We live by the 3 C’s:
Creative Leadership
Client Excellence
Cultural Intelligence
Diverse is our Universe.
Diverse Teams unleash Diverse Ideas which are applied to Diverse Branding and Design Solutions, for Clients with diverse customers. Fact: companies that have truly diverse teams have a 70% chance higher chance of capturing new markets which means our diverse agency can drive that with our solutions. Our mission is to change the landscape of branding agencies. Our agency of experienced and diverse designers, strategists, copywriters, client manager’s is a client-centric team that boasts cultural intelligence and empathy.
About 4040 - From the Founder
So what’s next for our agency? As the founder of this trusted 23-year-old agency, I will always be committed to being a Creative Leader in our industry providing incremental value for our clients, but now I’ve recognized that I can do much more. I am committed to changing what a branding agency looks like. Fact: Less than 5% of professional designers identify as Black. That number is too small. More broadly there are too few executive leaders in the agency space who are women or women of color. They should not all look like me. The new 4040 is committed to creating opportunities where women and people of color know they belong. Our branding solutions will better reflect our clients' customers and the world in which we live. I’m inviting new perspectives, ideas, thinking, designs, solutions to the table; so that we will continue our lineage of being a proven partner for big brands so they get even bigger and for start-up brands to get to scale.
– John Trotter
Leadership Team
Michelle Bowler
CEO, Co-Owner
Michelle brings management expertise and strategic leadership to her work, leading and developing engaging, intuitive experiences and brands. Michelle built her passion for sophisticated and functional design while working in-house at Fortune 100 Companies such as Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Mark & Graham, Bath and Body Works, Walmart, and Wayfair. A proponent of design diversity, Michelle’s mission is to create seamless and compelling brand experiences and to lead with a customer-centric, trend-savvy, and style-focused approach.
Michelle Bowler
CEO, Co-Owner
Michelle brings management expertise and strategic leadership to her work, leading and developing engaging, intuitive experiences and brands. Michelle built her passion for sophisticated and functional design while working in-house at Fortune 100 Companies such as Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Mark & Graham, Bath and Body Works, Walmart, and Wayfair. A proponent of design diversity, Michelle’s mission is to create seamless and compelling brand experiences and to lead with a customer-centric, trend-savvy, and style-focused approach.
John Trotter
CCO, Co-Owner, Founder
John is that rare designer who combines the ability to lead strategic thinking and award-winning creative. For the last 23 years, John has been doing just that, finding innovative solutions that connect and resonate. John launched 4040 Agency in 2002 to transform sports, entertainment, consumer, and technology brands through building and creating memorable brand experiences. Before launching Forty Forty, John was a Senior Design Director at Landor Associates and a Senior Creative in Nike’s in-house Design Department.
John Trotter
CCO, Co-Owner, Founder
John is that rare designer who combines the ability to lead strategic thinking and award-winning creative. For the last 23 years, John has been doing just that, finding innovative solutions that connect and resonate. John launched 4040 Agency in 2002 to transform sports, entertainment, consumer, and technology brands through building and creating memorable brand experiences. Before launching Forty Forty, John was a Senior Design Director at Landor Associates and a Senior Creative in Nike’s in-house Design Department.
Lauren Phalen
VP Client Services & Marketing
As a marketing and brand leader, Lauren has earned a reputation for leading creative, high-quality, and intensive brand programs. Throughout her career, Lauren has excelled at managing cross-functional teams, managing change, and managing projects to success. Lauren earned her stripes at Wayfair where she worked on communicating the brand's ethos to make it stand out and thrive in a competitive market environment.
Lauren Phalen
VP Client Services & Marketing
As a marketing and brand leader, Lauren has earned a reputation for leading creative, high-quality, and intensive brand programs. Throughout her career, Lauren has excelled at managing cross-functional teams, managing change, and managing projects to success. Lauren earned her stripes at Wayfair where she worked on communicating the brand's ethos to make it stand out and thrive in a competitive market environment.
What We Do
Discovery
We meet with internal teams to discover in- sights and trouble points. We process existing research and briefs, or commission research as needed. We also research internal capa- bilities and implementation,
Strategy
We sort and re-sort our key takeaways from discovery to arrive at a succinct brand state- ment. We consider everything from purpose and personality, to competitive landscape and demographics, to resources and scale, in order to map out a smart way to execute on that statement.
Brand Architecture
We create usable hierarchy for new or unruly brands. We’re experts at taking complex input and creating smart structures that allow brands to grow.
Visual Identity
We imbue all of our work with intelligence and great aesthetics. We empower our cli- ents to communicate clearly with the con- sumer. And we create identities that are a visual expression of the brand personality.
Writing
We bring brands to life through language. We create language systems that embody a brand’s personality. From copywriting to tag-lines.
Experience Design
We help clients activate their brands across platforms, helping to create a variety of ex- pressions of the brand voice. We wrangle complex technical constraints to create powerful experiences.
Art Direction
The image is often a core element of a brand. We bring our refined eye to shooting, both stills and live action.
Consulting
The principals of the agency have deep knowledge in brand positioning, business management, agency management, design expertise, trends, client service, consumer behavior, customer identification, market share positioning, diverse team building and are happy to consult with any size business at any point in their life cycle.
Say Hello
We’re always happy to discuss a new project or collaboration. If you have something in mind or just want to say hello, drop us a line.
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