Who We Are
Based in Baltimore, the small but mighty team at KTD Creative customizes marketing strategies to help organizations achieve their goals.
We are a small team and our skills, strengths, and abilities complement each other to achieve wondrous results for our clients.
Chief Marketer & Creative Director:
Kate Tallent
Kate leads the strategic direction of all marketing initiatives at KTD Creative. With more than 25 years of experience helping clients across industries develop their brands and messaging, she brings both creative vision and strategic insight to every project.
She creates and implements content marketing strategies that integrate brand identity with supporting collateral and provides full creative direction from concept to completion. An award-winning graphic designer, Kate is known for her sharp eye for detail, outstanding client service, and her infectious enthusiasm — qualities that make her a next-level project manager.
Kate earned a B.S. in Fine Art with a concentration in Printmaking from Towson University and an M.A. in Publications Design from the University of Baltimore, a distinctive program blending writing and graphic design. She has also taught graduate and undergraduate design courses at American University, the University of Baltimore, and Towson University.
When she’s not leading creative projects, Kate enjoys hiking with her dog Kaito, reading, sipping oat milk mochas, watching documentaries, and spending time with family and friends.
Check out Kate’s interview from 2022 with 7News & WJLA 24-7 ABC News Sports Anchor Scott Abraham about the new logo design for the Washington, DC Commanders football team here.
Senior Graphic Designer:
Holly Morgan Barnard
Holly knows brands — and what makes people fall in love with them. Before joining KTD Creative, she managed the creative development of successful advertising and direct marketing campaigns across a range of industries, bringing both strategic insight and artistic vision to every project.
At KTD Creative, Holly plays a key role in every phase of print and digital design — from concept and layout to final production. Her ability to deeply understand client needs and offer creative solutions beyond expectations strengthens and elevates every brand she touches.
Holly earned a B.F.A. in Visual Communications from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). Her career includes senior design and art direction roles with Wolters Kluwer Health – Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Catalpha Advertising, Siquis Agency, and Planit Advertising.
When she’s not designing, Holly enjoys gardening, playing drums in her rock band, and spending time with family and friends.
Senior Graphic Designer:
Ethan Duran
Ethan’s expertise spans both print and digital media, and he excels at managing complex design projects from concept through delivery. Known for his innovative approach, meticulous attention to detail, and strategic creativity, Ethan brings strong leadership and a passion for visual storytelling to every project he undertakes.
He earned a B.A. in Magazine Journalism with a specialization in Photography from the University of Georgia and an M.A. in Publications Design from the University of Baltimore.
Ethan’s award-winning work has been recognized multiple times for excellence in publication design and photography. His accolades include the 2020 GLGA Graphics Excellence Award (Best of Category, Directories & Source Book – NAPA Black Book 2019), multiple Graphic Design USA American Inhouse Design Awards for publication design, and The Communicator Award of Excellence in Magazine Photography (Saint Martin 2016), among others.
When he’s not designing, Ethan enjoys exploring local flea markets and curating his two photo blogs.
Design Intern:
Grant Heinicke
Grant is a senior at the University of Maryland, College Park, where he’s pursuing a B.A. in Graphic Design. As KTD Creative’s intern, he contributes to a wide range of projects — from keeping the website current to assisting with advertisements and design production.
After graduation, Grant hopes to join a design firm like KTD Creative, where he can make his mark in marketing and branding through bold, imaginative design.
Outside of work, Grant enjoys creating art, playing video games, heading to the beach, and performing with the Mighty Sound of Maryland marching band.
Fun Fact:
Friends for over 30 years, before KTD Creative was a company, Kate and Holly made music together in a Baltimore-based band called Secret Crush Society. They met while in college and lived across the hall from each other. Ethan and Kate met in graduate school in the 1990s at the University of Baltimore — they both appreciated each other’s sartorial flair and became fast friends.
We’ve hired KTD Creative on a range of large- and small-scale design projects over the past year, and their ability to pivot and scale to meet our evolving needs has been outstanding. We also engaged Kate as a Communications Consultant, and she seamlessly integrated with our team—navigating multiple deadlines and shifting priorities with professionalism and ease. Working with KTD Creative has been a consistently positive experience, and I wouldn’t hesitate to work with them again (and again, and again)!
KTD Creative has completely renovated our organization’s marketing output with their hard work and inventive solutions. Between a comprehensive rebranding and many specialized campaigns, Kate and her team have delivered our vision in a graceful, thoughtful and robust way. Lovely collaborators, beautiful work!
Our nonprofit organization hired KTD Creative to design a handbook. We had never produced anything like it. The team was patient in the face of our extending deadlines and stayed in great touch with us for all of the revisions.
