The Kitchen is comprised of a diverse group of talented, experienced creative professionals. We pair each project with the right individuals needed to execute the scope of work, creating a unique, specialized, and efficient team tailored to each client’s needs. Our flexible structure gives us the ability to work with clients of all shapes and sizes and in a variety of industries.
Our vast network of vendors and resources, from printers to packaging suppliers to talent agencies, streamlines the production process and eliminates the need for the client to manage multiple vendors. All creative and production talent is managed with consistent leadership and vision, ensuring a strong and reliable brand execution. We think that’s all pretty smart — and so do our clients.
[ ABOUT THE FOUNDER ]
Aniko Hill Principal and Creative Director
A natural curiosity and passion for creating targeted, authentic brands makes Aniko Hill a diverse conceptual designer, creative director, and branding specialist. An Art Center College of Design graduate, she has extensive experience in all design mediums and has worked with highly regarded firms and major clients throughout her career. Aniko attained her expertise in large scale branding projects through work on prestigious accounts such as The Boeing Company, The Walt Disney Company, Master Foods USA, Sony Corporation, Ketel One Vodka and Red Bull. She has shared her experience with emerging design professionals over the years as a senior instructor at Art Institute of California, where she taught advanced courses on branding and packaging design.
Aniko founded The Kitchen Collaborative with a determination to innovate the traditional creative business methodology. Her distinct creative and professional vision has produced award-winning work with quantifiable results for clients in categories including health & beauty, fashion, home products and pet care. Her work creating premium lifestyle brands for the sophisticated female market has been featured in top industry publications such as Print Magazine, CPC Packaging, and HOW Magazine. Aniko is also an expert editorial contributor, writing for trade publications such as GCI, Package Design Magazine, and Beauty Packaging Magazine. Graphic Design USA recognized Aniko as one of the People to Watch in 2008.
[ SELECTED SENIOR TEAM BIOS ]
Jesse Hill Art Director/Photography Director
Jesse was exposed to fine art, antiques, and photography at an early age through his parents, both respected fine art dealers. He realized his passion for photography during his extensive travels through Europe and the Middle East, where he found it possible to gain access to people and places that were off-limits without a camera in hand. He attained his professional experience in large-scale photography productions working on premier advertising accounts such as Skyy Vodka, Bebe, L’Oreal, and Revlon, where he worked closely with top art directors and legendary photographers.
Jesse’s photography, including portraits of Oscar® winning actors and Grammy® winning musicians, has appeared in international publications including Architectural Digest, Glamour, Rolling Stone, and Time. Jesse’s images are syndicated through Getty Images, one of the largest and most prominent photo agencies in the world.
Keri D. Art Director/Brand Strategist
Since completing an MBA twenty years ago, Keri has worked with numerous companies in the Health & Beauty, Fashion, Entertainment, and Automotive industries. During this time she has worked with both large and small businesses to develop compelling brand strategies for new and revitalized products. Concurrently with the development of visual cues for new brands, Keri has developed naming strategies, taglines, promotional copy and product back-stories.
More recently, Keri has focused on creating brand-conscious environments for events, showrooms and retail spaces. She combines her extensive experience in product branding with design of event and private décor to create visual stories that connect beautifully with their target audience. Keri has worked with a variety of clients including Audi, Lexus, Land Rover, and Mazda, MGM, Universal Studios, The Walt Disney Company, Sony Playstation, QVC, and California Fashion Marketplace.
Alexa C. Copywriter/Brand Strategist
Alexa draws upon more than ten years of experience developing distinct, strategically grounded voices for consumer and B2B brands in a broad range of categories. She has helped to launch luxury brands like Maguire Aviation and CityCenter by MGM MIRAGE, has developed annual reports for Allergan and Maguire Properties, has created internal branding programs for Countrywide Financial Corporation and has developed original packaging and collateral programs for the Casablanca Fan Company. On every project she undertakes, she consistently strives to develop messaging that is engaging and conceptually centered.
Alexa received a BA in English from Bryn Mawr College. Her work has been featured in InStyle and Country Home magazines, the Print Regional Design Annual, and in major retail outlets like Target and Lowe’s.
Doris J. Senior Designer
A born and bred Angeleno, Doris draws inspiration from the diversity that the city offers. A self-proclaimed perfectionist with a keen eye and attention to detail, she thrives on all the creative and technical challenges involved in seeing a project through from beginning to end. After graduating from the prestigious Art Center College of Design, Doris built her career working in a variety of industries and on both corporate and non-profit accounts including Mattel, NBC Universal, Hilton, USC, The Recording Academy, Los Angeles Public Library, Countrywide, KB Home, and The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Doris loves creating designs tailored to the needs of each and every client, and her work has contributed to some of our most creative solutions.
Jenny D. Senior Designer
Jenny’s ten-year career started in New York, where she worked for branding and packaging firms on prestigious accounts such as Unilever (Dove, Ponds, Caress, Splenda, Acuvue), Revlon, Pepsi Co., Perrier-Jouet, and Johnson & Johnson. Her move to Los Angeles expanded on her branding and packaging experience through work on accounts such as Smith & Hawken, Dole, Pillsbury, Colgate/Palmolive, Disney, Lipton, Bellagio, Wal-Mart and Alpo. Jenny’s designs balance creativity with practicality, and she has contributed to many of our award-winning solutions.
Somsara R. Senior Designer
Somsara’s career has spanned multiple design disciplines, from logos to large-scaled environmental design and virtually everything in between. Her broad experience allows her to approach each new assignment with an open mind and a fresh eye. Driven by conceptual thinking, Somsara blends classical and modern styles in her work, resulting in a timeless and elegant aesthetic. Her longtime love of paper, typography, and printing techniques contribute to her working methods, knowledge of style, and above all the belief that form follows function.
Mike H. Senior Web Developer
Mike has been actively involved in web design and development since 1996. His ability to bridge the gap between these concepts through effective communication and execution has proven crucial to continued client success. Through his thirteen-year career, he has worked with clients spanning many industries in categories including entertainment (Newline Cinema, Paramount Pictures, Capitol Records), commercial (Sony, Gateway, Red Bull), business services (VeriSign, Network Solutions) and associations (National Mentoring Partnership, Alpha Kappa Alpha). Mike’s expertise in the latest techniques and current web trends lends an invaluable contribution to our technology-driven projects.
