Flyleaf Creative

What Flyleaf Creative does

Flyleaf Creative is a New York-based, woman-owned (WBE-certified) integrated design agency founded in 2009 by Anita Merk, operating with a team of seven professionals. The firm delivers branding and visual identity, web design and development, environmental signage and wayfinding, print collateral and publications, digital marketing, strategic consultation, and project management, all oriented to mission-driven nonprofit clients in performing arts, museums, education, criminal justice reform, and freedom-of-expression advocacy. Long-tenure institutional relationships — most notably a 25-year partnership with St. Ann's Warehouse, alongside recurring work for the Apollo Theater, Hudson Valley Shakespeare, Bard Prison Initiative, PEN America, and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum — define the firm's commercial footprint.

Technically, Flyleaf is a services studio, not a software company. Its core technology stack is composed of industry-standard tools: WordPress for front- and back-end web development, Spektrix for ticketing and donor-management integration on performing-arts client sites, WooCommerce for e-commerce and membership commerce, and standard SEO/SEM, Meta Ads Manager, and Google Analytics tooling for digital marketing campaigns. No proprietary platform, SDK, API, or model is disclosed; environmental signage programs rely on internal design workflows plus coordination with architects (Studio Gang, Beyer Blinder Belle, Marvel, Andrew Berman Architect), structural and landscape consultants, and signage fabricators such as The Factory NYC. ADA-compliant accessibility design is a stated specialty, evidenced by work for the Lavelle Fund for the Blind.

Flyleaf generates revenue through project-based professional services engagements, with fees determined per project scope and complexity rather than published rates or productized SaaS pricing. Go-to-market is sales-led and referral-driven: the firm acquires work through its public portfolio, a sustained record of international design awards (German Design Awards, Indigo Design Awards, Interactive Media Awards, Council on Foundations), and word-of-mouth within the arts, culture, and advocacy communities. Customer concentration is structurally significant given a small team serving a handful of named landmark institutions on multi-year projects, which produces lumpy but high-margin revenue visibility.

Name

Flyleaf Creative

Legal name

Flyleaf Creative, Inc.

Website

https://flyleafcreative.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Flyleaf Creative is a woman-owned, WBE-certified New York design agency providing branding, web design, environmental signage, print, and digital marketing services to nonprofit arts, culture, education, and advocacy organizations, with long-tenure institutional client relationships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Design Services

NAICS

Graphic Design Services (541430)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Integrated Full-Service Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Digital Creative & Experience Design Agencies (Web/App/UX) (MPAAAAAD), Creative & Brand Campaign Development (BPAFAAAB), Wayfinding, Signage & Environmental Graphic Design (BPAHAKAN)

Keywords

• Brand identity design
• Environmental signage
• Web design development
• Nonprofit design services
• Print collateral design

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

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, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Design Services: Professional design services including branding, web design, environmental signage, print collateral, and digital marketing for mission-driven organizations. Revenue generated through project-based client engagements rather than product sales.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Flyleaf Creative provides integrated branding, visual identity, web design and development, environmental signage and wayfinding, print collateral and publications, digital marketing, strategic consultation, and project management services for mission-driven nonprofit organizations. The firm executes project-based design engagements for arts, culture, performing arts, education, criminal justice reform, and freedom-of-expression organizations undergoing major transitions such as rebranding, website overhauls, and physical space development. Service delivery is grounded in collaborative processes that coordinate with architects, contractors, and other project consultants on complex multi-stakeholder initiatives.

