Quesinberry and Associates | who is this Q&A?
A design firm specializing in marketing and graphic design for the hospitality, food, travel and leisure industries. Our forte? Creating and marketing brands that provide experiences. The things that give the spice to life. This happens to coincide with our philosophy: Create with passion, dare to be different and have fun.
Wendy Quesinberry :: Principal / Creative Director
Wendy had a full year of art classes under her elastic waistband by the time this photo was snapped, and her creative aspirations have never waned. She brings 20 years of design work and strategic brand development to the table, having worked on projects for clients such as Consolidated Restaurants, Holland America Line, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Strategic Hotels & Resorts, Microsoft and UPS. Wendy was also a former AIGA Seattle chapter president, and had a feature moment of fame. Follow her food blog here.
Wendy Quesinberry :: Interviewed by her mother, Sharon Quesinberry
SQ: Hi there Winnie Bug!
WQ: Mom, let’s keep this professional.
SQ: Sure. Since I don’t really understand what you do, to prepare for this interview, I called a few of your clients…
WQ: Oh God, please tell me you’re kidding.
SQ: … and they were very happy with whatever you did for them.
WQ: You didn’t ask for anything free, did you?
SQ: I did get a couple of gift certificates, it was really nice. Anyway’s, tell me why should someone work with Q&A?
WQ: Wow, nice segue. People should choose Q&A because we care about client success. We have clients we’ve worked with for over ten years. They’ve stayed with us because we listen, we’re good stewards of their brands, and we look for growth opportunities. We make sure they get noticed.
SQ: What’s with the photo?
WQ: That’s outside Siem Reap, Cambodia. We were coming back from Angkor Wat and all the kids were heading home from school. I just love the calm this little girl displays balancing on that bike down those dusty, bumpy, roads. When you’re a kid, so much of your fate is in the hands of another pilot.
Todd Christensen :: Senior Designer / General Smarty-Pants
Mr. Christensen not only designs, he also manages the interactive and production aspects of the studio. After a rough start as a grip in the movie business, he has pursued a career in marketing, advertising and design for nearly 15 years. He has worked for DDB Seattle, Hunt Marketing Group and Cole & Weber on such accounts as Kentucky Fried Chicken, Nestlé, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft and Nintendo.
Mr. Christensen spent his formative years as an Army brat in humid and faraway places.
While normal American children were watching “Gilligan’s Island” and eating PopTarts, our poor Mr. Christensen was doing morning PT, running in horror from football-sized, tree-climbing land crabs and eating roasted iguana. This explains a lot about our dear Mr. Christensen. Eventually, after moving to the UK, he shed his feral nature and embraced the finer things civilization has to offer. Like his fondness for Jiu-Jitsu and kickboxing. And his obsession with the film Planet of the Apes.
QA: What’s with the photo?
TC: The first exhausting night of our most recent stay in Paris. It’s January on the corkscrew streets of Le Marais and we’re trying to find our apartment.
Debbi Amsbary :: Account Manager
The taskmaster and keeper of schedules. Debbi is the Alpha and Omega of all the work as it comes in and goes out. She has over 10 years of project management experience, previously working at Hacker Group and Rauxa Direct for clients such as AAA, Hilton Hotels, Nike, Washington Mutual and World Vision.
QA: What’s with the photo?
DA: Hawaii is the best place on Earth. Crystal-clear blue water, warm weather with a slight breeze, gorgeous flowers, the air smells so sweet, friendly people, shrimp and mahi mahi, macadamia-nut pancakes, “island time” (laid-back lifestyle, no clocks). I can slow down and simply enjoy the moment. I’m often on the go, looking at the clock and living by my calendar at home. The clock doesn’t exist in Hawaii. Did I mention pancakes?
QA: So what’s more fun? Surfing or hula dancing?
DA: I haven’t experienced either. I would guess surfing. I’m adventurous and willing to try new things (love the ocean — snorkeling is my thing). I couldn’t dance to save my life — no rhythm whatsoever.
QA: So much for your involvement in the Q&A Break Dancing Squad.
