About us

We’re in this game to make our clients’ brands perform and we will fight and scrap and claw and beg until we’re satisfied that the result is nothing short of exemplary.

So, if you are looking for switchboards, hold music, synergy, ideation, and enough buzz-words to fill a conference room, we’re probably not the ONE. But, if you love what you do and are proud of your company, your product and your employees, chances are we might fit right in. We thrive on relationships of mutual respect, commitment and enjoyment – WITH our clients, our collaborators and each other; we’re all in this together right?

Fuck No!

Ocupop fights the good fight, battling a sneaky culture of amateurism that too often poisons design and design relationships. We leverage the power of design thinking and take our role as a trusted expert VERY seriously. We work directly and openly with our clients, carefully sharing our process, researching and defending every decision, and earning and maintaining trust while we blow their fucking minds.

Shit Yeah!

‘Nothing comes from no.’ Though we aren’t afraid to say no when the circumstances demand it, we are equally passionate about charging ahead when an opening presents itself and building the experience and expertise vital to unleashing the full power of saying no...and yes. This energy and optimizism is core to how we’ve managed to design some of the most influential logos, campaigns, and user interfaces on the web over the last twenty years.

Michael Nieling

Founder & Creative Director

Peter Lubbers

Chief Operations Officer

Tom Beck

Chief Technical Officer

Jeff Hamlett

Developer

Nick Krusick

Associate Creative Director

Jon Burr

Developer

Abby Ruminski

Associate Creative Director

Chris Walker

Art Director & Designer

Jenny Vanderheiden

Art Director & Designer

Nathaniel Fostan

Developer

Alex Lahr

Associate Creative Director

Claire Lafontaine

Studio Manager

Shelly Robertson

Designer

Cody Nicoll

Developer

Adam Rosenbaum

Motion Designer

Morgan Schumacher

Project Manager

Nicki Gamroth

Designer

Heather Kutzke

Project Manager

Hannah Gilbertson

Project Coordinator

Kaylee Bird

Designer

We do good work for good people and they make referrals. For 20 years!

Michael Nieling
Founder and Creative Director

No cheesy sale-sters in EXPRESS shiny shirts, no account planners, no middle men, and none of the overhead that goes along with ‘em! We interface directly with decision makers and fanatically pursue perfection in planning, execution, and implementation. Projects are completed quickly and efficiently, and with refreshing candor and commitment...always aspiring to the ideal that we work WITH you, not for you.

Ocupop's HTML5 logo played a key role in adoption. It inspired a lot of other logos to boot!

Ian Jacobs
W3C