What sets us apart is what makes us the ideal partner for Downtown West — we take projects from purpose to production with award-winning creativity.

We understand the opportunities and challenges of remarkable projects like Downtown West, from needing to build genuine connections with real people to the complexities of multi-stakeholder engagement and defined budgets. Our senior creative and management team has wide experience working on projects such as this.

A rare combination of industry insight, brand strategy, writing, design and digital capabilities.

Trusted internationally by developers and local government

Our proven process:

Joy Nazzari
Head of Business

Joy started her career in technology equity research until she dove into the Silicon Valley dotcom boom — she spent a year commuting down 280 to Sunnyvale and understands the Bay Area dynamics first hand. Her career quickly transitioned into software and branding for places, where she has been advising clients for nearly 20 years on the importance of relating to people in order to make places successful.

Joy was an immigrant to the US, has lived in three continents and speaks 4 languages, a true San Francisco story.

Joy’s focus is on commercial success of each project, ensuring that brand and execution are relevant and true to product, target audience and objectives. Clients benefit from her business-focused perspective, which complements the team’s creative ability.

— Joy is fluent in 4 languages
— BA (Hons) Economics, University of California at Santa Barbara

Patrick Eley
Creative Director

With over 20 years in the industry, Patrick has broad experience across all disciplines of branding and design – from static print and moving image to wayfinding and immersive environments.

Patrick started his career in design at the ever-pioneering National Theatre, subsequently spending seven years at cultural design heavyweight, Spin. His work in the cultural field is extensive and he has worked with brands across the UK and the world including; Channel 4, MTV, Royal Court Theatre, Whitechapel Gallery, Royal Academy and Deutsche Bank.

Patrick leads the creative direction of all projects at dn&co pushing innovation across the studio and ensuring outputs are impactful and nuanced and truly reflect the ambitions of our clients.

— MA Typo/Graphic Studies, University of the Arts London

Simon Yewdall
Strategy Director

Simon comes from a background in advertising, working at the UK’s biggest agency, AMV BBDO, on brands such as Guinness, Clarks, Aviva, and the V&A.

He has a keen sense for how brands and places communicate and has shaped the tone of voice and brand strategy for places including Broadgate, the Royal Docks, Pier 70 and St James’s, where he was also the editor in chief of its newspaper, The Correspondent.

Simon’s role is to undercover the context in which brands and places compete, advance the strategy and compile a compelling narrative. He is co-author with Joy Nazzari of place branding book, Know Your Place.

— BA (Hons) Illustration, University of Loughborough
— BA (Hons) Geography, University of Durham

Luis Mendoza
US Lead

Luis comes from an editorial and commercial background in television and print including Monocle magazine, the lifestyle media brand on cities and good design. He led branded content projects for the likes of Nike, BMW, The Peninsula Hotels or Tourism of Japan.

At dn&co he works across projects with a multidisciplinary approach including research, brand strategy, content and creative strategy and business development.

Luis leads dn&co’s US projects and has a deep understanding of the Bay Area’s idiosyncrasies through his work on large-scale projects such as Pier 70. He has undertaken extensive community engagement and established ties with key members of the community and organisations in the area.

— Bilingual in English and Spanish
— LLB Law,
— BA (Hons) Journalism,
— BA (Hons) Media studies, Carlos III University of Madrid

Zoë Barrett
Account Director

Zoë has extensive experience managing large-scale multi-stakeholder projects. Over the last five years at dn&co, Zoë she has managed Television Centre’s £10 million marketing budget, helped launch the brand for Birmingham’s creative neighbourhood Digbeth, and delivered the Museum of the Home’s repositioning, rebrand and wayfinding as part of a £18.1 million capital project.  
 
She has recently overseen the wayfinding strategy and design for the V&A’s seven miles of galleries in South Kensington.  
 
Zoë acts as the day-to-day contact for clients across all aspects of a project. She will manage design and production schedules while keeping within the budget.  
 
— BA (Hons) Graphic Design, University of Kingston

Sam Jones
Design Director

With 10 years experience, Sam has worked with brands in a variety of sectors – ranging from an extensive rebrand of outdoor clothing company, Regatta, to developing an identity for Monotype, the world’s largest font technology company. At dn&co, he has led several large-scale place identity projects for Broadgate and Digbeth, and, more recently, created the new identity for the Museum of the Home based in East London.  His work had been recognised by Creative Review, Eye and the International Society of Typography Designers, in which his work was awarded 2 ISTD Premier awards.

Sam runs the design team day-to-day and ensures the creative vision is fully visualised.

— BA (Hons) Graphic Design, Cambridge School of Art
— MA Graphic Design, University of the Arts London