People

Keith Hensel

Principal, Executive Creative Director download vcardDownload vCard

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 at 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.

Keith Hensel's Writings

  • Cloudy with a chance of Rhodamine Red

    Any creative will tell you: choosing colors or color palettes can be daunting. It’s technical. It’s complex. It’s emotional. It’s cultural. It’s subjective. And perhaps most frustratingly, it seems the more you learn about color, the more you realize how much you still don’t know.

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  • Senior art director wanted. Inquire within.

    We're looking for a Senior AD (initially for freelance work; full-time's a possibility down the road) who can collaborate with our creative and account teams to come up with strategically sound creative for our clients.

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  • You're an art director.

    The Gab is looking for an Art Director.

    Posted:
  • Now booking for this summer

    Gabardine's own Keith sets up a product shot for a client.

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The Gabardine Crew

  • GM

    Garret Mulder

    Project Manager

  • MJ

    Michele Johnson

    Finance Manager

  • PL

    Peter Leeds

    Principal,
    President

  • KAH

    Keith Hensel

    Principal,
    Executive Creative Director

  • SG

    Scott Grant

    Senior Graphic Designer

  • DN

    Darren Newton

    Associate Director, Creative & Technology

  • CK

    Cat Krook

    Director, Project Management

  • JPS

    Jonathan Sawitsky

    Director, Digital Experience

  • BRE

    Bre DeBeauvernet

    Associate Project
    Manager

  • JS

    Yevgeny Spektor

    Art Director