Keith Hensel

Design Director, Principal

Until I was about six years old, the only thing I wanted to be was The Lone Ranger. That desire didn’t go away when I turned six, but it became difficult for me to figure out how to capture outlaws and do graphic design. I still haven’t found the right balance…

What I did find was a whole bunch of ways to express myself creatively, from the handmade ‘Henmark’-branded greeting cards I made in grade school (sorry, Hallmark®) to the industrial design pieces that were part of my BFA portfolio from the Rochester Institute of Technology.

After graduating, I created designs for clients like Sony and Volvo, and then went to work for the in-house creative departments of Lifetime Television and Newsweek, handling everything from promotional campaigns and event materials to print collateral. A move to the pioneering web shop Modem Media allowed me to add interactive design to my skill set, working on sites, digital marketing and advertising projects for clients like IBM, Delta and Kraft Foods. Then, in the Fall of 2005, I started Designhensels and fulfilled my dream of owning my own full-service design firm.

Teaming up with Peter again (we first met and worked together at Modem) is a natural extension of that dream, allowing me to work on integrated projects that help strengthen brand fabric.

On the personal side, I try to single-handedly maintain a level of testosterone in my house (I have a wife, two daughters and, yes, even a female dog), I’ve also been known to lay down a beat (on my drums) and make one helluva German potato salad.