In more than 20 years leading Huston Design, John has never grown tired of the amazing range of challenges that come across our desk and serving up creative solutions. Some are design challenges. Others are just good old problem solving, like how to efficiently make a library of thumbnails for more than 600 pieces of art efficiently (P.S. It took 4 minutes.) John’s known for being “disarmingly chill”, applying design thinking and a cool head to even the toughest task. He’s come a long way since his teenage days in Spencer, Iowa, slinging newspapers and Happy Joe’s Pizza, and building Formula 1 crash barriers one college summer while home from Iowa State University. This year, in addition to designing logos, websites and annual reports, John’s looking forward to cooking, woodworking and biking in the Colorado Mountains.
Steve is a marketing nerd driven to help brands get the most out of their marketing investment. He is a strong believer that marketing strategy should be tied to business goals. Steve is also a marketing Rosetta Stone able to translate and communicate seamlessly between designers, developers, database-administrators, executives and sales and marketing leaders. While he has done just about everything there is to do in marketing, website and graphic design is not his thing, which is why he works with the great team at Huston Design. When he’s not thinking about marketing, Steve loves cooking, curling (the sport, not his hair), soccer, traveling, the Wisconsin Badgers, and the beauty of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Katie creates. It’s in her DNA. Even when she’s not designing for our clients, she’s crafty in all kinds of ways, from knitting and painting, to making sculptures and jewelry. She was inspired to create from her very first job as the official Sticker Counter and Gel Pen Tester at her grandparents’ office supply store. Katie loves getting to know our clients so that she can delight them with design solutions that resonate. After all, the better we know our clients, the better we can design. As a self-proclaimed homebody, Katie picks a woodsy cabin over a busy beach any day. With a book. And ideally a fireplace. She’s in it for the cozy. Serve up a bowl of Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos and turn on a thriller/suspense/horror movie, and you’re her new best friend.
Daria is happiest when she’s being creative, from designing websites or a new logo, to cooking, knitting, and playing VR-games, especially Beat Saber. Daria is teaching us about Ukraine traditions. She and her husband came to Madison from Ukraine as the result of the war. She loves natural areas (especially Olbrich Garden) and says that seeing so much wildlife feels like a Disney cartoon. She also loves the downtown vibe and Capitol views, the kind people here and Ukrainian flags that show support. Daria’s other faves include the restaurant 1855 in Cottage Grove, the Italian band Maneskin and TV series like The Office, How I Met Your Mother and House MD, which she’s watched at least four times. Daria says she loves our “small talk culture” here, one more thing that lets her know she’s surrounded by friends.