QA: And why do you work in the graphic design/marketing biz?
DA: I wanted to be a vet or a reporter. But I wouldn’t be a good veterinarian because I’d cry when animals were hurt (love animals!), and I’m horrible in front of the camera (so out with broadcast investigative journalist). My third occupational choice was advertising/marketing. I love working with a diverse group of creative individuals accomplishing one goal. The campaign path taken is unique for each client/company we represent. That’s what I should tell people. But secretly I like telling people what to do all day long.
QA: So. We’re a third choice?
DA: Don’t be like that. It’s still like working with animals. Cute animals. Like herding cats.
Shuo Meng :: Designer
Shuo makes everything sing with fine detail. A Jersey girl, she zipped around the Eastern Seaboard, starting her career in the Big Apple. Then while visiting Seattle on a sunny day, she chose to call the Northwest her new home.
QA: What’s with the photo?
SM: I went on a Highway 101 road trip, starting in Seattle and going all the way to San Francisco. During the trip, I was introduced to the wonders known as roadside attractions. Twenty-five-foot tall statues, ten parking spots to choose from, and only fifteen dollars to enter. This is America’s Golden Age of Travel at its best. I knew it, and I readily embraced it.
QA: What’s your favorite PMS color?
SM: Pantone 292. It’s the first Pantone color I was introduced to and that was through The Magnetic Fields’ “Reno Dakota”:
Reno Dakota there’s not an iota of kindness in you / You know you enthrall me and yet you don’t call me / It’s making me blue, Pantone 292…
QA: Do you prefer tropical destinations or alpine adventures?
SM: Alpine. Bring on the dehydrated meat!
QA: If you didn’t do design, what would you do?
SM: Pastry chef…or food taster!
Fisher :: Client Relations / Senior Squirrel-Threat Advisor
Mr. Fisher keeps the evil squirrel conspiracy at bay. Because of his blog, he is quite the celebrity. Luckily, he works for cheap.
Quiet. Dignified. Smart. Furry.
These are the qualities that best describe our most faithful co-worker. Fisher was a sad little rescue we got from the Humane Society back in 1999. His litter was thrown away for the sins of his parents. See, his mother chased cows. So her pups were disposable. They lived feral, neglected for months in a cow pasture. Surviving on who knows what. After being removed for the first time from his littermates, he didn’t wag his tail or make a peep for the first year we had him. Then slowly, as we brought him to work with us, he opened up. We could never have predicted how he would brighten and enrich our lives and, yes, our business.
Friends and Associates of Q&A
Here is our rotating list of partners, people, organizations and businesses we admire and respect. Pay them a visit.
AIGA and AIGA Seattle.
AIGA, the professional association for design, is the place design professionals turn to first to exchange ideas and information, participate in critical analysis and research, and advance education and ethical practice.
Design Can Change.
A website dedicated to the belief that the design industry can make positive change in climate-related issues by working together. It is a resource to create community and encourage sustainable practices.
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Cystic fibrosis [CF] is an inherited, chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 children and adults in the United States (70,000 worldwide). In the 1950s, few children with CF lived to attend elementary school. Today, advances in research and medical treatments have further enhanced and extended life for children and adults with CF. Many people with the disease can now expect to live into their 30s, 40s and beyond.
Joseph Gray/Grauwald Creative
Joe is a talented programmer and artist whose unique mad skillz have been crucial in developing back-end solutions and content management systems for us and our clients. He’s creative and a gear-head!
Hollingsworth Photography.
John E. specializes in portraiture and environmental photography. And pictures of couches.
Usher Creative.
Specializing in making houses and interiors look real pretty. Pretty real estate photography.
Scott Areman Photography.
Beautiful, high-end commercial photography.
Diane Padys Photography.
Creating a feast for the eyes with amazing food photography. And more.
George Pfromm Illustration.
Prolific comic artist, animator and illustrator with old-school style and a dark wit.
Tim Gabor Illustration.
You’ve already seen Tim’s unique work and didn’t know it. From Foo Fighters album covers to magazines.
