Kansas City · Brand & Design Studio

We Make
Brands
Worth
Remembering.

HarborPoint Design Studio crafts brand identities, visual systems, and digital experiences for Kansas City businesses who understand that design is not decoration — it is strategy made visible. From Westport, we've built the identities of 140+ Midwest companies.

Start a ProjectSee Our Work →
AIGA KC Member
140+ Brands Built
8yr Westport Studio
KC Award Winner
Brand Identity◆ Web Design◆ Visual Strategy◆ Kansas City
Brand Identity◆Web Design◆Visual Systems◆Creative Strategy◆Packaging◆Art Direction◆Kansas City MO◆ Brand Identity◆Web Design◆Visual Systems◆Creative Strategy◆Packaging◆Art Direction◆Kansas City MO◆
Selected Work

Recent Projects

Brand Identity · KC Restaurant Group

The Foundry KC

Full brand identity for a new Kansas City restaurant concept — logo, visual system, menus, environmental graphics, and website.

Visual System · Tech Startup

Meridian Software

Brand architecture and visual identity for a 3-product SaaS platform — scalable design system and website.

Packaging · Food & Beverage

Prairie Pantry Co.

Complete packaging redesign for a Kansas City artisan food brand — 12 SKUs across 4 product lines.

View All Work
HarborPoint Design Studio Westport Kansas City creative workspaceHarborPoint brand identity design work Kansas City
140+Brands Built
About the Studio

Design That Builds
Real Businesses

Founded in 2016 by creative director Mara Ellison on Westport Road in Kansas City, HarborPoint Design Studio was built on a conviction that is still at the center of every project we take on: design that doesn't connect directly to business outcomes isn't worth billing for.

We are a focused studio — eight designers, two strategists, one writer, and a project manager — which means every client works directly with the senior designers doing their work. There are no account managers, no juniors briefing seniors, and no creative directors who don't open the files. The people you meet are the people who build your brand.

Our clients range from single-location Kansas City restaurants to 200-person Missouri companies. What they have in common is a belief that their brand is worth taking seriously — and a willingness to do the strategic work that makes the creative work actually matter.

Meet the Studio
What We Do

Studio Services

01

Brand Identity

Complete brand identity systems — logo, color, typography, visual language, and the brand guidelines documentation that keeps everything coherent as your business grows. We design brands that work at every scale, in every medium, for the next decade, not just the next campaign.

  • Logo Design & Symbol Development
  • Color Palette — Primary, Secondary, Application Rules
  • Typography Selection & Hierarchy
  • Visual Language & Graphic Elements
  • Brand Guidelines — Print-Ready PDF Deliverable
  • Brand Application — Business Cards, Letterhead, Signage
  • Brand Architecture — Multi-Brand and Sub-Brand Systems
02

Web Design & Digital

Brand-aligned website design that converts visitors — not just a digital business card, but an online presence that earns its place in your sales funnel. Every HarborPoint website design is accompanied by a conversion strategy and handed off with a full design system that your developer or our development partners can implement with precision.

  • Website Design — Strategy, Wireframes, Visual Design
  • E-Commerce Design — Shopify, WooCommerce
  • Landing Page Design
  • Design System — Component Library, Style Guide
  • UX Research & Information Architecture
  • Digital Ad Creative — Social, Display, Email Templates
03

Creative Strategy

Brand strategy for Kansas City businesses at inflection points — a rebrand, a new product launch, a competitive market entry, or a company that has grown beyond the brand it started with. We frame the strategic questions, run the research, and translate the findings into the creative brief that guides every downstream design decision.

  • Brand Audit — Current State Assessment
  • Competitive Landscape Analysis
  • Brand Positioning & Differentiation
  • Naming — Company, Product, Service Line
  • Messaging Framework & Brand Voice
  • Creative Brief Development
  • Brand Launch Strategy
04

Print & Packaging

Physical brand expression — packaging design, print collateral, environmental graphics, and the production oversight that ensures the files we design become the objects you hold. HarborPoint has designed packaging for 18 Kansas City consumer product brands, with production runs from 500 to 500,000 units.

