Friends of Ours is a scalable studio of trusted designers, strategists, artists, architects, makers, and more.

Inventive collaborations that inspire one-of-a-kind brand expressions.

Featured design, creative direction, and production by Julie, Kimberly, and collaborators for past and present clients, projects, and studios.

Friends of Ours exists as a response to the ever-expanding ways that brands are being experienced.

We are multidisciplinary designers with backgrounds in media and graphic production, as well as editorial, architectural, and interior design industries.

The two of us have focused our careers on brands and their environments, and we’ve collected some amazing collaborators over the years.

We formed a creative partnership excited about how our unique design paths could complement and propel the work that we do for you. 

Together, our expertise lies in designing and defining comprehensive visual identities and brand experiences with a curatorial approach to teaming that ensures efficient projects and original design expressions.

  • Creative Partner

    Design Path: Publishing, Branding, Experiential

    With extensive experience leading and strategizing projects, managing designers and fabricators, and being a liaison with clients and stakeholders, she knows how to take a project across the finish line.

    After a multidisciplinary path in Fine Arts, Mass Communications, and Cognitive Science at Texas Tech University, Julie completed an intensive studies graduate program at New York University’s Publishing Institute.

    Her career started in editorial and book design, but after seven years as the Art Director for Texas Architect Magazine, her design interests naturally expanded into the built environment.

    She has been responsible for establishing and communicating visual identity across media and sense-of-place throughout the built environment. She is a detail-oriented, deadline-focused conceptual thinker who brings storytelling to life.

    When she’s not designing, she’s traveling and spending as much time outdoors as possible.

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  • Creative Partner

    Design Path: Film, Architecture, Storytelling

    Following her BFA in Film, Video, and New Media from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), she worked on commercial production sets in Los Angeles absorbing the art and choreography of storytelling. Over time, she developed a fascination with spatial stories in our everyday environments and returned to SAIC to earn a Master in Architecture with emphasis in Interior Architecture.

    Now blending both the film and architectural fields, her work is focused on designing experiential brands driven by storylines.

    Kimberly is originally from St. Louis, Missouri. She has also had the opportunity to reside on both US coasts and study film and architecture in Cuba, Japan, and Italy.

    She’s at her best in the field, in the workshop, and discovering new places. When she’s not in design mode, you’ll find her digging in her garden.

“Our expertise and strong cross-industry relationships allow us to identify and develop imaginative and intelligent brand experiences.”

— Kimberly and Julie

  • Julie Pizzo and Kimberly Richter are both multidisciplinary designers and they have managed, designed, and directed established and emerging brands differentiating them in the market and expressing their voice in multimedia, print, and the built environment for 17+ years.

    Notably working at Ridley Scott & Associates, HBO, Conde Nast, Gensler, Perkins&Will, Page, International Interior Design Association (IIDA), Texas Society of Architects (AIA), and Texas Architect Magazine.

    “There’s an energy around this particular era of design that we’re both super excited by as it demands versatile cross-medium thinking to genuinely connect people to spaces and places.

    It requires comprehensive and overarching vision, an interplay of fields, and agile foresight. This is our sweet spot and the impetus for Friends of Ours.”

    — Kimberly and Julie

  • We have been fortunate to collaborate with experts from a variety of creative fields over the course of our careers. Our teaming approach brings select experts to the table that are invested in collaborating to advance your vision.

    We all know and appreciate the magic of diverse perspectives to create one-of-a-kind results.

    Our Collective Services

    Project Oversight
    Creative Direction
    Art Curation
    Place, Cultural and Brand Strategy
    Brand Activations
    Graphic Design
    Experiential Design
    Environmental Design

  • Tell us your goals, vision, and all the ins and outs of your project, and we’ll help you develop a unique game plan!

    We work with you to determine the services and partners that are most appropriate for your immediate needs and what you need to grow.

    We provide oversight and act as a client liaison through the duration of the project to ensure the richest, financially smart, and most clearly communicated brand ecosystem.

    “We’re much more interested in advancing an untapped style of collaboration than playing out a business model we already know.”

    — Kimberly and Julie

a few things we value

Supporting and Elevating Each Other — Respectful Communication — Creative Curiosity — Collaborative Natures — Collaborating with Nature — Emotional Fluency — Change — Admiration for All Kinds — Good People — Purposeful Work — Field Fluidity — Original Stories — Listening —  Trusting our Instincts — Trusting your Instincts

“I like efficiency and Julie makes me even more efficient than normal.”

One of the best assets I have is my friend Julie Pizzo who is not only an exceptionally good designer, but also excels at art direction. Working with her is a dream: she always has an incredibly clear concept of what she needs/wants, and as such we are able to plan, execute and deliver a wealth of content to her clients with ease and in record time. 

Lauren Lindley
Lauren Lindley Photography

“I love feeling like a friend rather than a client.”

Kimberly has a unique ability to connect with her clients.  She is thorough in her research and is able to connect on a personal level to really understand what is driving design decisions. 

The best part of feeling like a friend is that everyone can voice their opinions without fear. 

Lisa Hale-Meindl 
Greystar, Senior Director, Real Estate Operations

“There are few people that I know who garner client respect and appreciation as Kimberly does.”

I have enjoyed working with Kimberly for over fifteen years. The designs are compelling and beautiful and always push me to think further. The process is professional yet friendly. The outcome is always “spot on” in every respect. 

Chuck Plockmeyer
Xibitz Inc., Client Lead, Fabrication Development