We identify opportunities and how to connect with the target audience.
We turn mission statements into meaningful conversations.
We create engaging experiences that stand out and make an impact.
We go beyond the expected to see our clients succeed.
Visual Dialogue is a creative agency that activates brands through strategy, messaging, and design. For over 30 years, Visual Dialogue has been helping organizations tackle their most important marketing challenges.
Our services include branding, advertising, website design and development, publications and packaging. Senior partners Fritz Klaetke and Susan Battista are directly involved in every engagement, ensuring the highest level of expertise. The result of our efforts is smart, distinctive work that creates lasting impact.
The offspring of an architect and a painter, Fritz Klaetke was genetically predestined to be a graphic designer. He grew up in Detroit and founded the firm in 1988 while still a student at the University of Michigan. Since that time, Fritz’s work has received every major award in the industry and has also has been exhibited at the Detroit Institute of Arts, Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C., The Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, and is included in the permanent collection at the Cooper-Hewitt, Natonal Design Museum in New York City. Fritz is a featured speaker both locally and nationally, and a critic and lecturer at schools including the Art Institute of Boston, College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Massachusetts College of Art, Northeastern University, and Yale University. Fritz has served as a juror for competitions sponsored by AIGA, Communication Arts, and the Advertising and Design Club of Canada.
Susan Battista leads audience insight and messaging initiatives at Visual Dialogue, where she leverages research to help ensure our work stands out from the competition and motivates the target audience. Prior to joining the firm, Susan founded market research firm Topic 101 which focused on providing insights from Gen Y and Millennials to Fortune 500 companies. Susan is a a skilled moderator who, when conducting interviews, focus groups, online studies, or observational studies, can get just about anyone to say what’s really on their mind. Susan has led strategic marketing initiatives at organizations as diverse as Boston Public Health Commission, Harvard University, Maui Jim Sunglasses, and UNICEF. A graduate of Syracuse University, Susan previously held senior marketing positions in the advertising and financial services industries.
As a multi-disciplinary designer, Kristen loves to create solutions in all areas of design from identities to websites to print publication, and experiential design. She is a born and bred New Englander and graduate of Syracuse University where she earned a degree in Communications Design. Kristen has spent five years with the Visual Dialogue team; her work has been featured in publications such as Communication Arts, Graphis, and Fast Company. When she’s not at her desk pushing pixels, you can find Kristen digging through crates at her local record store.
Will is a designer and illustrator who enjoys working with a broad range of mediums (and softwares). Graduating from Massachusetts College of Art and Design, he earned his BFA in Communication Design, it’s here he found his love for developing identity systems, print media, websites, and animation. His illustration work has been shown in multiple local galleries, including the MassArt Auction. When he’s not scouring the internet for good recipes to cook, you can find Will biking around the city or binding books.
Luke enjoys the intersection of design and technology. His work in education gave him an appreciation for clean, straightforward code and web systems that are easy for clients to understand. His Sketchup mock-ups are similarly inspired by an appreciation for design and education. After 7 years of service in the US Army, he earned a Master’s from Harvard Extension School in Digital Media and Instructional Design. Luke joined the Visual Dialogue team in 2014.
Visual Dialogue has received honors from organizations including the Ad Club, American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), Art Directors Club (ADC), Massachusetts Interactive Technology Exchange (MITX), and The Webby Awards. Our work has been featured in publications such as The Boston Globe, Communication Arts, Dwell, Fast Company, HOW, I.D., and Sports Illustrated and is included in the permanent collection of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. In 2013, design director Fritz Klaetke won a Grammy Award for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package for Smithsonian Folkways Recordings Woody at 100: The Woody Guthrie Centennial Collection.
What sets us apart from other creative firms is that we provide all the services required—strategy, messaging, and design—without all the overhead of a larger agency. For over 30 years we’ve created award-winning design while never missing a deadline or opportunity to produce work that goes beyond the expected. Our experienced principals are personally engaged in every phase of every project so you never get the “B team“ and always get the highest level of service and expertise.
Asking the right questions, getting to the right answers. Our process begins with a thoughtful and comprehensive understanding of the target audience and the business opportunities which serve as the foundation of our creative process.
Setting the tone, starting a meaningful dialogue, sparking some buzz. We help our clients tell their unique stories to customers, investors, employees and the press at every touch point.
Creating ideas that make you think. Whatever the medium. we go beyond the expected to develop visually provocative design that elevates brands and communicates in memorable ways.
Whether we’re developing brand identities, websites, or multi-channel communications, our results create lasting impact while delivering on business objectives. From driving brand awareness and customer engagement to boosting sales, we have the expertise and skill to help clients achieve their goals.
