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Hello!

Brand Strategy and Design Firm for B2B Tech and AI Companies

Alert to the bigger picture.
Clear on what matters. Invested in the details.

The belief that inspired us still drives us.

The belief that inspired us still drives us.

Tracy Lloyd and Bella Banbury are founding partners and best friends. They started Emotive in 2009 with a shared conviction: the strongest brands don’t just communicate what’s true. They make people feel it. Seventeen years later, that belief has only become stronger and more focused. We fuse conviction and emotion at the foundation of a brand, helping companies turn what they know to be true into something the market can recognize, believe, and value. It shapes how we think, how we work, and the partnerships we build.

Tracy Lloyd

Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer View our career opportunities

I sold enterprise technology before I ever worked in brand, and I’ve spent thirty years in and around technical companies since. That’s why I can tell what a product actually does when its own website sells it short.

Today I work with founders and leadership teams at B2B technology and AI companies. I start with the outcome they’re building toward, whether that’s the next round or the acquirer who should want them, and work backward through the technology, commercial model and growth plan to the position that makes it believable.

I’m at my best when what a company has built has outgrown how the market understands it, and the next raise or exit is in sight.

Bella Banbury

Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer View our career opportunities

I lead the operating and commercial side of our engagements, shaping how we work, who we bring around the table, and how we deliver for our clients.

At the heart of the agency is a belief I still care deeply about: the strongest brands are built when conviction and emotion come together. My role is to make sure that belief holds up in practice—in the quality of the work, the way we partner with clients, and the business we continue to build around it.

I’m an operator by nature. I like bringing the right people together, creating the conditions for exceptional work, and making sure the experience of working with Emotive is as strong as the work itself.

Jamey Aiken

Managing Director View our career opportunities

I’ve spent more than 25 years helping organizations turn ambitious ideas into decisions, systems, and experiences people can actually act on. My background spans strategy, creative leadership, design, and organizational change, which means I tend to see the whole picture rather than one piece of it.

Today, I work closely with leadership teams at B2B technology and AI companies to connect strategy to execution, helping shape the big decisions and make sure they hold up in the work that follows.

I’m most useful when there’s complexity to untangle, competing perspectives to align, and a lot riding on getting the decisions right.

Jeff Allison

Design Operations Manager View our career opportunities

I thrive in the technical side of design, helping our designers create systems that bring our clients’ brands to life.

My 30+ years of agency experience gives me a broad perspective. My embrace of change and technology keeps me on my toes.

I’ve worked with a wide range of clients—from tech giants to cultural institutions to startups—delivering on everything from the smallest artifacts to global campaigns. I make things make sense so that the visual systems we develop work seamlessly and bring value to our clients. The Devil is in the details, and I’m right there with him.

Aoife Gibbs

Digital Design Director View our career opportunities

I’ve always believed that the magic of brand design lies in the details—the subtle, thoughtful choices that bring a brand to life. As Digital Design Director at Emotive Brand, I’m responsible for transforming brand strategy into a visual experience that resonates across both the digital and physical worlds. Every brand has its own personality, and I love finding the unique nuances that make each one stand out.

With a background in both architecture and graphic design, I approach brand creation from a multidimensional perspective. I’ve had the privilege of working with a range of global brands, but no matter the project, my goal is always the same: to craft designs that feel human, emotional, and full of possibility.

Amber Johnson

Partner Strategist View our career opportunities

“Copywriter” doesn’t quite capture what I do. I don’t just fill space with copy that informs. I tell stories, rooted in truth, that differentiate, inspire action, and connect brands with their audiences in meaningful ways. My approach starts with empathy, and leads to expression with the power to move individuals and entire organizations. 

I thrive on collaborating with brands that are eager to hone their unique value and stake a claim. Whether shaping a brand’s voice or crafting narratives that help ignite change, I’m passionate about making sure every word has purpose. My experience includes creative partnership with Alaska.

Jack Loh

Partner Strategist View our career opportunities

As a brand strategist, I help clients articulate who they are, what they stand for, and what makes them special.

It’s harder than you think, as there’s always too much that could be said. I’m at my best when clients allow me to cut out what’s not useful and amplify what is. I get to ask tough questions, provide alternative perspectives, and assemble ideas in new ways. It’s fun.

In my 25 years of experience, I’ve learned that my most valuable contribution to any branding exercise is clarity—providing the ideas, story, or vision that guide organizations in their growth or transformation.

John Ludwig

Account Director View our career opportunities

I believe the foundation of a successful project is rooted in strong partnership and clear communication. As an Account Director, my goal is to work closely with clients, ensuring our teams are always aligned and never left wondering, “What’s next?”

With over 7 years of experience in legal operations and a Master of Science in Strategic Brand Communication, I excel in fast-paced, high-stakes environments—always balancing the big picture with tactical precision.

What excites me most about Brand work is its unique role at the intersection of marketing, design, business and people strategy, and user experience—enabling it to shape and influence nearly every facet of an organization.

Adam Machacek

Design Partner View our career opportunities

I believe design is language. One that creates connection, shared understanding, one that has the power to bring people together, no matter their background or expertise. One that doesn’t need translation.

