My approach to design:
To me, design isn’t about visual bling, it’s about integrity and telling a story. And when you do it well, it creates a connection between a product or idea and the person who will use that product or learn from that idea. Being part of that conversation – whether it’s a small project for a startup or a major campaign for a multi-brand retailer – is what makes me feel like I have the most exciting job in the world.
What I do:
I am a creative executive with 25 years’ experience leading retailers – Design Within Reach, Amazon, Spiegel, L.L. Bean, J.Crew and others – through branding transformations by way of compelling visuals and narratives across multiple platforms and mediums.
One project that captures my approach.
Over four days, Milk Studios in Manhattan became a who’s who of modern design. Coming from as far away as New Zealand, designers from 14 countries were represented, with ages ranging from 29 to 89. Hungarian artist Peter Hapak, who’s known for his powerful portraiture, captured the spirit and spunk – and in some cases, sass – of this amazing group. These are the people who make design within reach.
in collaboration
I love a challenge. At Design Within Reach, I managed the company’s brand identity, which was tricky because we were selling all these different brands. Then, on top of that, DWR started making its own furniture, so I designed that brand as well. It was a brand inside a brand that’s filled with other brands – it was exciting to work on.
in conversation
Whalebone Magazine “Surround yourself with people who work well together and respect each other and forget about the ‘star power.’ Understand that regardless of titles, everyone has an equal contribution to getting something done and it getting done well.”
Someone You Should Know: DWR’s Michael Sainato The Most Red We’ve Ever Had In an Interview
Design Notes “Someone calculated that our apartment would fit into Grand Central Station’s main hall 88 times.”
How I solve Living in a Small Space.
Peloton Magazine “At the end of the day it still comes back to the freedom a bike gave you when you were 10 and the ability to explore and create new adventures.”
Some of my strongest creative relationships formed over two wheels, or Why Design Within Reach partnered with Richard Sachs
Mind-Mag “To me it’s not about ego or elitism, it’s about integrity.”
A conversation on authenticity and identity in conjunction with panel talk at MiNDTalk, NYC: Design Within Reach | Interview with Michael Sainato
in motion
Don. Michael. Stanley.
In the first of a series of dog-walking interviews with designers, I visited industrial designer Don Chadwick in his art-filled studio to talk innovation, happy accidents and the remastered 2016 Aeron Chair.
Directing the moving parts.
An engaging photograph tells a story. Moving images bring stories to life.
Explore Ellen Van Dusen’s colorful Brooklyn backyard
The Block Island Collection designed by Jens Risom
The Sommer Collection designed by Chris Liljenberg Halstrøm
Behind the scenes: How a Room Gets Made
in the classroom
Parsons School of Design | The New School
New York, New York
2019–Present
Adjunct Professor
Courses: Marketing, PR and Branding, Influence by Design: Insights and Strategies for Persuasion
An exploration of theories and principles governing contemporary marketing tools and practices, beginning with an introduction to the foundations of human motivation and behaviors surrounding persuasion regarding market engagement, from historical models to contemporary trends.
School of Visual Arts (SVA)
New York, New York
2015–Present
Adjunct Professor
Courses: Advance Type, Basic Type, and Basic Graphic Design
Select student work
Academy of Art University
San Francisco, California
2002–2009
MFA Graphic Design Department
Courses: Nature of Identity, Publication Narrative, Integrated Communication, Type Composition, and advised individual students on their thesis projects
California College of Art (CCA)
San Francisco, California
1998–2002
Adjunct Professor
Courses: Design 1, Design 2, and Typography 1
