Our Philosophy

We Believe Business is About Relationships

We look to be a partner with our clients, helping them achieve business and organizational goals through thoughtful, creative, strategic problem-solving and design—whether visual design, strategy creation or application development. We primarily work with mission-driven organizations; whether they are making news or making soap, we collaborate with them to help them build relationships with their stakeholders—customers, employees, shareholders, community members, suppliers.

The value we get from our relationships goes well beyond the financial. Yes, our clients pay for our work and receive useful services and materials in exchange. But more than that, we share ideas and explore opportunities; we learn about their business and mission, and they learn about an iterative process and standards-based technology implementation. The learning goes in both directions—and the connections are more than transactional.

A Few of Our Philosophical Positions

  • life (and work) is iterative
  • business is based on relationships
  • learning happens through the observation of patterns
  • asking questions provides greater context, and a better understanding of the underlying thinking that is driving a business need
  • small undertakings can be more effective and efficient than big ones
  • start with what you already have

What's in a Name?

  • Duchamp readymade

Found Line—that's two words that are at the core of who we are, what we believe, and how we approach our work. The concept of "found line" is based on the artistic concept of "found object."

Early uses of found objects in art focused on the readymades of artists such as Marcel Duchamp, who shocked the art world with his famous display of a ceramic urinal ("Fountain") in 1917. Pablo Picasso and Kurt Schwitters were among many early proponents of the use of found objects in art, which became an important feature in the work of many schools of art, including the Surrealist, Dadaist, Merz, and Conceptual art movements.

"Found object." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 21 Apr 2008, 00:18 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 25 Apr 2008

The value of "found object" is that new meaning is derived from the re-purposing of an existing object. We help our clients assess what they already have—in assets, resources and ideas—and help them develop the strategies, tools and materials they need to deepen their relationships with customers, communities and stakeholders. We believe in constant, iterative improvement that is based on the foundation that already exists.

  • What We Do

    Our experience includes application development, design (print and web), marketing, and writing.

  • Our Work

    Take a look at the results of our work with our clients.

  • The Team

    We're a team with a broad set of skills and a diverse range of experiences.

  • Get In Touch

    Contact us when you're ready to see if working together would be a good fit.