Studio

Founded in 2003, 828:design has grown as Asheville has grown. Our office cultivates collaboration—among our team and with our clients—and inspires innovation, driven by the energy and vibrancy of the downtown that’s framed by our windows and right outside our door.

The Things We Do

Whether on a computer screen, the pages of a magazine, or store shelves, we offer an array of visual solutions ranging from logo development, brand collateral creation, user-friendly website design, packaging design, and heavy-lifting production design for large books and catalogs. We’ve perfected a shared, hands-on design process that starts with a conversation to understand your story, audience, and goals. We start with a blank canvas. For us, that’s pen and paper and boundless brainstorming sessions.

Our Design Process

we:listen

It starts with a conversation. We listen and learn as much as possible about your company’s unique story. We clarify goals, budget and timing.

we:create

828 is a process driven studio. Depending on the project type, we implement the appropriate process and start concepting internally. These initial ideas are honed for presentation.

we:refine

Based on your feedback and mutual decisions, initial concepts are refined and presented. Upon approval, project assets are finalized for implementation.

we:implement

Whether interactive or print, we partner with the right people to implement your project. We manage the project to completion, and recommend ways to continue telling your company’s unique story.

Who We Are

We’re designers by trade and at heart—makers, up for any creative challenge. Craft is our process, and we take the same hands-on approach to graphic design as other artists take with their mediums, an approach woven into the fabric of Asheville and Western North Carolina’s innovative identity. We’re also your advocates/champions: We use your brand’s products and services and support your business. That’s why for us, doing great work isn’t enough, you’ve also got to be nice.

Tom Petruccelli

Steeped in every aspect of design since he first walked into his uncle’s print shop as a teenager, Tom has worked presses, stripped plates, and his hands have known plenty of ink stains. Yes, new techniques are constantly emerging. But the foundation of effective design remains unchanged: clarity of vision, creativity, and superb client relations. As 828’s co-founder, Tom is there from the genesis of every project, nurturing a client’s vision from concept to reality. He still likes to get his hands dirty, though. Digging in the Carolina clay with his two sons, Tom marvels how a speck of a seed contains everything needed to burst forth into a towering sunflower. Great ideas and great design are also a ground-up endeavor: they start small, take root and flourish in the right hands.

Chris Hunter

Chris admires the power of unifying design, the kind that can reflect the varied and unique aspects of a product or business, while remaining clean, simple and stylish. From the psychedelic album covers of the 1960s that entranced him as a child, to the 1/75 Ranger Memorial he contributed to while at the Savannah College of Art and Design, Chris thrives on pulling together diverse elements into single logo, brand, or identity. A lover of the outdoors, Chris lived on a river in West Virginia for many years, and has long been drawn to water’s flow and energy. We like to think these two qualities infuse his work, as his ideas flow into images, his concepts into winning creations.

Andrew Kinnear

Andrew is an authority in many disciplines and a student of many more. At the core of his approach to life is a foundation of learning and uncovering, which envelops his methods in graphic design and website development. He has consistently worked along side of 828:design for 10+ years, developing custom Wordpress themes, writing clean javascript, and everything in between. He's designed for reputable clients like Smithsonian, Google, IBM, GE, T-Mobile, Keck Observatory, and many others, while living in Washington DC, Asheville, Hawaii, and currently Berlin, Germany. Beyond his design prowess, Andrew excels as a video editor, songwriter, musician, and is passionate about science, astronomy, and discovery.

Asheville Life

We are so proud of our fair city and region that we named our studio after the area code. In 1998, Western North Carolina received its own area code of 828, moving out of the shadows of the greater Charlotte area. Over the last two decades Asheville, North Carolina has become widely known for its creative vibe and revitalization. Asheville has been recognized for its lifestyle, outdoors, food and culture in media outlets such as: The New York Times, Outside, Fodors, Rolling Stone and Good Morning America. We love this city and are proud to call it home.

Landscape photo of Asheville North Carolina taken from above with cloudy sky and rhododendron in foreground

Photography: Reggie Tidwell