Design and Branding Agency in Boston

We partner with founders, sports and entertainment properties, luxury brands, and global companies to shape what comes next.

Our work connects strategy, culture, and design to build brands that perform in the market and resonate in the world.

We are a Black and woman-owned agency. Different perspectives aren’t a tagline, they’re our advantage. They push the work further, challenge assumptions, and create brands that connect more deeply with the world around them.

Leadership

Michelle Bowler - CEO & Chief Strategy Officer

Michelle Bowler leads 4040 with a rare combination of operational rigor and strategic clarity. She partners directly with CEOs and executive teams to align brand with how a business actually works, ensuring it drives decisions, not just expression.

Her perspective is shaped by nearly three decades inside complex organizations, including leadership roles at Williams-Sonoma, Walmart, and Wayfair, where she built and scaled businesses, not just brands. She understands firsthand how strategy must translate across teams, systems, and outcomes.

At 4040, Michelle is known for bringing focus to pivotal moments, helping organizations articulate what matters, align around it, and move forward with conviction. Her work sits at the intersection of brand, business, and leadership, where clarity creates advantage.

John Trotter - Founder & Chief Creative Officer

John Trotter founded 4040 with a clear point of view: the most enduring brands are built at the intersection of culture, design, and belief.

With roots at Nike and Landor, John brings a level of creative leadership grounded in both craft and strategic intent. For more than two decades, he has shaped brands across sport, entertainment, consumer, and technology, creating systems and experiences that resonate deeply and stand the test of time.

His work is defined by restraint, precision, and meaning. Not decoration, but design that carries weight. At 4040, John ensures every expression of the brand reflects something real, building identities that not only connect in the moment, but endure over time.

What They Are Saying

In over 25 years in marketing, branding, media, and tech, I have never worked with a more on-time, better communicator, and receptive partner. I worked with them previously, and the work product and team are even better years after our first engagement. They have fantastic leadership, staff, and a culture that is envied by all. I would never work with anyone else.

VP of Business Development and Marketing, Fortress

4040 works fast, travels light, and is built for speed and efficiency, which many agencies promise, but few deliver. But there's no compromise on creative quality of strategic thinking. They're uniquely able to hold both the small and big pictures in their collective head at all times. This is a hell of a thing to be able to do, honestly.

Creative Director, MassMutual

4040 Agency is always timely, thoughtful, and present when working with us on any deliverables. They are action and solution oriented and embody what a true client + agency partnership should look like. 4040 took no time in rolling their sleeves up to better understand our audiences. Our work and our different range of B2B audiences are convoluted and are unique for our industry. 4040 didn't balk at the challenge but instead embraced it and took every opportunity to learn more about the business and why certain feedback was important.

Head of Integrated Marketing, MassMutual

The 4040 team were invaluable partners when thinking through how best to communicate the concept to fans, how best to capture the level of excitement that esports events bring to fans, and how best to remain inviting to traditional sports fans who may not watch esports. We’re thrilled with the brand direction that was developed and are excited to debut it.

Zach Leonis, President of Media & New Enterprises.
Monumental Sports and Entertainment

4040 Agency’s kindness, willingness to do whatever it takes, and teamwork were impressive.

Kimberly Minor, CEO, WOC Retail Alliance

Leadership

Leadership

Michelle Bowler - CEO & Chief Strategy Officer

John Trotter - Founder & Chief Creative Officer

At Moments of Change

At Moments of Reinvention

What They Are Saying

What They Are Saying