detail, and even “pull apart” the shoe to show the inner elements and product technology utilized.
The sound design company has a rich history, having created their first speaker in 1927. They wanted to put the focus back on their deep knowledge within audio products, and help the brand visually “grow up” and reflect their storied heritage. We used their iconic horn speaker as inspiration to design a mark celebrating their ancestry, while also crafting a more modern look overall.
AND1 wanted to update their brand in order to help push out an expanded product offering in several new categories. We created a logo system and iconography to work in different ways within three collections: their high-end Premier, team-oriented Sport, and retro Classic. This project grew into creating branded collateral for the AND1 Mix Tape Tour, including their advertising campaign, bus decals, and stations at the event itself.
Avaya wanted an internal video emphasizing the “artisan approach” the company takes toward communications products – they wanted their employees to feel like their work at the company has an element of craftsmanship and care. This video was created entirely from still shots, separated out and then animated in 3D to create the parallax effect, which gave the video unique dimension and movement.
Working with the women’s intimate apparel company to craft their initial brand strategy and messaging, we built their pitch materials for investors, which resulted in $1M funding for their Seed Round. A year later, once the bra line was entering production, we further fine-tuned their brand strategy and communications for their official launch, as well as created a comprehensive Naming System for products.
E&J Gallo Winery, with a portfolio of nearly 100 different brands, worked with us to develop the brand direction, messaging, and creative execution for a variety of brands. From developing unique, specific brand personas and a clear tone of voice for a label that was looking to reach a new demographic, to building a brand manifesto and taglines for a new label launching for the first time, our work helped guide Gallo’s internal teams to create marketing assets for each winery going forward.
We designed the user experience for a cross-platform mobile app showcasing the concept of big data by utilizing people as “human sensors” with their mobile phones. The goal was to “measure the planet” in a fun and engaging way by asking people questions and have them complete simple tasks inside the app. Over 4 million interactive survey questions were answered within the first few days of the app going live.
Jae Yee, founder of JBodyworks, built a robust personal training system that involves mental assessment, neurological repatterning and muscle activation, and weight lifting – and it’s unique per athlete. We created a succinct way to communicate the variety of technique and services JBodyworks provides, bucketing their offering into areas of Spirit, Science, and Strength. From there, we developed the brand, logo, communications, photography, imagery, apparel, and interior design to reflect these core values.
We designed and distributed an apparel line, where each “Chapter” represented a different style and screen printed theme. The first line was celebrating New York City, so we shot pictures of manholes around the city and printed them around the sides of shirts, in pop-art colors. For the launch campaign, we created “book safes” and rolled a t-shirt into each, using a bookmark-style hang tag as a marker for people to open the books and discover the t-shirt inside.
The Nexus Q was Google’s first consumer home product, which they wanted to unveil at San Francisco’s annual I/O Developer’s Conference with a kick ass video. The exterior of the product was clean, smooth, and just plain sexy, so we wanted to juxtapose that with the intricate and extensive internal engineering required to make the damned thing work. We did this by “exploding” out the device in layers in the video, showcasing the intricacies while championing the beauty of the actual consumer product.
We worked with Nike to develop the look and feel for the imagery forall new products around the FuelBand, from their Olympic version to Limited Edition bands. We directed the imagery to feel athletic, strong, luxurious-but-everyday-wearable, quick-paced, and inspirational. We also focused on highlighting the technology using X-ray shots within their reel.
Recology provides trash, recycling, and composting services for upwards of 125 cities and communities throughout the Western United States, and they needed to modernize their website and consolidate it into a single resource, as they were operating more than 40 separate subsidiary sites. We collaborated with all departments and external teams to create a clear content strategy and site architecture, built and tested UI and UX variations, and designed a completely new visual direction for their resulting site.
Rdio needed an digital version of their print advertising campaign for the public launch of their brand, including a “digital takeover” of Penn Station. The art direction was aimed at seamlessly blending pictures of silhouettes of famous musicians in variation with imagery from music albums they loved. The challenge was to make each image readable and distinct within the animation.
Sound Design company Altec Lansing had developed their first Sound Bar for consumers, and needed a product name and logo for the brand extension. They wanted to showcase the “big sound” that was coming out of such a minimal, sleek design. We created the name and bridged it into a logo design that echoed ideas of a sound wave and a surf wave.
