About Us

The places people live, work, and move through aren’t incidental. They shape perception, behavior, and well-being in ways that outlast the decisions that created them. The companies that design and manufacture those environments carry a real responsibility, and they deserve a strategy firm that understands it. 

For too long, those companies have relied on generalist consultants who don’t understand the specification journey. Branding agencies that treat every category the same. Marketing firms that optimize tactics without touching the underlying position.

Peopledesign was built specifically for this sector. Not as a specialty practice within a larger firm, not as a vertical added to broaden appeal, but as the whole firm, from the beginning, by deliberate choice.

Thirty years in the built environment

Kevin Budelmann and Yang Kim founded Peopledesign in 1997 after beginning their careers at Herman Miller. Yang spent five years collaborating with legendary Creative Director Steve Frykholm, producing award-winning annual reports that remain reference points in the field. Kevin led the company’s first website, working at the frontier of what digital communication could do for a brand. 

They stayed in Grand Rapids because the built environment was where they intended to build a practice. Twenty-eight years later, that intention has only deepened. The firm has worked with category leaders at the scale of HNI, MillerKnoll, HNI, and Haworth, and with ambitious mid-market manufacturers finding their position in a consolidating market. The range reflects the depth of focus, not a lack of it. 

That focus is now formalized in the BE Growth Index, the only independent annual benchmark tracking the strategic health of built environment manufacturers. It exists because understanding the market is the first requirement of competing in it. 

Based in West Michigan, where the commercial furniture industry was built.

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The team

Kevin Budelmann
President and Co-Founder 

Kevin has advised built environment manufacturers for thirty years and teaches Information Strategy at Northwestern University and Customer Experience at Michigan State. He served as President of IxDA Global, the international interaction design association, and has spoken on strategy and design at conferences on four continents. He co-founded Peopledesign in 1997 after working at Herman Miller, where he led the company's first website — one of the earliest examples of digital brand communication in the industry. He earned a Master of Strategic Design from the IIT Institute of Design and is a co-author of Brand Identity Essentials, published in six languages.

“You would be lucky if Kevin and his remarkable team put their creativity, passion, and dangerous intelligence to work for you.”
Brian Collins

Yang Kim, Executive Creative Director and Co-Founder 

Yang spent five years at Herman Miller working alongside Creative Director Steve Frykholm, producing five award-winning annual reports that remain reference points in the field. She co-founded Peopledesign in 1997 and has continued that work, producing five additional annual reports for clients over the firm’s history. Her work across thirty years of built environment engagements has been recognized for its clarity, precision, and staying power. She is an AIGA Fellow, an AAF Silver Medalist, and co-author of Brand Identity Essentials.  

“One of the most influential designers working today.”
Graphic Design USA

Jake Himmelspach, Principal and Strategy Director 

Jake began his career as a journalist covering the intersection of design and business, then earned an MBA in Design and Innovation Strategy and worked on a global product strategy and innovation firm before joining Peopledesign. He became a partner in 2019 after serving as the firm’s lead strategist for years. His work has been published in Business of Furniture, EdTech Digest, and Food Product Design, and has presented at AMA regional research methodology conferences.

Chas Appleby, Creative Director 

Chas leads creative development across brand, digital, and communications engagements. His background combining design and business training gives him an instinct for creative work that serves strategic goals rather than competes with them.

Ted Bingham, Account Manager 

Ted manages client relationships with the attention to alignment that keeps long engagements productive. A background in teaching and customer service means he listens as carefully as he communicates.

Brand Identity Essentials

Published in 2010 and now in its second edition, Brand Identity Essentials has been translated into six languages and used in design and business programs worldwide. Ralph Caplan, author of The Design of Herman Miller, called it “a model for clarity in a field that rarely has any.” 

Co-authored by Kevin Budelmann and Yang Kim. Available from Amazon and other booksellers. 

Peopledesign’s broader work has been recognized by Communication Arts, Graphis, AIGA, the New York Art Directors Club, Webby Awards, ReBrand 100, the American Marketing Association, and design publications worldwide. 

Speaking and teaching

Kevin speaks on growth strategy, brand positioning, and the built environment at industry events, including INDEAL, NAIRC, and teaches at Northwestern University and Michigan State. For speaking availability and topics, visit the speaking page.

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If you're curious how we work, the Approach page is the right place to start. If you’re ready to talk about your situation, most engagements begin with a Growth Diagnostic. 

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