Grand Rapids MI-based design firm Peopledesign is celebrating its 20th anniversary. The firm has produced campaigns for the likes of Nestlé, Herman Miller, Steelcase and Jaguar. Co-founders and owners Yang Kim and Kevin Budelmann are both graduates of design at Carnegie Mellon University, and afterward pursued careers at furniture manufacturer Herman Miller. There, Kim collaborated with the legendary creative director Steve Frykholm in a decade of award-winning annual reports. Budelmann worked on many programs and initiatives, notably helping to start the company’s first website.
In 1997, Kim and Budelmann formed BBK Studio, continuing to work with Herman Miller, as well as global leaders like Nestle and Whirlpool. On their tenth anniversary, Kim and Budelmann rebranded as Peopledesign. Since then, the team have utilized their experience and knowledge in the environments space — furniture, lighting, textiles, carpet, fixtures, etc. — to serve clients in these industries, as well as others in software, healthcare, education, manufacturing, professional services and the arts. In 2016, Peopledesign crafted the Haworth Fern Chair positioning and launch with an innovative campaign.
In 2010, Peopledesign published Brand Identity Essentials. The book outlines and demonstrates basic logo and branding design guidelines and rules through 100 principles. It has been translated into six languages. Kim has won numerous awards for her design. She is an AIGA Fellow, earned the AAF Silver Medal Award, and has been named one of the “50 Most Influential Designers Working Today” in a national survey by GDUSA. Budelmann earned a Master of Design Methods from IIT Institute of Design and teaches at Northwestern University. He serves on the global board of directors of IxDA (Interaction Design Association) and founded the West Michigan AIGA chapter and served as its first president. Budelmann recently spoke at the AIGA national conference in Minneapolis in October 2017.
