Pope Joan Design Studio

01/25/2026

01/08/2026

✨ Pope Joan's latest brand strategy and identity project was created for Terese Manfredi, an artist, therapist, and educator who has been working at the intersection of these fields since 1999. With a deep passion for helping people experience the act of creating art, Terese has taught students of all ages, from 3 to 103, sharing both the joy and insight of artistic practice.

Inspired by Portuguese azulejos tilework, the logomark reflects movement, memory, and place. Its palette draws from Terese’s personal and ancestral history, as well as her decades-long work as an artist, educator, and therapist.

Alabaster white honors Italy, reflecting her grandparents’ origins and anchoring the design in lineage. Warm earthy tones, from rust to sunbaked clay, are drawn from Carpanzano, Italy, evoking the architecture, landscapes, and ancestral warmth of her family’s homeland.

At the center of the mark is a sun motif, echoed throughout the design. Its rays take on a subtle diamond-like shape, adding sparkle and geometry. These forms represent continuity and the space between where we have been and who we are becoming, reflecting the interplay of memory, creativity, and personal growth that Terese has explored through her work for decades.

Teal references the Niagara River at Niagara Falls, New York, where her grandparents later relocated, carrying their history into a new landscape. The deep blue and bittersweet hues are drawn from colors within Terese's paintings, linking the mark to her contemporary artistic practice.

The corner elements on the azulejos subtly form the initials T and M for Terese Manfredi. At the same time, the surrounding shapes reference S, B, and Y, Somewhere Between Yesterday, encircling the central sun motif. Together, these elements create a brand rooted in lineage, creativity, and healing, honoring the meaningful in-between spaces where growth, transformation, and insight take place, spaces Terese is now ready to share through her work.

04/04/2025

💪 I’m truly honored to have been entrusted with designing the Stronger Together logo and branding for this year’s PMD Awareness Month through my design studio. As someone who has personally experienced PMDD previously, this project holds deep meaning for me. I understand how isolating and overwhelming PMDD can be, which is why creating a visual identity that embodies resilience, unity, and hope was so important.

Every element of the design reflects the strength of this incredible community, one that uplifts, supports, and reassures us that we are never alone.

Bringing this vision to life across the new website and awareness shop I had the privilege of creating for the International Association for Premenstrual Disorders has been a powerful reminder that we truly are stronger together.

03/13/2025

Nothing better than receiving a review that makes you feel that your efforts, no matter how small, can make a positive contribution to the world right now.

"Your contribution to our organization has been extraordinary through your work on our logo and other design elements. In addition to looking incredible, it perfectly captures our work and mission. After a few years of having a “just something,” we now have a distinct visual identity that has been instrumental in getting us to our next stage as an organization. You are creating a hopeful future with us. Thank you for joining us in making that future possible."

—Chris Widmaier, Executive Director, Rochester Ecology Partners

03/06/2025

A cherished skincare sanctuary has been reimagined with a brand identity and strategy "facial," and I’m excited to share this new chapter for Skintopia. I was asked to rebrand Skintopia Skincare Spa's logo and gladly accepted.

Christina, who I’ve known since we were around five years old (the days splashing in Poppy and Grandma Pearl’s pool!), has poured her heart and soul into her business for fifteen years with genuine kindness, loyalty, and a continued fresh and authentic approach to skincare. She is a rare gem I treasure, constantly inspiring me to tap into my inner creativity and craft a vision that captures her unique spirit.

The bespoke color palette was curated and crafted to celebrate and complement a rich spectrum of skin tones, ensuring a harmonious and inclusive aesthetic. A floral accent infuses the design with a refined, feminine allure—a thoughtful nod to the past and the brand’s enduring roots.

If you’re looking for a haven that celebrates both beauty and sincerity, Skintopia is calling your name. Let Skintopia be your wellness.

11/09/2024

🌿 I am so happy to have worked again with an endearing, repeat client who trusted me with her latest venture. In the past, I have worked on interior design and brand identity projects with her; this time, I was fortunate enough to design a website for Rebecca Stapley and her new business partner, Carolyn Hinton, of Stapley & Hinton Consulting. From brainstorming sessions to the final design, it was about capturing and translating their vision into an authentic and engaging online presence.

