To remain personally invested in every project we undertake, we have consciously sized and structured our tight-knit team.
While our HQ’s in Houston, we collaborate with minds all over the map, convening different skill sets, specialists, and perspectives as needed to bring your project to fruition. We find this approach keeps the overload low, the quality high, the reach ever-wide, and the work more dynamic. Our Principle crew is bound by talent, not time zone, and can currently be found working across Houston, Austin, Richmond, Nashville, and Southern California.
Allyson Lack
Founder, Principal
Erin O’Connor
Strategy Director
Bachelor of Science, Business & Marketing (University of Maryland)
Graduate Studies, Design (Portfolio Center)
Describe your role and your favorite thing about it.
As Principal, I am on a perpetual mission to align our collective ethos with like-minded clients and projects that inspire our team. I am often looking at things from the 10,000-foot point of view, pivoting between business development and art direction and advocating for how to best solve our clients’ challenges. But as a creative at heart, I revel in the minutiae of typographic nuances and the nitty-gritty production details.
What motivates you? Who or what are you inspired by?
When I began to understand the power of design and brand, it was like drinking from a firehose. I discovered this world at the age of 19 by accident while auditing an art class, and I have been fully devoted to this work ever since. What propels me forward is the desire to just keep doing it, surrounded by incredible talent, wonderful humans, and our shared intensity / seriousness for putting the absolute best work out there.
How do you define “success”?
On a macro level, success comes from two things: picking projects that feed our creative curiosity, and then crafting solutions that make our clients successful in turn. On the micro level, my goal as a creative director is to continue to build a team that works together well and to foster an environment in which each person is challenged, engaged, and heard. I know we’re on the right track when we’re growing together, earning the ability to take risks, and are able to say when something isn’t the right fit. Moving into our current space was a huge milestone—but then so was hiring my first full-time creative. And my second, and my tenth! I’m always delighted and humbled to have talented folks come aboard.
Bachelor of Journalism, Advertising (University of Georgia)
Graduate Studies, Writing & Design (Portfolio Center)
Describe your role and your favorite thing about it.
I help our clients define and distinguish their place in the world as a brand. Ideas and language are my particular focus at Principle—my primary role is to architect brand strategies (what you say) and verbal identities (how you say it), which entails approximately 70% listening, 10% wondering, 10% wrangling, and 10% writing. I work to understand our clients’ work and why they do it, what they’re really trying to convey, and how these things can intersect as beautifully and authentically as possible via words. Once we uncover a brand’s North Star, what the rest of the world sees (from a verbal perspective) might be a new name or tagline or brand anthem or, my favorite, some attention-snagging headlines in delicious type. However the content takes shape, it all builds from an ownable strategic foundation and voice. Because our work exposes us to so many interesting people and stories, I have the opportunity to learn all the time, supported by a team who is passionate and curious and so, so funny. You always work toward and hope for that moment when you show the client the work and their reaction is, “Wow, you really heard me. This is it.”
What motivates you? Who or what are you inspired by?
I’m inspired by our clients, our team, fresh air, a good checklist, a cheesy musical, a cheesy snack, reading, and green and growing things. I’m motivated by a love of order. I enjoy making sense of what’s complicated and finding an elegant way to organize information and express personality. Every client brings a unique challenge, a chance to try something new—to move a good thing forward.
What do you wish you had known when you started out?
To be confident in your voice. Not complacent or unyielding, but comfortable with having an inherent style and finding the people who are open to the world through your lens—who will champion and challenge you without trying to change who you are.
Elizabeth Kelley
Digital Director
Carissa Hempton
Creative Director
Bachelor of Arts, Philosophy & Studio Art (Furman University)
Graduate Studies, Design (Portfolio Center)
Describe your role and your favorite thing about it.
I oversee the digital side of things. So on any given day I might design, art direct, follow tech trends, get possibly too hung up in the details, mentor young designers, work with our dev teams, chat with clients, pitch in on brand identities and, on occasion, go for a walk. Every part of it is the best part of it.
What motivates you? Who or what are you inspired by?
Whether it’s a cookbook draft, a messy pantry, my schedule, or a mountain of website content, I love figuring out a way to simplify complex situations. I’m most at home swimming in the details then making order, so even the thought of the before / after motivates me to start.
If you could choose an icon to replace the Spinning Wheel of Death, what would it be?
A little animated drop of water that reminds me to hydrate while I wait for my computer to function again.
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Graphic Communications (University of Houston)
Describe your role and your favorite thing about it.
I see myself as a design mentor and a lifelong student, so I take into account all the different pieces of a project—audience, brand perception, language, culture, visual elements—and help make sense of it while learning alongside everyone.
What motivates you? Who or what are you inspired by?
Contemporary art, film, music, fashion, color, people, places—all forms of creative expression play a part in who I am and what I make. For me, design isn’t just about creating something beautiful or functional; it’s an opportunity to improve quality of life. I try to think about someone’s entire experience, which should start with easily accessible and easily usable design for as many people as possible. Because when we’re all able to navigate and use the world around us in full, that’s when we know we’re doing something right.
What do you wish you had known when you started out?
