We Make
Things That
Matter.
ATELIER was founded in 2013 by Elena Marchetti, a designer who had worked at world-class studios in Milan and New York and noticed a recurring problem: the work kept being better than the strategy that guided it.
We built this studio to fix that problem. Every engagement starts with the hard strategic questions before any design tools open.
Design should make hard things obvious. Not beautiful. Obvious.
We partner with founders, studio leads, and marketing directors who understand that the difference between good design and exceptional design isn't effort — it's strategy. We won't take a project whose brief is "make it look better." We take projects whose brief is "help us figure out what we actually are, and then make it visible."
That kind of work requires trust. You have to be willing to have uncomfortable conversations about positioning, audience, and what you're willing to give up in order to stand for something. Not every company is ready for that. The ones who are, tend to end up doing remarkable things.
ATELIER operates as a core team of four, with a trusted network of specialists — photographers, developers, copywriters, production houses — we bring in when the project requires it. This structure keeps us nimble without compromising depth.
How We Think
Strategy first
We do the hard thinking before we do any designing. Positioning, audience, category, voice — these come before logos.
Honest over comfortable
We'll tell you when the brief is wrong, when the direction isn't working, when you should reconsider a decision. This is the only way to produce work that actually matters.
System over artifact
A logo is not a brand. A website is not a digital presence. We design systems that scale, not beautiful objects that stand alone.
Craft without ego
The work is in service of the client and their audience, not our portfolio. When we choose restraint, it's because restraint is right — not because we ran out of ideas.
Who We Are
Elena Marchetti
Creative Director & Founder
Elena founded ATELIER after a decade at leading studios in Milan and New York. She believes good design is a consequence of clear thinking, not a replacement for it. She holds an MFA from Cranbrook and teaches a graduate seminar in brand systems at SVA.
James Okafor
Partner, Strategy
James leads strategy engagements across all disciplines. Before ATELIER, he spent eight years as a strategist at Wolff Olins London. He is rigorous in research, direct in presentation, and patient in the room. His clients call him the person who told them something uncomfortable and was right.
Yuki Tanaka
Senior Designer, Digital
Yuki works at the intersection of interaction design and brand expression. She came to ATELIER from a product design role at a Series B startup, which gives her an unusual combination of system-thinking and craft. Her digital work tends to be calm and precise — hallmarks of someone who has shipped a lot of things.
Carlos Reyes
Motion Director
Carlos directs all film and motion work at ATELIER. He studied cinematography at RISD and has directed brand films for companies from Seed to Fortune 500. His work tends toward the quiet and observational — he is more interested in what the camera notices than what it is pointed at.
Ready to start something?
We take on a limited number of engagements. Tell us what you're building.
Currently accepting Q3 2024 projects