The Peopledesign Story

Our Story

Make better things. Make things better.

Peopledesign co-founders Kevin Budelmann and Yang Kim have been collaborating since they met at Carnegie Mellon University, where they were pursuing degrees in design. They worked on projects together and separately as freelancers and interns at various places, working as students of the world. After college, they moved to Michigan to work for Herman Miller.

Peopledesign co-founders Yang Kim and Kevin Budelmann.

Yang developed a strong collaboration with the company’s legendary Creative Director, Steve Frykholm. A highlight of their many award-winning projects was a decade of annual reports. For many graphic designers, these ten books are some of the best in the category.

Meanwhile, Kevin worked on many programs and initiatives, helping to lead Herman Miller’s first website. This new territory was an exciting wild west for communications and brand design, a place where he could begin to spread his wings in the emerging fields of interaction and UX design.

In January 1997, Yang and Kevin left their positions to start a new agency, BBK Studio (our original name), with our colleague, Michael Barile.

Michael Barile and Kevin Budelmann.

Early days

Our living room was our first office, but that didn’t last long. Within a few months, we moved to an office north of Grand Rapids.

The Plainfield Avenue office was our home for several years, where we experienced the freshness of a new business and rapid growth. We continued to work on Herman Miller's annual reports and website, for others in the category like Steelcase and later Knoll, for notable brands like Jaguar Cars and X-Rite (which now owns Pantone), and for many other companies.

From the start, our work has been split evenly between “traditional” and “new” media. We work naturally across media, which serves us well and remains a core strength today.

Plainfield office.

Holiday dinner.

By 2001, things were changing. The company had grown, and we moved to a building in downtown Grand Rapids. Michael left the company in the post-dot-com 9/11 era, and we started on a new path.

Our work garnered attention. Graphis and Encyclopedia Britannica featured our projects as examples of leading UX design. We participated as judges and speakers at events by AIGA, AAF, PRSA, PDMA, and other design industry groups. As we expanded our reach, a Mexican design organization asked us to speak at a National Design Conference in Acapulco.

Mexican National Design Conference, Acapulco, Mexico.

A new direction

In 2007, on our tenth anniversary, we changed our name to Peopledesign to reflect our maturing outlook on user-centered design and collaboration and threw a party for ourselves to celebrate.

We took on more significant challenges, focusing on user research and strategy. At places like Harvard Business School, we learned more about how design and business intersect. We helped launch Spout and ArtPrize and managed an extensive rebrand of The HON Company.

In 2010, we published our book, Brand Identity Essentials. It is now available worldwide in six languages, with a revised and expanded edition in 2019.

Brand Identity Essentials: 100 Principles for Building Brands

Kevin earned a Master of Design Methods degree from The IIT Institute of Design, furthering our depth and reach. We started doing more research, strategy, and brand development for firms nationwide, including innovative work for Interface, Guilford of Maine, and USAI Lighting.

Yang's creative peers named her among the "most influential graphic designers working today" in GD:USA. She earned a Silver Medal from the AAF and became an AIGA Fellow.

In 2013, we moved our office for a third time to a renovated office building in the historic heart of Grand Rapids. Our office and team reflect who we are today and aspire to be tomorrow.

In recent years, strategic and creative initiatives have included those for Georgia-Pacific, Haworth, Amway, Nestlé, and many others.

Louis Campau office.

Our Next Chapter

In 2019, we welcomed our third partner, Jake Himmelspach, a long-time team member and strategy leader.

By 2020, Kevin had become President of IxDA (the Interaction Design Association) and served on the Global Board of Directors for five years. Kevin also teaches Information Strategy at Northwestern University and Customer Experience management at Michigan State University.

Kevin at IxDA Interaction Week in Milan, Italy.

TEDx

Today, we continue to help organizations adapt to a changing world. Our work in user research, strategy, brand experience, and integrated marketing helps our clients solve complex problems, manage change, and achieve ever-greater heights by focusing on the needs of people.

We are honored to be surrounded by so much talent. Here are our current and former teammates who have helped make it happen.

Chas Appleby, Michael Barile, Josh Best, Ted Bingham, Carrier Borchers, Bill Braden, Michele Brautnick, Karen Bryan, Kevin Budelmann, Tim Calkins, Marie-Claire Camp, Gina Caratelli, Michael Carnevale, Devon Carlson, Emily Cowdrey, Kelly Beat, Von Franklin, Brian Hauch, Jake Himmelspach, Heather Jensen, Jennifer Johnston, Steven Joswick, Laura Kain, Jenn Karel, Yang Kim, Scott Krieger, Ross Labardee, Kristin Landgraf, Jessica Lee, Ryan Lee, Sarah Lockwood, Pete Lusch, Jackie McLane, Geoff Mark, Briana McNamara, Jason Murray, Michael Nykamp, Kelly O’Hara, Sharon Oleniczak, Kaila Parent, AJ Paschka, Alison Popp, Diana Racek, Jane Reardon, Adam Rice, Julie Ridl, Matt Ryzenga, David Schofield, Kelly Schwartz, Diana Sherman, Jeff Sikkema, Victor Sirotek, Jason Six, Jamie Smyth, Nancy Stryker, Chris Taylor, Aaron Vanderzwan, Kim VanKuiken, Jeanne Weaver, Andy Weber, Leah Weston, John Winkelman, Curt Wozniak.