You have to let go of your ego to grow. When I was starting out, I thought I had to know everything. I’d hesitate to ask my print rep if something was going to work or what their thoughts were on a design because I was timid about using the expertise around me. But it’s so much easier to get inspired—to learn something new, to approach a problem from a different angle, to find solutions—when you make room for the questions and ideas you might be holding in.
Jourdin Hendrix
Account Director
Sarah Beth Seifert
Senior Strategist
Bachelor of Business Administration, Marketing (Texas A&M University)
Describe your role and your favorite thing about it.
As an account director, I get to kind of “quarterback” the team while being a cheerleader for both creatives and clients. I look at the short- and long-term to eliminate inefficiencies and make sure project paths and client relationships are in the best shape possible for everyone’s success. I love celebrating our team and our work—and pumping up clients as their story makes its way out into the world.
What are you into when you’re out of the studio?
I’m an aspiring calligrapher, a dog mom of two, a bit of a sports nut, and always on the hunt for a well-made old fashioned or a great glass of pinot noir. (Recommendations always welcome.)
What motivates you? Who or what are you inspired by?
I grew up loving and making art, but because I didn’t know how to translate that into a career, I ended up going to business school. Luckily, my thirst for creativity led me here—to a place where passion and profession intermingle. And it’s all the people I work with that motivate me to do my job better and inspire me to create something new, even if it’s just for myself.
Bachelor of Arts, Psychology (Washington & Lee University)
Master of Science in Social Work (University of Texas)
Describe your role and your favorite thing about it.
As a senior strategist, I work with fellow Principle word nerd Erin O’Connor to put visions and concepts into words. The essential task is to craft verbiage that articulates our clients’ core identities, ultimately equipping them with language that’s as strong as—and fully aligned with—their visual brand markers, language they can lean on and adapt for years to come. We take great care to produce brand writing that is soulful, authentic, and discerning. This involves industry research; deep dives into client histories and cultures; lots of listening; and writing allllll the things: website copy, brand guidelines, promotional collateral, communication tools, design briefs, and more.
What motivates you? Who or what are you inspired by?
Books, visual art, hiking, divisive grammar debates (all hail the Oxford comma!), and that feeling you get when you perceive the magic of words—when you stumble upon a poem that’s nothing short of breathtaking, or when you’re finally able to articulate a tricky idea.
What are your tricks of the trade?
Just start already. Shake off any aspirations of nailing it on the first pass. Devote yourself to outlining, become a fan of the barely passable first draft, and then edit, edit, edit.
Draft, re-draft, and re-draft again. My parents (both lawyers) used to edit the stew out of my papers for school. Turns out that’s how you learn to write: get a draft down on paper, solicit sharp (if humbling) feedback, then revise. Allow as much time as possible between drafts, even if it’s only an hour, and you’ll be rewarded with renewed clarity and insight.
Always bring a book. You never know when you may have a moment to yourself to read.
Jackson Mahlke
Senior Designer, Brand
Ceci Castellanos
Senior Designer, Digital
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Graphic Design (Sam Houston State University)
Describe your role and your favorite thing about it.
I post GIFs to Slack. And sometimes I make logos and brand identities. I live for that moment when design clicks and you know you’ve found the right solution.
What motivates you? Who or what are you inspired by?
Good design, better designers, and the possibility of making an impact.
What type of project most excites you?
I like the messes. And the more complicated they are, the better. Because those types of challenges force you to look for new ideas—to be a sponge and submerge yourself in design, to see what other people are doing and bring that inspiration into your own world—so that you’re taking everything apart before putting it back together in an impactful way.
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Graphic Communications (University of Houston)
Describe your role and your favorite thing about it.
I love being able to meld my personal style with the needs of a client to help bring brands to life. As a graphic designer, I appreciate the challenge of experimenting with different aesthetics to fit our clients’ needs and solve problems through design.
What motivates you? Who or what are you inspired by?
Outside of work, you can find me painting away on windbreaker jackets. I find inspiration in catalogs and editorials. Everything from layouts to art direction reignites my creative spark and allows me to bring the fire to everything I create.
Pencil or pen?
Muji pen, all day.
Katherine Itzen
Designer
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Graphic Design (Sam Houston State University)
Describe your role and your favorite thing about it.
What I do is why I love it: I make things that solve problems and help people, and I consider myself lucky that I get to do that every day.
What motivates you? Who or what are you inspired by?
Coffee and learning. Looking at how others make things—everything from film and photography to design and prints—and drawing inspiration not just from the end product, but from the creative process itself.
When was the last time you changed your mind?
Outside of those little, everyday changes, the last time I made a Big Change was in college. I was just about to go into nursing school when I paused to think about what I’d done already, and what I wanted to keep doing. I’d imagine myself in scrubs, running from room to room treating people, and I realized how unhappy I was—and how unhappy I’d be in that field. I thought, “If I stop now, I’m going to have to start over.” So I did.
Much of what draws our team together is an enduring affection for textured, tactile experiences—we love to make things.
Although our roots are in finely produced packaging and printed matter, we’ve found over the years that—whether it’s stitched together by hand or by code—what we relish about the creative process is the opportunity to realize a brand in new and interesting ways (with new and interesting people!). No two projects are quite alike.