The company was undergoing a shift in their target market, and wanted to reflect that within the brand. In transitioning from a bohemian brand style into a more modern, youthful, fresh look, we updated elements including their logo, marketing materials and imagery.
Adidas needed a better sales tool to help bring their shoes to life. We designed an internal iPad “app” of sorts, which acted as an interactive catalog. This let salespeople quickly pull up products, view their specs, rotate and zoom-in for detail, and even “pull apart” the shoe.
The sound design company, founded in 1927, wanted to put the focus back on their deep knowledge within audio products and help the brand visually “grow up”. For a new logo, we incorporated their iconic horn speaker, celebrating their heritage with a modern look.
AND1 wanted to update their brand in order to help push out an expanded product offering in several new categories. We created a new logo system and iconography, and branded collateral for the AND1 Mix Tape Tour, including their advertising campaign, bus decals, and stations at the event itself.
Avaya wanted an internal video emphasizing the “artisan approach” the company takes toward communications products. This video was created entirely from still shots, separated out and then animated in 3D to create the parallax effect, which gave the video unique dimension and movement.
Working with the women’s intimate apparel company to craft their initial brand strategy and messaging, we built their pitch materials for investors, which resulted in $1M funding for their Seed Round. Once their first bra was in production, we further fine-tuned their brand and created a Naming System for all products.
E&J Gallo Winery, with a portfolio of nearly 100 different brands, worked with us to develop the brand direction, messaging, and creative execution for a variety of brands. Our work helped guide Gallo’s internal teams to create marketing assets for each winery going forward.
We designed the UX for a mobile app which demonstrated the concept of big data by utilizing people as “human sensors” with their phones. The goal was to “measure the planet” in a fun and engaging way through surveys and simple games.
JBodyworks is a gym that goes beyond the typical training regimen. To communicate this, we crafted their brand and messaging into areas of Spirit, Science, and Strength. From there, we developed the logo, communications, photography, imagery, apparel, and interior design to reflect these core values.
We designed and distributed an apparel line, where each “Chapter” represented a different style and screen printed theme. The first line was celebrating New York City, so we shot pictures of manholes around the city and printed them around the sides of shirts, in pop-art colors.
The Nexus Q was Google’s first consumer home product, which they wanted to unveil at San Francisco’s annual I/O Developer’s Conference with a kick ass video. We “exploded” out the device in layers in the video, showcasing the intricacies while championing the beauty of the actual consumer product.
We worked with Nike to develop the look and feel for the imagery for all new products around the FuelBand, from their Olympic version to Limited Edition bands. We directed the imagery to feel athletic, strong, luxurious-but-everyday-wearable, quick-paced, and inspirational.
Recology provides trash, recycling, and composting services for upwards of 125 cities and communities throughout the Western United States. In overhauling their website, we created a clear content strategy and site architecture, built and tested UI and UX variations, and designed a completely new visual direction for their resulting site.
Rdio needed an digital version of their print advertising campaign for the public launch of their brand, including a “digital takeover” of Penn Station. The art direction was aimed at seamlessly blending pictures of silhouettes of famous musicians in variation with imagery from music albums they loved.
The sound design company had developed their first Sound Bar for consumers, and needed a product name and logo for the brand extension. They wanted to showcase the “big sound” that was coming out of such a minimal, sleek design, so we bridged “waves” of sound and surf.
The company was undergoing a shift in their target market, and wanted to reflect that within the brand. In transitioning from a bohemian brand style into a more modern, youthful, fresh look, we updated elements including their logo, marketing materials and imagery.
Vs. was founded by the two of us, Steve and Alexis. We tackle each project as a pair, and sometimes with creative cohorts, as we’ve been lucky to collect a bunch of wildly talented friends throughout our careers.
We like to be able to approach each project with a blank slate and open mind, think wide, bring on the best talent for the job, then create big. Far more interesting and effective that way for everyone involved.
But for now, here’s a bit about us.
Steve’s favorite moment of the first 4 years?
Doing a full brand refresh for a bakery that had been around for 30 years, including creating concepts for the exterior and interior design of new locations, which was new for us. And frankly, we crushed it.
Alexis’ favorite moment of the first 4 years?
Beating out 15 other creative firms (at the last minute) in landing work with Recology in SF. Even though we were “just” a company of two, we drove home the point that we do work differently than others.