Working with repeat clients means building on an established understanding of their style while bringing fresh ideas. This project was about creating a user-friendly, beautiful site supporting their goals from day one.

If you’re launching something new and need branding or an online presence, let’s connect.

11/01/2024

🏡✨ Excited to share my latest project— a bespoke, modern logo designed for the exceptional real estate agent Erin Duffy Kruss. Working with Erin was a delightful experience, and in true Rochester, NY fashion, we discovered several shared connections, including the fact that our parents have known each other for years.

I enjoyed creating this illustration, which combines hand-drawn elements with clean lines and a minimalist aesthetic. My goal for the design was to convey trust and elegance while representing stability and sophistication. I'm pleased with the unique look we developed for her branding.

A huge congratulations to Erin on her fresh new look! It was a joy to collaborate with her and bring her vision to life. I wish her continued success with her new business and growing family!

07/31/2024

When you get to photograph a Section V baseball champ for his senior pictures. 🤩

07/08/2024

All colors are the friends of their neighbors and the lovers of their opposites.
—Marc Chagall

A new color palette that digs deep for meaning and purpose. This entreprenuirial venture is a space that is a safe and nurturing respite amidst the most challenging of seasons in some lives.

More to come.
🤍

07/02/2024

"Two nations divided by a common language.”
—Winston Churchill

Introducing the new website for Fawley Wealth International, a company that specializes (ahem, specialises) in independent wealth planning for UK expatriates. As British expats in the United States, they understand the unique challenges one faces and the advice required to create the best outcomes for one's family.

Fawley Wealth International was formed as a Wealth Planning Practice in 2024 by Miles and Elizabeth Sharpe, following careers in Wealth Management and Investment Banking in London and New York City over the past twenty years.

They aim to disrupt the wealth management industry to empower clients to better understand the value of financial advice and plan-led investment strategies. And they do this with a commitment to clear, justifiable charges, ensuring transparency and trust.

Miles and Elizabeth are like Peter and me, an Englishman married to an American girl from Rochester, New York, who lived together in England for some time and then somehow convinced those Englishmen to move here. So, this one was personal. We have never met our doppelgangers, let alone ones who understand all the ins and outs of wealth management for people like us.

While we might be decent at numbers regarding symmetry and pixels, Miles and Elizabeth are experts in wealth management in this country, the United Kingdom, and those who straddle between the two.

For our friends worldwide connected to any lovely Brits in the United States, please pass this along to them; it might save them while they try to figure out which way to look when crossing the road.

06/11/2024

🌲🌲🌲

This latest brand strategy and identity project was a labor of love for an impressive Rochester, New York, nonprofit. Rochester Ecology Partners improves community connectedness through the power of nature. Their organization enhances individual, community, and environmental well-being and contributes to an educational system that connects people in our city to nature, their places, and each other.

Rochester Ecology Partners serves people in Greater Rochester through nature-based learning and community building, significantly impacting the community. Their mission is to help all people in Greater Rochester find nature where they live, work, and play. They do this through activities connected to nature and hope to facilitate a brighter future for their community through this work.

I am honored to be part of this pursuit and hope to support them further.

🌲🌲🌲

05/16/2024

🎨 When creating a new color palette for a local non-profit that helps people connect with nature, Pope Joan had to capture nature-inspired colors that could be found right in their backyard.

💙 The serene blues and grays from the Cayuga and Canandaigua Finger Lakes and the majestic Lake Ontario.
💚 The vibrant greens mirror the beauty of the pine trees in Highland Botanical Park.
💛 The cheerful yellow was plucked from the back of a native spotted salamander.
🧡 The juicy orange that echoes the autumnal leaves on a local silver maple tree.
❤️ And the fiery red was chosen to reflect the stunning coloring of a local favorite, the sugar maple tree.

After this exercise, I am reminded of how much beauty surrounds me and how lucky I am to call this area of the world my home.