Design At Work

What Design At Work does

Design At Work is a Houston-based, founder-owned full-service marketing and branding agency founded in 1990 by John Lowery. The firm operates from a single office at 3701 Kirby Drive in Houston and targets mid-sized businesses seeking an embedded marketing partner as an alternative to DIY marketing, freelance hires, or large advertising holding-company networks. Its core services span four pillars — Branding, Marketing, Digital Marketing, and Web Development — with specialized modules for email newsletters, social media graphics, PPC campaign management, press releases, milestone/anniversary marketing, and direct mail. The team comprises approximately ten in-house professionals covering account direction, copywriting, graphic design, digital marketing, and web development, led by founder-CEO John Lowery and Executive Vice President Kelcey Hesse.

The agency's business model is professional services revenue generated through custom project work and recurring monthly retainer arrangements with mid-market clients. Pricing is custom-quoted rather than published, and the firm emphasizes transparent costs, flexible terms, and a single point of contact per client. Customer segments are described horizontally across mid-size B2B companies with named references spanning hospitality (American Liberty Hospitality), manufacturing (Metallic Products), healthcare (Nexus Health Systems), insurance (Brady Chapman Holland & Associates), and small professional-services firms. Go-to-market is sales-led and direct, relying on consultative outreach via website contact forms, phone/email, and word-of-mouth referrals from existing long-tenured clients.

Design At Work has received regional industry recognition including Best Branding Agency and Best Advertising Agency in Houston (Expertise, 2024), the AMA Houston SEO Award (2020), and four consecutive years on Houston's Best & Brightest Companies to Work For (2021–2024). The firm is privately held with no disclosed institutional funding, no parent company, no M&A activity, and no patents or proprietary technology platforms; its value delivery is grounded in human creative expertise and decades of operating history in the Houston market.

Name

Design At Work

Legal name

Design At Work

Website

https://designatwork.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Design At Work is a Houston-based, founder-owned full-service marketing and branding agency founded in 1990 that delivers branding, digital marketing, and web development services to mid-sized businesses through in-house creative teams and custom retainer engagements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marketing and Branding Services

NAICS

Graphic Design Services (541430), Graphic Design Services (54143)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Creative & Experience Design Agencies (Web/App/UX) (MPAAAAAD)

Keywords

• Marketing agency services
• Branding and identity
• Digital marketing solutions
• Web development services
• Creative advertising services

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Marketing and Branding Services: Design At Work generates revenue through professional services including branding, marketing, digital marketing, and web development services. The agency offers customized monthly plans and marketing visions for clients, suggesting recurring retainer-based arrangements alongside project-based work. Services are delivered by an in-house team of account directors, copywriters, graphic designers, digital specialists and web developers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Design At Work is a Houston-based full-service marketing and branding agency that provides integrated marketing services to mid-sized businesses. Its offerings span brand identity development, marketing strategy and campaigns, digital marketing (SEO, PPC, social, email), and web design/development, delivered by an in-house team of writers, designers, digital specialists and web developers under customized monthly plans with a single point of contact per client.

Product overview

Design At Work is a full-service marketing and branding agency offering a comprehensive suite of marketing services. The agency provides core service areas including Branding, Marketing, Digital Marketing, and Web Development, with specialized modules for Email Newsletter Services, Social Media Graphics, PPC Campaign Management, Press Release Services, Milestone Marketing, and Direct Mail Advertising. The agency operates as a unified in-house team offering integrated marketing communication strategies to help businesses build brands, drive growth, and maintain market relevance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Branding Services
• Marketing Services
• Digital Marketing Services
• Web Development Services
• Email Newsletter Services
• Social Media Graphics
• PPC Campaign Management
• Press Release Services
• Milestone Marketing
• Direct Mail Advertising

Quantifiable outcome

• 112% ROI from letter-sized direct mail campaigns (industry benchmark from Association of National Advertisers study cited in agency content)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Ogilvy: Global advertising and marketing network with comprehensive branding, digital, and PR capabilities. Functions as a broad incumbent competitor whose pricing and scale set the ceiling for mid-market agency engagements.
• McCann Worldgroup: Global full-service advertising and marketing network offering branding, digital, and integrated campaign capabilities across all major verticals. Represents the scale incumbent that mid-market independents like DAW compete against on enterprise pursuits.

Direct peers

• SmartBug Media: Full-service inbound marketing and branding agency serving mid-market clients with content, design, and digital services. Comparable in size, integrated-services approach, and mid-market target segment.
• Tinsley Advertising: Texas-based full-service advertising and marketing agency with similar mid-market focus and integrated service offering. Operates in comparable regional markets with overlapping creative capabilities.
• Argentum Strategy Group: Houston-based brand strategy and marketing agency serving B2B and consumer clients. Comparable to DAW in its mid-market positioning, brand-led offering, and Houston regional service area.
• CKW Marketing & Communications: Austin/Houston B2B marketing agency with branding, digital, and content capabilities targeting mid-market and enterprise clients. Similar service mix and Texas regional footprint to DAW.
• Sagefrog Marketing Group: B2B marketing agency offering integrated branding, digital, and content services to mid-market clients across industries. Directly comparable business model with similar integrated-services positioning.
• The Fuze Group: Houston-based full-service marketing agency serving mid-market and enterprise clients across multiple verticals. Directly comparable to Design At Work in service breadth (branding, digital, web), Houston regional focus, and integrated team model.
• BuzzShift: Dallas-based digital-first marketing agency with branding, paid media, and content capabilities for mid-market clients. Overlapping Texas regional presence and service portfolio with DAW.

Regional players

• Rhythm Agency: Houston-based creative and brand agency offering design, content, and integrated marketing services. Comparable service mix and Houston regional focus, with slightly different category emphasis.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/designatwork
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/design-at-work
• Instagraminstagram.com/design_at_work
• Xx.com/growyourbaby

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Design At Work