Steve moved to SF in 2010 looking for a vibrant city and challenging work. He started as Creative Director at XYZ, a visual design agency, so he could dive into more digital work; and then quickly got accustomed to production at break-neck speed for bigger global brands, from laptops (Acer) to yogurt (Chobani) to cars (Chevy).
Alexis worked at Originate, an engineering firm in SF. She started as Product Manager and moved into a Creative Director role, managing product direction and UI/UX for a wide range of clients, both corporate and startup.
Alexis was Creative Director for BYKNYC, one of the top contenders for the New York City bikeshare contract requested by Mayor Bloomberg. In a quick turnaround, she helped compile the team and partners, the brand, website, apps, and overall proposal; NYC ended up choosing Citibikes, but hey, the little company was just behind the big guys.
Steve partnered in a company called Travel Group, which starting by building a more efficient and cost-effective method for connecting luxury hotels with corporate meeting planners. Hey, every Google needs their holiday parties. What began with two founders has evolved into a 10-person company, a mobile app for planners and travelers, and full-range-content creation for these hotels.
Who wouldn’t want to make their own business work in Santa Barbara? Somehow, in between the college kids and Oprah, Steve managed to carve out a successful design consultancy with Steve Thompson Design, building brands with the likes of And1 and their athlete roster, and a bevy of audio brands (from Marley and Altec, to Klipsch, Tunami, and Plantronics).
Alexis began her first couple business ventures, which couldn’t be more different than one another…An apparel company called Label of Contents, which had success both in the U.S. and overseas despite launching when the banks crashed in ’08 (whoops)….Then it was onto launching Dot Calm, a tech support company for the Boomer segment, which she grew into nearly 200 home clients and over 20 small business clients within a year – and hey, even some national press.
To the detriment of his hearing…Steve doesn’t know how to operate without music. From growing up Mod and SKA in LA, to watching punk break in Portland, then hopping the Pond while nascent electronic happened in Amsterdam, to sorting through the mishmash that makes up today’s music, he’s never not rocked out. Add attendance to double digit Pearl Jam shows and one of Radiohead’s first…let’s just say he’s a music fan.
A massive interest of Alexis’ has always been all-things food and drink. From creating 13 course meals when she was in high school, to landing a job at per se in NYC through a Craigslist ad, and then later Gabriel Kreuther’s The Modern, she’ll likely run a weird little foodie spot some day.
Another predominate part of Alexis’ life and career has involved fashion. She modeled in Milan after college, then worked in design throughout New York, for houses like Jill Stuart, Nicole Miller, and Peter Som, while she attended school at F.I.T and S.V.A.
Working for footwear licensee GBMI, Steve was heading up Creative for 10 brands at a time. Not impossible, but certainly schizophrenic, as the brands ranged from Long Beach lovin’ Snoop Dogg to the 12-year-old-fanatical-girls of XOXO. Some others in the mix included Diesel, Pony, and 7 For All Mankind.
Life needs sabbaticals. Steve took off one year in San Pancho, Mexico, because it was remote, hot, and unknown. He home-schooled and life-schooled his kids, hunkered down in a shack through a hurricane, and even kept to Creative by designing everything for a local cafe (sans computer, mostly with paint).
Alexis went to Stanford in a somewhat unconventional route, creating her own major called Conceptual Design which had the awesome upside of mixing classes with Engineering and then Drama, and minored in Photography, back when dark rooms were still a thing.
After high school, Steve moved to Portland to work for Nike. Over his decade there, he navigated from Illustrator to Creative Director, and everything in between. Among the coolest parts of working there, he was selected to launch the Film & Video branch in Europe. While in Holland, his team created videos at an absurd 250-plus-a-year pace.
Swimming was basically Alexis’ main profession for about 17 years. She swam for Stanford and competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2000…Which is why she can hold her breath for something like 2.5 minutes.
Steve has an innate passion for all-things Lakers and Dodgers, as introduced to him by his maternal Grandma (who’s still kicking it at 101). Both teams won their respective championships the year Steve’s first son was born (named Riley, after Pat). He’ll bleed blue (including Forum Blue) til he’s off this planet.
Steve’s favorite moment of the first 4 years?
Doing a full brand refresh for a bakery that had been around for 30 years, including creating concepts for the exterior and interior design of new locations, which was new for us. And frankly, we crushed it.