Product overview

Flyleaf Creative is a woman-owned integrated branding and design agency offering a comprehensive suite of design services for mission-driven organizations. The company's service portfolio includes Branding & Visual Identity, Web Design & Development (including WordPress and Spektrix ticketing integration), Environmental Signage & Wayfinding, Print Collateral & Publications, Digital Marketing, Strategic Consultation, and Project Management. Flyleaf works primarily with arts and culture organizations, educational institutions, criminal justice reform nonprofits, and freedom of expression organizations. The agency is known for long-standing client relationships, with some partnerships spanning over 25 years (e.g., St. Ann's Warehouse).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Environmental Signage & Wayfinding

Named customers14 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Studio GangcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitecture firm and Architect of Record for Hudson Valley Shakespeare's Samuel H. Scripps Theater Center project. Flyleaf Creative partnered with Studio Gang in 2025 to design environmental signage system for the outdoor campus and open-air theater.
• CharcoalbluecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTheater consultant, lighting, acoustics, and AV firm working on Apollo Theater projects. Collaborated with Flyleaf Creative on lobby experience design and signage program for the Historic Theater renovation and Apollo Stages at Victoria.
• Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & PlannerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitecture firm serving as architect for Apollo Historic Theater renovation project. Partnered with Flyleaf Creative on the comprehensive signage and environmental graphics program.
• Marvel ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign team for St. Ann's Warehouse project - landmarked Tobacco Warehouse restoration into theater space in Brooklyn Bridge Park.
• Tom FruincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSignage artist and sculptor collaborated with Flyleaf Creative on St. Ann's Warehouse project, creating the colored neon marquee installation.
• SpektrixcoreTechnology or IntegrationTicketing platform integrated into client websites by Flyleaf Creative for St. Ann's Warehouse and Weinberg Center for the Arts. Spektrix provides API integration for ticketing, membership, and donor management.
• Andrew Berman ArchitectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitect for MCC Theater's Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space. Worked with Flyleaf Creative on comprehensive signage program for the new Hell's Kitchen facility.
• Architecture OutfitcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitecture firm for Theatre Row renovation project. Partnered with Flyleaf Creative on phased renovation including wayfinding system and lobby supergraphic.
• The Factory NYCminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSignage fabrication partner for Apollo Theater project. Collaborated with Flyleaf Creative on custom signage fabrication.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Pentagram: Largest independently owned global design firm with integrated branding, digital, and environmental design practices. Comparable in design quality and integrated services but operates at much greater scale and broader sector mix.
• Wieden+Kennedy: Large independent global creative agency known for integrated campaigns across brand, digital, and experiential. Comparable in creative caliber and cultural-sector work but operates at far greater scale and broader commercial mix.

Direct peers

• SpotCo: NYC-based advertising and branding agency focused on Broadway, arts, and culture clients. Most directly comparable peer given Flyleaf's VP Tim Falotico's 10-year tenure at SpotCo and overlapping arts/culture nonprofit client base.
• Civilization: NYC- and Portland-based creative agency focused on branding, identity, and digital experiences for cultural, civic, and mission-driven clients. Comparable integrated creative offering and mission-driven positioning.
• Grafik: Washington DC-based integrated branding, marketing, and digital agency with strong cultural, association, and nonprofit practice. Comparable in integrated services and cultural-institution client base.
• Manual: Creative agency building brands, campaigns, and digital products for mission-driven organizations including cultural institutions and nonprofits. Comparable mission-driven focus and integrated creative offering.
• Big Duck: Branding and communications agency exclusively focused on nonprofit organizations, offering strategy, branding, websites, and campaigns. Directly comparable as a nonprofit-specialist design firm with similar service mix.
• The Hatcher Group: Design and communications firm serving nonprofits, foundations, and associations with branding, editorial, and digital services. Comparable in nonprofit specialization and integrated communications offering.
• Carbone Smolan Agency: NYC-based integrated branding, environmental graphic design, and digital agency serving cultural, commercial, and institutional clients. Comparable in integrated service stack and environmental/wayfinding design depth.
• Hyperakt: Brooklyn-based design agency specializing in branding, websites, and publications for social impact nonprofits, foundations, and cultural institutions. Closely comparable in mission-driven positioning, integrated service offering, and nonprofit/arts client roster.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/flyleaf-creative

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Flyleaf Creative