Kelsey Reifler ’08 designs brands, but her work begins long before choosing colors, fonts, or packaging. When a new client comes to Kelsey looking for a logo, she often starts somewhere entirely different.

She will sit and talk with a client, not even about their business at first, but about them. It’s a process that reflects a lesson she has carried throughout her career: good design isn’t decoration. It’s discovery.

“The way people think they want to present themselves isn’t always who they actually are,” she says. “The challenge is finding that authentic place and building from there.”

As founder and creative director of Brooklyn-based Reifler Studio, Kelsey helps companies define who they are and how they communicate with the world. Her clients range from emerging consumer brands to established companies launching new products and campaigns. The work might involve packaging, advertising, photography, social strategy, or visual identity systems, but the goal is always the same: uncovering the story beneath the surface.