MURMUR CREATIVE - Key Persons
A talented and creative coder, Amy's curiosity and critical thinking skills make her a vital member of the Murmur team. Amy majored in music education and taught music at NYC public schools before deciding to change career paths. Her creative problem-solving skills, appreciation for design, and passion for user experience pointed her to a career in coding. Coding was not Amy's first love, but more like an old friend turned true love. Before coming to Murmur, Amy trained at Epicodus and freelanced as a web design/developer at multiple digital agencies. In her free time, Amy is either busy doing creative projects or binging Netflix.
Andrew founded Murmur Creative in 2007. Having just graduated from Portland State University's design program, he quickly forged lasting relationships with local Portland businesses and began growing Murmur Creative to the full-service creative agency that it is today.
Andrew's expertise spans many styles and mediums, from web design and UI/UX to packaging and print design. Andrew specializes in branding, and loves elevating businesses through beautiful and meaningful identity design.
When he's not at work, Andrew loves spending time with his wife, Remy, and his two sons, Francis and Parker. He is also an avid fisherman, and a founding member of the folk rock ensemble, ‘Nervous & the Kid'.
Angela's expertise in complex strategy work stems from years of experience as a brand strategist, designer, and creative. She is a workshop wizard who knows how to pull inspiration and facilitate meaningful dialogue with clients to elevate their brand and move their businesses forward. Angela earned her BFA in Applied Visual Arts from Oregon State University and continues to stay involved in the arts community, serving as the President for AIGA Portland. Outside of Murmur, Angela partakes in experimental scent creation and often teaches scent design workshops for other creatives.
Job Titles:
- Exec. Web Director
- Web Director
Chris runs the strategy department at Murmur. He has been working at the intersection of branding, marketing, and digital for over 20 years. He has worked in-house and freelance as a copywriter, SEO manager, PPC manager, and is well-versed in local and technical SEO, web analytics, UI/UX, and more. Chris also hosts The Creative Agency Podcast, a show about agency growth and finding success in the creative industry.
Chris is also the proud father of a 8-year-old boy, who is absolutely obsessed with Power Rangers.
Cristina earned her Masters in Art History and spent five years in the museum field honing her editing, communication, and problem-solving skills that she uses daily in her role as Murmur's Account Manager. Naturally charismatic, Cristina knows how to put our clients' minds at ease and turn problems into scopes of work. A SolCal transplant, Cristina loves to explore Portland's expansive food scene by day and at night curl up with some historical movie (while identifying all the inaccuracies of course).
Dana's design versatility is legendary at the Murmur studio. She keeps a cool head in the face of looming deadlines and can tackle the toughest of projects.
Dana grew up in a Hong Kong high rise where she spent her childhood sneaking onto her sister's computer to make photoshop collages. As a student at Portland State University's graphic design program, she discovered her love for design. When she isn't whipping up wonderful work here at Murmur, she's singing her heart out at karaoke and discovering local cafes with friends.
Job Titles:
- Senior UI / UX Designer
- UX Designer
Dani has an expert grasp of typography and layout, and loves designing beautiful and intuitive user experiences. She'll be the first to tell you she's obsessive when it comes to detail and color. In a past life she freelanced for a wide variety of clients designing and coding websites.
Dani is a Portland State University graduate where she studied design and art history. She feels very at home in Portland because it balances her love for the arts and the outdoors. In town, Dani likes to wander around the Portland Art Museum, go climbing, catch a low-key live show, or hang out in a coffee shop and read. When she wants to head out of town, Dani likes to go to Mount Hood for fishing and camping.
Job Titles:
- Illustrator and Designer from Cape Town
- Senior Art Director
Dani Severson is an illustrator and designer from Cape Town, South Africa. She graduated summa cum laude from Savannah College of Art and Design with a BFA in Graphic Design. Prior to taking on her role with Murmur, Dani worked for several notable agencies. She designed with David Carson in NYC and O'Neill in California then served as Creative Director of Design at Publicis Machine in Cape Town.
Dani has an on-going love affair with hand-lettering and has an eye for color and detail. Her ideal project combines illustration with beautiful, strategic design. She has taken part in a number of art exhibitions and art fairs, focusing primarily on large dimensional lettering pieces.