  • Packaging Design — Structure, Graphic, Copy Hierarchy
  • Print Collateral — Brochures, Catalogs, Sales Sheets
  • Environmental Graphics — Retail, Office, Event
  • Trade Show Displays & Event Materials
  • Annual Reports & Corporate Publications
  • Production Supervision — Vendor Selection, Print Management
Process

How We Work

Four phases, consistent process, no surprises. Our process is documented, shared with clients before we start, and followed without shortcuts.

01

Discovery

Brand audit, stakeholder interviews, competitive analysis, and audience research. We do not skip the homework. Discovery is the work that makes the creative work correct rather than just interesting.

02

Strategy

Positioning, naming (if applicable), and the creative brief. This is the document every downstream decision references. We present strategy before we design anything.

03

Design

Two directions, full executions, no half-baked concepts. We show complete brand applications — not just logos on a white background — so you can evaluate design in context.

04

Delivery

Brand guidelines, file package, and a handoff call. You leave with everything you need to use your brand correctly without calling us — and we're still available when you do.

Client Results

Work That Performs

Restaurant · Kansas City

The Foundry KC

Brand identity from scratch for a new Kansas City restaurant concept. Opening month revenue 40% above projections, with the brand cited specifically in early press coverage as setting the visual standard for the Crossroads dining scene.

+40%vs Revenue Goal
8 WeeksDelivery
Press ✓KC Magazine
Consumer Goods · Missouri

Prairie Pantry Co.

Packaging redesign for a 12-SKU artisan food brand. Regional retail buyer at Price Chopper called the redesign "the primary reason" they expanded shelf placement from 3 to 22 stores across Missouri.

22 StoresDistribution
+180%YoY Revenue
12 SKUsRedesigned
SaaS · Kansas City

Meridian Software

Brand architecture and visual identity for a 3-product SaaS platform preparing for Series A. Lead investor cited the brand as "demonstrably more mature than most Series A-stage companies" in their investment memo.

$4.2MSeries A Raised
3 ProductsBrand System
12 WeeksStrategy + Design
Client Voices

What Clients Say

"
Every design studio we'd worked with before HarborPoint showed us logo options before they'd asked us a single question about our business. Mara and her team spent three weeks in discovery before they put a pencil to paper. When the creative came, it was correct in a way that had nothing to do with taste and everything to do with understanding what we were trying to accomplish. The brand they built for us has held up for four years without a single update. That's the standard.
Kansas City restaurant owner HarborPoint review
James WhitfieldOwner, The Foundry KC
"
The packaging redesign was the best investment we've made since launching the company. A regional buyer we'd been pitched by three times without success approved an expanded shelf placement within two weeks of seeing the new packaging. HarborPoint understood the retail environment and designed for how buyers actually evaluate products on a shelf — not how designers present concepts in a portfolio.
Kansas City food brand founder HarborPoint packaging review
Sarah ChenFounder, Prairie Pantry Co.
"
Our lead investor mentioned our brand specifically as a signal of company maturity — that was a direct result of HarborPoint's work. They didn't just design a logo; they built a visual system that made a 14-person company look like it knew exactly what it was doing. That credibility was worth money in our fundraising process.
Kansas City SaaS CEO HarborPoint brand review
Marcus LeeCEO, Meridian Software
New Project

Ready to Build a Brand
Worth Remembering?

Every HarborPoint project begins with a 45-minute discovery call — no credentials presentation, no case study parade, just an honest conversation about your business and your brand challenge. We take 6–8 new projects per year, and we're selective about which ones we accept, because the quality of the work depends on the quality of the fit.

Start the ConversationCall (816) 531-4370
HarborPoint Design Studio Kansas City Westport creative team workspace