Since 1995 Helen Zhai has been designing and creating branding and communication systems for a variety of national and international clients. She has a strong working knowledge of design- and print-related issues and works closely with the firm’s creative director, Okey Nestor, in developing design strategies and concepts for the firm’s new and ongoing projects.
She is currently actively involved in creating design solutions for many of our clients such as EatingWell Media Group, the American Museum of Natural History, CharlesRich Design I Build, Serluca Tax + Accounting, and many others.
Helen has over 10 years of experience as a graphic designer, manager, and interactive designer. Prior to joining On Design, Helen was design manager at Givaudan Fragrances Corporation in New York, where she oversaw creative development and branding of all of the company’s new products and related print- and interactive-based marketing efforts. Prior to her experience with Givaudan Fragrances, she held a variety of design positions in New York with Symphony Publishing Group, Arrowstreet Inc., International Data Group (IDG), and IDG/CXO Media.
Helen has a diverse design background that spans editorial, branding and packaging, Web sites, interactive, and signage and exhibition design. She holds a College Diploma in Fine Arts degree from Chengdu University in China and is a 2004 B.F.A. honors graduate of Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Her work has been featured in numerous design publications, and she received recent design awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors, Folio, and Ozzie. Helen's graduate presentation portfolio was noted in 2006 by Rockport Publishers in its publication Building Design Portfolios. Helen is a member of AIGA New York and is fluent in Chinese and English.
Brian Jones earned his B.F.A. in communications design at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, and graduated summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA. Before joining On Design, Brian was a designer at one of the largest design agencies in the U.S. — VSA Partners in Chicago — where he was on Jamie Koval’s team working in a fast-paced environment. While at VSA Partners, he helped this highly acclaimed design firm in developing concepts and designs for a variety of national and international brands, including annual reports and collateral materials for Allstate Insurance, Coca-Cola, Nike, and British Petroleum.
Prior to VSA Partners, Brian was with C2 Mavericks in San Francisco, where he was a key strategy and design employee. He handled direct client interaction, wrote proposals, designed print materials, and oversaw the firm’s consulting and technology-based projects from inception through to final delivery.
Brian was also honored in 2006 by being one of only a few designers selected to work on Project M. The Project M program provides opportunities for designers to collaborate in solving larger, and sometimes very practical, design issues facing the world. His team designed print projects to raise both money and awareness for establishing an urban green space in a blighted East Baltimore, Maryland, community.
Brian continues to work on projects that benefit social and nonprofit issues. His design work has been featured in numerous design publications throughout his career, and he is a welcome talent for our staff of designers.
Todd Linkner/Art Director + Senior Designer
Todd has ten years of experience as a graphic and Web designer. He is currently actively involved in creating Web-based solutions for many of our clients such as Craigs Fine Jewelry, EatingWell Media Group, CharlesRich Design I Build, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Migdal Ohr USA, NextLevel SMG and many others. 
Prior to joining On Design, Todd held a senior-level design position at Critical Path Software in Portland, Oregon, where he designed Web projects and spearheaded product development in the Internet Applications Division of the company. He has also gained broad experience in both print and Web projects while working for various design groups, including USWeb/CKS, MarchFirst, Satterwhite Design, the Nautilus Group, and Vizwerks. He is a 1996 graduate of the University of Michigan, and his work has been featured in numerous design publications.
Peter is Managing director of Nextlevel SMG an On Design affiliate, also functions as On Design's strategy director. Peter brings over 14 years of experience in brand and business strategy, marketing and finance as an affiliate of On Design. He has consulted to leading companies in many industries — including consumer products, appliances, space operations, financial services, medical products and electric utilities — to help build and enhance leadership brands. 
He has also consulted to many not-for-profit organizations, including museums, service organizations and professional associations.
Prior to working with On Design, Peter was a Director with Vivaldi Partners, a NY-based brand strategy consultancy, where he headed the Not-for-Profit practice area. Before joining Vivaldi, Peter was a Vice President and Brand Manager at Starwood Hotels and Resorts, where he managed Starwood’s fastest growing brand, Four Points by Sheraton. Before taking on the Four Points role, he was the Global Director of Marketing for Westin Hotels & Resorts. Both brands were recognized by Business Travel News as the top brands in their respective categories.
Peter has worked as a strategy consultant for over 9 years, including five years at CSC Index, the Cambridge-based global consultancy that pioneered business reengineering. Peter also worked in finance and strategic planning at Walt Disney Consumer Products and in corporate finance and investment banking with J.P. Morgan Chase, and ran his own strategic marketing consultancy, which specialized in travel and cultural tourism.
A creative consultant, writer, editor, and a developer of messaging platforms, Nancy Garfinkel has partnered with On Design in developing communications programs and projects for a wide variety of corporate, commercial, and not-for-profit clients. Recent assignments have included annual reports, Web sites, branding strategy, company and product naming, video scripts, publications, product promotions, business development brochures, advertising campaigns, magazine features, technical reports, fund-raising materials, and speeches.
She has taught literature, writing, and business writing at the University at Buffalo of the State University of New York, Pace University, and LaGuardia Community College, respectively.
Nancy holds a Ph.D. in English and American literature.