º Jeffrey Hamilton Smith

ABA founder and Seattle native, Jeffrey Hamilton Smith is the conceptual and creative force behind our group. As an author and lecturer he possesses over 26 years experience in graphic and experience design, brand development and brand psychology. During his tenure at the ABA, he has consulted to government agencies, colleges, universities, coffee roasters, fashion houses, apparel manufacturers, telecoms, political movements, aerospace and utility companies -nationally.

He currently owns and directs small teams of like-minded creatives at both Smith Design Works & BrandGene studios in Seattle proper.

º Whitney Hartshorne

ABA founding member Whitney Hartshorne began her design debut at the age of 8, working alongside her mother Seattle-based Graphic Designer, Mary Geyer.

Whitney has been the 'go to' person for everything from project management to brand policing for numerous small and large corporations. She currently owns '& Associates', a tangibles design provider.

Whitney is the Human library and deployment head for all ABA collateral.

º Candace DeMeare

ABA Portland chapter liaison and founding member Candace DeMeare, has since the age of 22, been a creative force behind several design departments spanning 15 years across North America. Born only a few blocks away from historic Vieux-Québec in Quebec City, she has led famous creative teams from San Francisco to Vancouver, B.C.

Prior to her retirement in Portland, OR., she partnered DBG, an international brand consultancy agency specializing in active lifestyle and apparel manufacturing. Her clients included: Quicksilver/Roxy, Nike, Le Coq Sportif, Rossignol, and Montcler.

Candace is responsible for promoting the ABA throughout Oregon; And additionally acts as our liaison in Europe.

º Marc Posch

Our ABA Los Angeles chapter liaison is an award-winning designer who began his career over 20 years ago in Stuttgart Germany.

Completing graphic design studies at the renowned Merz Art Academy, Marc has achieved much since his 1998 arrival in LA.

In addition to writing two books on design, for two decades his brand design firm Marc Posch Design, Inc has catered to such big hitters as Elysian Entertainment, Sharp, Hitachi and the infamous Der Spiegel magazine -to name a few.

Marc is involved with many non-profit organizations and continues to be a crucial asset to a host of very worthy causes. Including ours.

º Dave Barbush

While our ABA Philadelphia chapter liaison thought he was writing screenplays and making movies in Hollywood, what he was actually doing was acquiring an education in storytelling that would change his life forever.

A move back to Pennsylvania as Creative Director for his own shop put him on a collision course to accepting a Vice President + Creative Director role at an even bigger shop. This move landed him knee-deep in branding as he took a little-used but well-designed branding process - mixing archetypes, humor, and a Hollywood flair for the dramatic into unique branding platforms.

In his spare time, Dave exercises his other passion, creating killer cheese-steak sandwiches.

º Coming Soon.

º Coming Soon.

º Coming Soon.