Who We Are

Carol Mihelik

Designer

Carol has a wide-ranging background in editorial development and the design of identities, publications, and environments.

Her work with our firm includes publication design for F.I.T. and Scholastic, Inc.

Prior to joining Alexander Isley Inc., Carol worked as an Art Director for Hearst Connecticut Media Group, SFA Marketing, and Sierra Communications.

When not in the office, Carol finds inspiration in European culture and beauty while she’s over there trying not to finish last in Nordic ski marathons. For all other times, she finds her juju doing pen & watercolors, hiking, photography, gardening, and cooking. Her motto: Keep moving.

 

 

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Alexander Isley

Designer

Alexander Isley leads our team of designers and writers, establishing the strategic and creative vision for our work.

Alex has been recognized as “one of the few pioneering global designers who’s had a significant hand in bringing design to where it is today.”

His distinctive, editorially-driven design combines text and imagery in compelling ways. His expertise in exhibit design infuses our work, in which even traditional printed pieces often feature structural and dimensional elements.

Alex’s approach to design reflects imagination, confidence, spirit, and humor.

Alexander Isley first gained recognition in the early 1980s as the senior designer at Tibor Kalman’s influential studio M&Co. He went on to serve as the first full-time art director of the funny and fearless Spy magazine. Alex founded our firm in 1988 in New York City, and in 1995 he relocated the office to Connecticut, where we work in a barn.

Isley has created award-winning identity, communication, environmental, interactive, and publication design programs for an unusually wide range of clients, including The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Museum of the Moving Image, Nickelodeon, Giorgio Armani, The Chautauqua Institution, The National Endowment for the Arts, Choate Rosemary Hall, The Smithsonian Institution, Bobby Flay, Design Within Reach, Starbuck’s, The Barefoot Contessa, Reebok, Steelcase, Goodwill, The Museum of Modern Art, Waterstone’s Booksellers, Toys “R” Us, Pez Candy, The Amsterdam Tulip Museum, U.S. Green Building Council, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Rizzoli Publications, Sotheby’s, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, Blue Hill Restaurant, David Byrne, Highlights for Children, and Yale University.

Alex holds a degree in Environmental Design from NC State University and a BFA from The Cooper Union in New York. He has taught graphic design, typography, and exhibit design at Cooper Union, RISD, and the School of Visual Arts. For over fifteen years, he served as a lecturer and critic in the Yale School of Art MFA program.

In 1993 Alex was named an inaugural member of “The I.D. 40,” a survey of the country’s leading design innovators. His work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian Institution, the Zurich Design Museum, the Poster House Museum, the Letterform Archive, and the Library of Congress.

Alexander Isley is a recipient of the New York Art Directors Club Herb Lubalin Memorial Award for Art Direction and Design, the NEA International Design Education Fellowship, the SEGD Global Design Award, the Webby Award, and the Federal Design Achievement Award. He is past president of AIGA (the professional association for design) New York and is an AIGA Fellow.

In 1998 Alex was elected to membership in AGI (Alliance Graphique Internationale), an international association of designers who represent the highest level of professional achievement.

In 2014 he was awarded the profession’s highest honor, the AIGA Medal, in recognition of lifetime achievement and contributions to the field.

In a recent Graphic Design: USA magazine poll, Alex was named by his peers as one of the most influential designers of the past 50 years.

Donald Trump has called his work “a piece of garbage.”

Alex and his wife and partner, Veronica Burke, are the proud parents of three curious children.

When Alex was a boy, he met Colonel Sanders, who came very close to making eye contact as they shook hands.

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Amanda Nettle

Designer

Amanda brings to our studio expertise in designing identities, print materials, packaging, and digital communications.

Her work with our firm includes communication and environmental design for Duke University, Colorblends Wholesale Flowerbulbs, the Yiddish Book Center, and the Amsterdam Tulip Museum.

Amanda was awarded her B.A. in Graphic Design from the Shintaro Akatsu School of Design, University of Bridgeport.

Prior to joining Alexander Isley Inc., Amanda worked as a designer at Accurate, a luxury lock and hardware manufacturer.

She spent 8 years working on a vegetable farm as a designer and farmhand, a job she considers to be one of her greatest inspirations for how she works and thinks about design. She also just really loves vegetables.

Born and raised in Connecticut, Amanda resides in Fairfield County with her dog and tuxedo cat, who has a scarily accurate and symmetrical mustache. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, gardening, crocheting, and listening to music of all kinds.

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Veronica Burke

Business Director

Veronica brings editorial, design, and communication experience to Alexander Isley Inc.

Before joining our firm, Veronica was an editor and writer for a number of publications including Digital ReviewDiversionEntréeBoston Magazine, and the Kilburn Times in London.

She once had a job writing fortune cookie inserts.

In addition to her editorial experience, Veronica has worked as an interior designer, most notably at Gomez Associates in New York City. She has worked with Alexander Isley Inc. since 1996.

Veronica graduated from Boston University with a degree in communications.

She lives in Connecticut with her family and enjoys skiing, running, and gardening in her spare time.

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Stuart R. Berman

Accounting Manager

Stuart is the Accounting Manager at Alexander Isley Inc. and has more than 20 years of accounting and management experience.

He lives in Wilton, Connecticut, a short distance from the studio. Stuart enjoys outdoor activities, particularly fishing, canoeing, and horseback riding. He received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from Northeastern University and participated in the five-year cooperative education program.

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Teddy

Obligatory Office Mascot

Teddy’s a good boy. Yes, he is.

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