I’ve been practicing design internationally for 20+ years, collaborating with teams and individuals across continents and cultures, from self-initiated publications to award-winning identities and complex design systems. I bring this experience to every project, yet what drives me is always starting from scratch—the conversations, the exchanges, brilliant concepts and weird ideas, cul-de-sacs and everything I don’t know. I am a team player and consider the truly inspiring comes from a dialog—between humans that is.

Chad Mitchell

Senior Designer View our career opportunities

From brand insights to brand identity the entire process excites me as a designer. I visually bring strategy to life to create memorable and impactful brands. 

I have an adept ability to uplift and motivate people. I use empathy and intelligence to guide my design choices ensuring the work speaks to the hearts and minds of its audience. I approach everything I do with tenacity, positivity and kindness. 

I have left my mark on an abundance of brands from Start-up to Fortune 500 and in between with a specialization in the B2B space.

Heather O’Donnell

Partner Strategist View our career opportunities

When it comes to brand stories, there’s a lot of noise out there. I love sifting through that noise, finding the singular specialness of my client’s brand, and expressing it in a way that moves their customers, investors, and employees to action. 

I’ve worked with consumer, B2B, and non-profit organizations of all sizes and stages over the past 30 years, helping them envision possibilities, transform their brands, and make a lasting impact. 

The one thing I’ve learned is that the brand isn’t defined by outside consultants like me. The essence of a brand is inherent in the company’s DNA. It’s just my job to tease it out.

Nicholas Ott

Strategist & Writer View our career opportunities

I see brand strategy as equal parts diligence and creativity. Every engagement is an opportunity to dig in and find all the weird and wonderful things you do to make your mark.

The only thing more fun is finding just the right words to describe what I find, to reflect that wonder and delight back to you.

I’ve always been a writer and researcher, and in brand strategy, my talents synthesized. I’ve worked with organizations ranging from young startups to nonprofits to financial titans, and I bring a true mix of the creative and the analytical to helping you realize the best expression of your value and values.

Robert Saywitz

Head of Design View our career opportunities

As a creative leader, my goal is to craft meaningful and compelling brand stories that lead from the head and capture the heart. Whether I am directing teams or actively creating, I prefer to roll up my sleeves and be an integral part of the creative process, from start to finish.

With more than 20 years experience as a multidisciplinary creative—10+ of those spent cutting my teeth in New York, collaborating with global branding firms and working as an independent creative with New York authors, musicians, artists, theater producers, and restaurateurs—I have worked on visual identities, brand experiences, and campaigns for clients across a wide range of industries.

My branding work has been featured in Graphic Designers USA2 and Creativity 38, and my illustration work has been published by Archaia Entertainment.

JoAnna Schull

Partner Strategist View our career opportunities

As a Brand Strategist at Emotive, I bring logic, design thinking, empathy, and customer-focused inquiry to everything I do. I’m a huge believer in the power of zooming in and zooming out on a problem to access perspectives and views that might get overlooked. This allows me to bring my head and heart into the process of creating brands that are authentic, aspirational, and inspiring—and most importantly, believable.

With over 25 years of experience working with senior leaders across multiple industries, from small startups to established global firms, my work has a common thread: I create blueprints that strategically—and emotionally—connect brands with their audiences.

Christine Summers

Account Director View our career opportunities

I work to bridge the gap between clients and our team so every project results in a successful and seamless experience.  

I thrive in cultivating client relationships and ensuring our teams, from strategy to design, are able to produce their best work possible.

From in-house to agency, trade marketing to account management, blue-chip to non-profit, my experience spans the gamut and I use it all to manage every project from start to finish.

Caren Williams

Partner Strategist View our career opportunities

Digging into brands and businesses and defining what makes them special is what I do best. While I’m a traditional brand strategist in experience, I’m part anthropologist, part educator, part insight-identifier, and part creative storyteller at heart.

With almost 20 years of experience building brands both on the client service side and in-house, I love sharing both my passion and expertise with brands big and small, old and new, helping channel their passion into real growth.

Oh, and I find my best work happens with a dog (or two) at my feet.

Want to join the team ?

View our career opportunities

Mantras that guide us.

01

Humanity first.

We find purpose in people. Our colleagues and clients. Our families and communities. How groups and individuals think, feel, and act. How we get inspired and express joy, gratitude, fear, and love. If you are human, you know how to dream. And we’re continuously amazed by those who dare to dream big, and humbled by the effort it takes to turn dreams into reality.

02

Brands matter.

Brands are important vessels for making meaning, embodying values, and shaping culture. They can lead conversations about how to drive progress. They can serve as beacons for the values that connect us. The best brands elevate our spirit and charge our imagination.

03

Make what only you can.

AI can produce an endless supply of competent work. Our job is to contribute something more: original thinking, real judgment, and a point of view that could only come from people paying close attention. We’re responsible for what we put into the world, and we want it to add something that wasn’t there before.

04

Curiosity created the cat.

Thousands of years ago, some farmers asked What if? to see if making friends with cats could solve their rodent problems. (It did.) The what-if mindset pervades everything we do. We’re constantly prototyping, making, scribbling, doodling, or researching to expand our ability to solve problems.

05

Mars is not an option.

We’ve only got one planet. We’re proud to work with companies propelling the transition to more sustainable ways of working and living, and we’re using what we learn to do our part.

Be ready to be seen. Be ready to be seen. Be ready to be seen. Be ready to be seen.
Get in touch. Get in touch. Get in touch. Get in touch. Get in touch. Get in touch. Get in touch.