I used KTD Creative for my WordPress website design, logo and identity system. KTD is professional and they have great ideas to capture the type of service I provide for clients. Their attention to detail and the quality of their product from design and text to the completion and start up of the website was flawless. KTD makes it all seem easy and not only are they extremely competent, are easy to work with as well. I recommend KTD Creative and their design services most highly.
Working with KTD to design and launch the website for our consulting practice Rally Point for Collaborative Change was a great experience. Jacob was the principle designer and Kate the project director, who brought her years of experience to the process of developing every aspect of the website. When we had to put the project on hold for a number of months, they were very understanding and supportive. It was truly a collaborative process – and KTD listened to our needs and our ideas which were incorporated into the design. Often they knew what we needed better than we did. We definitely recommend KTD for website design.
Amazing. Professional. Cutting edge. We hired KTD Design to help us brand our restaurant. Kate and her team provided us with gorgeous illustrations, logos, menu design, business cards and good advice. Kate was always on time with her delivery, and kept up a great line of communication. This team has great ideas and are wonderful to work with.
KTD Creative has a solid team of good graphic designers, continuously providing high quality products in a timely manner. They are happy to accommodate your timeline and their customer service is very good.
KTD Creative designed a very appealing and dynamic Drupal CMS and web site design for the Maryland/Israel Development Center which is a non-profit membership organization that promotes trade and investment between Maryland and Israeli companies. The site design has been very well received and assisted us in helping us to achieve our goals.
KTD Creative is a awesome company. Kate and her team are so easy and fun to work with. They take their time to listen and really learn about your company and provides excellent high quality designs for business logos, and overall rebranding. I have enjoyed each phase of my rebranding working with KTD Creative. I highly recommend using KTD Creative for all your design needs.
From start to finish KTD Creative was very professional to deal with. They did what they said would do, when they said they would do it, and delivered an outstanding brochure design for my company. KTD Creative went above and beyond what was promised. Thanks KTD.
I had an absolutely amazing experience with KTD Creative! I met with Kate and went over my needs, budget, and the purpose of my organization. Throughout the entire process, she was responsive, understanding of my needs and style, and a consummate professional across the board. I would happily endorse KTD for anyone looking for a graphic design firm and I genuinely look forward to working with Kate again on future projects.
Working with KTD Creative to design a logo for my business was a delight! Taking the time to learn about who I am and what I’m doing in my work, they got to the essence of my value and brought it to life through their art. The conversation was both evocative and illuminating. I’m thrilled with the logo and all that went into realizing it.
The quality of both the design work and the review/edit process is a cut above the competition! KTD Creative has become the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities’ trusted source for high-quality design for both print and interactive projects. KTD’s web development team also came through for our project in a pinch when we needed additional support in addressing WordPress website maintenance issues.
We were very satisfied with the WordPress website that KTD Creative produced for us. The designers were receptive to our needs and budget, and finished the site on time — and it looks great.
From the very beginning, I knew working with KTD would be different from working with any other designers! Not only was the process of developing our logo professional, it also had a very personal touch that truly showed through in the uniqueness of our logo. During our first session, Kate and her team conducted thorough interviews to find themes, colors, and imagery that finally concluded in the perfect logo for our company Half Hearted Fully Conscious. The logo is AMAZING and has the perfect appeal for the apparel that will be the first product of our lifestyle brand! Kate and team literally blew us away with this design and we are very happy with the logo and the decision to work with KTD. We will definitely work with KTD in the future.
I chose to work with KTD Creative because they are one of the most highly regarded design firms in DC. Working with the team on my new company logo was like meeting with an old friend- the staff is personable, professional and attentive. KTD’s designs are cutting edge. Their attention to detail is impeccable- far beyond any design firm I’ve worked with before. KTD is the standard for design.
KTD Creative was very instrumental in me getting signed to Yamaha as a Saxophone Artist. Ms. Tallent and her team are very attentive to their clients’ needs and their work is impeccable. I highly recommend KTD Creative!
I had a wonderful experience with the KTD Creative team. They were extremely professional throughout the process with timely responses and clarity about the entire process from signing the contract to the delivery of the designs. This was my first time working with a professional design firm and they were generous with their time while educating me about best practices and advocating for my program. I would highly recommend KTD Creative!
Kate and her team created a beautiful, informative, user-friendly website for The Richman Foundation, a new private foundation in Baltimore. Not only does the site share our story in a meaningful way, but it also provides prospective grantees with the information they need to apply for funding. KTD Creative guided us through the creative process and, after the website was complete, the team made sure we knew how to market it and to modify it when necessary. We remain grateful for their good work and guidance.
KTD Creative did a fantastic job of helping me revamp and brand my band’s website. She is highly in tune with what musicians and other creatives need and executed the project in a timely and professional manner.