Dani currently lives with her family in Portland, Oregon between tall trees and under rainy skies. Outside of work she enjoys getting lost in big open spaces. She loves to travel, surf and camp or enjoy a card game with friends and family.
Job Titles:
- Owner of Embark Exploration Co
Hailing from SoCal Kaitlyn is a powerhouse when it comes to project management. As a tech-savvy strategic communicator she is exceptionally organized and her attention to detail makes certain nothing slips through the cracks. Kaitlyn maintains positive relationships with our clients ensuring each project piece is moving forward seamlessly. She has over 8 years of experience in project, account, and event management and a BS in International Business from San Jose State University. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, cooking, and getting her craft on.
Marc is a designer, illustrator, and printmaker. His mouth-watering illustrations give away his strong food and beverage background. Marc studied art and printmaking at Ball State University, and now serves as board member and gallery manager for Flight 64, a local non-profit print studio.
A self-professed Beyoncé super-fan, Marc loves hip hop and R&B. When he isn't at Murmur, you might spot him indulging his sushi addiction at Portland's many local establishments.
Job Titles:
- Exec. Director of Client Services
Mary's extensive marketing background spans major brands and small businesses across the country. Her depth of experience informs her strategic, holistic approach to branding. Mary loves meeting new people and developing lasting relationships with clients.
Once you've met Mary, you'll quickly learn that her enthusiasm and positivity are simply infectious. She is truly passionate about crafting stellar brand experiences and helping businesses grow.
When Mary's not obsessing over clients and marketing campaigns, she's following Portland politics, advocating for local issues through volunteer work, and keeping fit by trying to stay at least one step ahead of her six (!) children.
Job Titles:
- Art Director
- Design Director
Renee Dimalla is an award-winning art director with a passion for strategically informed design solutions. After graduating first in her class from Western Washington University's Design program, Renee has worked up and down the West Coast for over 10 years - from San Francisco to Seattle - on clients such as the Wikimedia Foundation, Logitech, Pipcorn, and Columbia Land Trust.
Renee's repertoire includes designing for the environment, complex systems, publications, luxury consumer goods, as well as traditional and historical printing methods.
When she's not creating beautiful things or managing a team of talented designers, Renee loves to pin insects, play boardgames, paint, and surf the Goodwill auctions.
A graduate of Portland State's prestigious design program, Tijani is originally from Boston, MA. where he earned a degree in psychology and environmental studies at Boston College. Tijani is Murmur's Lead Web Designer and loves and excels in all aspects of digital and physical design. He has experience in everything from branding and logo design to screen printing and woodworking. His ability to bring fresh ideas and unique design approaches to every Murmur project is invaluable.
In his free time, Tijani enjoys snowboarding, bike riding, camping, craft beers, and dirty blues, but spends most of his time cleaning and organizing his home.
Tim is a highly experienced product, architectural, and lifestyle photographer who excels at translating client vision into beautifully produced photographs. Tim's career spans more than two decades and includes work with brands like Nike, Mountain Hardware, Google, Hash House A Go Go and many more. Tim prides himself on his versatility, intuition, and technical abilities. When he's not working, Tim is driving soccer carpool for his two boys, walking Mungo the dog, mountain biking, skiing, playing bass or swing dancing with his wife.
Tory grew up in Ohio in an old farmhouse on 13 acres of land. That's where he discovered his love of design. When he was a teenager, a family friend introduced him to Photoshop and he was immediately hooked. Tory later studied Graphic Design at LSU (Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA).
Tory loves spending his free time reading comics, studying design, hiking in nature, and exploring Portland's many bars and restaurants.
Tory is pretty sure his spirit animal is the llama or the ostrich, but he's not sure which.
Job Titles:
- Architect
- Technical Director
Tristan is the architect behind the technical infrastructure at Murmur Creative, from our hosting and maintenance services to the philosophies and strategies that fuel our development program. A lifelong problem solver, Tristan is adept at untangling the complex and providing intuitive solutions for our clients.
Zipporah is an accomplished designer with an eye for type treatments and a talent for mastering diverse illustration styles. She graduated from Portland State University in 2012 with a major in graphic design and minor in advertising management.
Zip has worked at Murmur Creative going on 7 years. She started at Murmur through the internship program at PSU and now is a Senior Designer working on branding and print projects. You will also find her coordinating Murmur's Agencies of Change social justice campaigns and managing the internship program.