ART DIRECTOR
Upbeat, joyful and intentional about her work, Amanda is a true creative powerhouse. She draws inspiration from all art forms, is always thinking of ways to best her craft, and is especially good at “surprise and delight”ing our clients with distinct creative. Her contagious optimism and unrelenting support make her an indispensable member of the Next team—and a great friend, too. With well over a decade of design experience, she’s lent her spark to create dynamic work for clients like Amway, Gordon Food Service, and Two Men and a Truck.
PROJECT LEAD
Authentic and kind, Amber is really good at bringing people together, which is why we love having her manage projects on our team. A true people-person, she gets so much joy from encouraging our team to do their best work while fostering a truly collaborative partnership with our clients. With a decade of account experience, Amber has expertly managed projects for clients like TWO MEN AND A TRUCK, Ayers Basement Systems, and JR Automation.
WRITER & CONTENT STRATEGIST
Although Austin likes to joke that he was hired at Next for his sparkling personality, he can definitely write too! Thoughtful, driven, and whip-smart, not only is Austin great at asking questions and putting himself in the clients’ shoes, his powers of voice exploration and brand storytelling are unmatched. Never one to turn down the chance to write a funny headline, Austin has leveraged his 6+ years of content creation experience to write compelling copy for clients like Leland Furniture, Gordon Food Service, and Tommy’s Express.
ART DIRECTOR
Ever since 5-year-old Ben watched Cookie Monster bite into a cookie and turn it into the letter C, he has been obsessed with the way shapes, color, and type interact. Now, with nearly 20 years of design and art direction experience under his belt, Ben is our resident branding and print publication guru. He’s logical, intentional, and loves concepting and executing big-picture creative for clients like Chaco, Brunswick, and Pabst. Thanks, Sesame Street!
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
You know how every office has that one person who seems to magically handle it all? Well at Next, that’s Ericka. Super organized, detail-oriented, and all-knowing, Ericka has over 15 years of office management experience and we’d honestly be lost without her. Not only does she handle all the billing, invoices, HR, and vendor management with ease, she somehow manages to transform our space into a welcoming haven for our team, and for visiting clients. A great leader and employee advocate, if you need something done, Ericka will make it happen, no matter what.
ART DIRECTOR
Ingrid’s path to design started with a love of fine art and illustration—elements that still shine through in her work today. A big fan of American Kitsch and Japanese design, she is a deeply intuitive artist who excels at creating strikingly distinct designs for our clients. An insatiable learner and hobby-collector, Ingrid finds inspiration and beauty in anything and everything that surrounds her. Her quick thinking and flexible mindset have led her to design captivating creative for clients like Gordon Food Service, Steelcase and JR Automation.
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Strategic. Driven. Collaborative. Visionary. We could use any of these words to describe our fearless creative leader. Katy’s content and strategy background combined with her killer creative intuition gives her the unique ability to confidently know what works and what doesn’t for our clients–like Two Men and a Truck, Haworth, and Amway. She is empathetic, detail-oriented and exactly the creative juggernaut we want on our team. Plus, she has an infectious laugh you can hear from miles (and miles) away.
DIRECTOR OF CLIENT ENGAGEMENT
Our resident business development expert, Kevin, is always thinking about what’s next for Next. His decade of consultancy experience means he is really good at quickly understanding a business’ brand potential and clearly communicating a plan for how they can make that happen. Curious, collaborative, and proactive, Kevin focuses on the big picture vision casting long-term potential for our clients while also making their dreams feel attainable and actionable too.
MOTION DESIGNER
With nearly 15 years of animation experience, a never-ending sense of curiosity, and a love of experimenting, Morgan is truly the king of motion design at Next. His skillset is unique—an intuitive sense of the way elements move together, strong creative instincts, and wildly diverse industry knowledge. We trust him to make any project sparkle (literally and figuratively). A kind-hearted goofball, he’s made jaw-dropping animations for clients like Ford, DoorDash, and Tommy’s Express.
PARTNER & PRESIDENT
While Rich may be our President and Co-Founder, he’s also a creative! With nearly three decades of web design, video, animation and business leadership experience, Rich has a beat on every aspect of the business. He also is an integral part of our in-house video team—taking the role of hands-on partnership pretty seriously. This compelling combo is what makes Rich a great and fearless leader. Genuine and transparent, he is always looking for ways to connect with others, make someone smile, or reference a movie from the 80’s that literally no one has ever heard of.
ART DIRECTOR
Primarily inspired by surrealism, minimalism, and environmentalism, Ryan’s art direction and design style is eclectic and engaging. His nearly 15 years of creative experience have led him to create compelling work for clients like Gordon Food Service, Uncle John’s Cider, and the Huron Manistee National Forest. Photo-driven and always looking for weird inspiration, Ryan is a big fan of team brainstorming. In fact, you can often spot Ryan bouncing ideas off other creatives, smiley-face coffee cup in hand.
VIDEO PRODUCTION LEAD
Ever since he started his own fake radio station in his basement when he was a kid, Scott knew he was destined for a career in telecommunications. Our resident videographer, editor, and audio expert, Scott’s 18+ years in the industry have given him the unique ability to cut video and audio together like magic and make our clients look and sound better than they thought possible. Highly detail-oriented and a stickler for sound quality, Scott has leveraged his superpowers for clients like Gordon Food Service, Two Men and a Truck, and World Renew.
BRAND LEAD
We like to call Ted our resident jack of all trades. With nearly a decade of experience in account and project management, brand strategy, and biz-dev, Ted’s wide range of skills can be expertly leveraged at any stage of the creative process. Calm, confident, and inspired by what we like to think is his namesake, Ted Lasso, Ted has lent his skills to help create stand-out work for clients like World Vision, Steelcase, and FISLL.
PARTNER & EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Tim’s not only our Co-Founder and Executive Creative Director, he’s our Big Idea guy—always championing the power of looking at the bigger picture to create something truly transformative for our clients. He gets so much joy from watching his team thrive. His decades of copywriting and creative experience make him a standout leader who is always jumping in to concept, brainstorm, and best our work. Heavily influenced by traditional advertising and headline-first campaigns, Tim is also our go-to guy for a good hook. He brings fresh concepts and sharp wit to every one of Next’s projects.
PROJECT LEAD
Walker shines by bringing people together and orchestrating collective efforts with clarity and precision. She’s always got her finger on the pulse of her clients—and is able to communicate their needs efficiently to help our creatives craft the very best work. Not only is she adventurous, welcoming, and a joy to be around, Walker has 6 years of project management experience with powerhouse brands like Stryker, Zoom, YMCA, and more.
PROJECT LEAD
Walker shines by bringing people together and orchestrating collective efforts with clarity and precision. She’s always got her finger on the pulse of her clients—and is able to communicate their needs efficiently to help our creatives craft the very best work. Not only is she adventurous, welcoming, and a joy to be around, Walker has 6 years of project management experience with powerhouse brands like Stryker, Zoom, YMCA, and more.