Alexis’ favorite moment of the first 4 years?
Beating out 15 other creative firms (at the last minute) in landing work with Recology in SF. Even though we were “just” a company of two, we drove home the point that we do work differently than others.
Steve moved to SF in 2010 looking for a vibrant city and challenging work. He started as Creative Director at XYZ, a visual design agency, so he could dive into more digital work; and then quickly got accustomed to production at break-neck speed for bigger global brands, from laptops (Acer) to yogurt (Chobani) to cars (Chevy).
Alexis worked at Originate, an engineering firm in SF. She started as Product Manager and moved into a Creative Director role, managing product direction and UI/UX for a wide range of clients, both corporate and startup.
Alexis was Creative Director for BYKNYC, one of the top contenders for the New York City bikeshare contract requested by Mayor Bloomberg. In a quick turnaround, she helped compile the team and partners, the brand, website, apps, and overall proposal; NYC ended up choosing Citibikes, but hey, the little company was just behind the big guys.
Steve partnered in a company called Travel Group, which starting by building a more efficient and cost-effective method for connecting luxury hotels with corporate meeting planners. Hey, every Google needs their holiday parties. What began with two founders has evolved into a 10-person company, a mobile app for planners and travelers, and full-range-content creation for these hotels.
Who wouldn’t want to make their own business work in Santa Barbara? Somehow, in between the college kids and Oprah, Steve managed to carve out a successful design consultancy with Steve Thompson Design, building brands with the likes of And1 and their athlete roster, and a bevy of audio brands (from Marley and Altec, to Klipsch, Tunami, and Plantronics).
Alexis began her first couple business ventures, which couldn’t be more different than one another…An apparel company called Label of Contents, which had success both in the U.S. and overseas despite launching when the banks crashed in ’08 (whoops)….Then it was onto launching Dot Calm, a tech support company for the Boomer segment, which she grew into nearly 200 home clients and over 20 small business clients within a year – and hey, even some national press.
To the detriment of his hearing…Steve doesn’t know how to operate without music. From growing up Mod and SKA in LA, to watching punk break in Portland, then hopping the Pond while nascent electronic happened in Amsterdam, to sorting through the mishmash that makes up today’s music, he’s never not rocked out. Add attendance to double digit Pearl Jam shows and one of Radiohead’s first…let’s just say he’s a music fan.
A massive interest of Alexis’ has always been all-things food and drink. From creating 13 course meals when she was in high school, to landing a job at per se in NYC through a Craigslist ad, and then later Gabriel Kreuther’s The Modern, she’ll likely run a weird little foodie spot some day.
Another predominate part of Alexis’ life and career has involved fashion. She modeled in Milan after college, then worked in design throughout New York, for houses like Jill Stuart, Nicole Miller, and Peter Som, while she attended school at F.I.T and S.V.A.
Working for footwear licensee GBMI, Steve was heading up Creative for 10 brands at a time. Not impossible, but certainly schizophrenic, as the brands ranged from Long Beach lovin’ Snoop Dogg to the 12-year-old-fanatical-girls of XOXO. Some others in the mix included Diesel, Pony, and 7 For All Mankind.
Life needs sabbaticals. Steve took off one year in San Pancho, Mexico, because it was remote, hot, and unknown. He home-schooled and life-schooled his kids, hunkered down in a shack through a hurricane, and even kept to Creative by designing everything for a local cafe (sans computer, mostly with paint).
Alexis went to Stanford in a somewhat unconventional route, creating her own major called Conceptual Design which had the awesome upside of mixing classes with Engineering and then Drama, and minored in Photography, back when dark rooms were still a thing.
After high school, Steve moved to Portland to work for Nike. Over his decade there, he navigated from Illustrator to Creative Director, and everything in between. Among the coolest parts of working there, he was selected to launch the Film & Video branch in Europe. While in Holland, his team created videos at an absurd 250-plus-a-year pace.
Swimming was basically Alexis’ main profession for about 17 years. She swam for Stanford and competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2000…Which is why she can hold her breath for something like 2.5 minutes.
Steve has an innate passion for all-things Lakers and Dodgers, as introduced to him by his maternal Grandma (who’s still kicking it at 101). Both teams won their respective championships the year Steve’s first son was born (named Riley, after Pat). He’ll bleed blue (including Forum Blue) til he’s off this planet.