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Started in 2003, the founders are now joined by a growing cast of talented people who do brilliant things. We have launched hundreds of successful, engaging projects for some of the largest (and smallest) brands in the world, including Sears, Motorola, Crate + Barrel, Serta, and dozens of successful startups. Our work has received millions of hits and worldwide press.
Read more about our services.
Our success lies in our people, and our people come from all walks of life. Leveraging backgrounds in consulting, advertising, mobile technology, political campaigns, Fortune 100 companies, and more, we value critical thinking above all else.
The team does a lot of things well, but our specialities are User Experience (UX) design, eCommerce Development, Mobile Design, and Promotional Campaigns. Through all our varied experiences, we
have one thing in common: a sincere drive to make businesses better.
We help small ideas turn into big things, and help big businesses act small. We help brick-and-mortar companies go digital, and help digital companies turn mobile.
Our work revolves around the ideas, but we realize that an idea is not enough -- in a world crowded with big thinkers, it helps to be a big doer.
Join us. Build something.
Partner, Managing Director
As a Founding Partner of Clique Studios, Ted helps introduce innovative solutions into the market. As managing director, Ted helps clients build better businesses by enhancing the way they present themselves to the world, and shows them how to use technology and design to simplify the process of growing their business through online channels. Ted has a passion for making an impact in the lives of others and bringing excitement to the way people communicate.
Previously, Ted held a senior management position in the consulting industry, managing large-scale technology and process-focused business transformation. Prior to that, Ted was responsible for driving innovative solutions internationally to streamline business processes through application development and user interface design in the capital markets industry.
He dances when he talks, types extremely long sentences in emails, and is a proud father of his son Milan.
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Partner, Creative Director
Derek Nelson is a Partner and Creative Director at Clique Studios, responsible for directing design and user experience for Clique clients, including startups, Fortune 500 companies, and Chicago-based causes alike. He believes in the power of compelling design to make businesses better.
Previously, Derek served as a political staffer, where he managed thousands of volunteers, drank too much coffee, made exhausting amounts of phone calls, and gave speeches alongside political leaders (including Vice President Joe Biden). He has also been a columnist for online magazines, an advisor and Creative Director for startups, and a marketing coordinator for universities.
Derek is a cum laude graduate from the University of Missouri School of Journalism, with an emphasis in Strategic Communication. He moonlights as a musician (in the creatively-titled Derek Nelson & The Musicians), digs history books, and has a golden retriever named Charles Barkley.
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Director of Change Leadership
Phil leads the Clique University and Change Leadership practice focusing primarily on helping clients engage with our tools and use them for better results.
Originally from Cleveland, Phil spent 11 years in Chicago before moving to Bellingham Washington. After graduating with a M.S. in Technical Education from the University of Akron, Phil has over 20 years experience working with all levels of Sr. executives creating organizational solutions with companies like Northwest Memorial Hospital, Ernst & Young LLP, Chicago Family Health Center, Keller Graduate School of Management, and London-based consulting firm So Just Add Water.
Why Change Leadership for a digital design and marketing agency? Says Phil: When you think of it, "Change" is more appropriate in our field than almost any other... I’m the guy that makes sure clients are using the tools we built for them, educating them on what's next, engaging them with checkpoints throughout the year,keeping our clients cutting edge, and helping them be successful with the tools we give them.
Why Clique Studios? “Clique Studios gives me the opportunity to build things, just not with my hands.”
Phil has a cat named Manny and one named The Dude. Phil and fiancée Stacey added Juliet to their family in October. He is a chef, a Shakespeare actor, and could read music before he could read words.
Director of Digital Strategies
Jeff leads the Digital Strategy division of Clique Studios, focusing primarily on the continuing success of your site, including: marketing campaigns, SEO, digital advertising, retargeting, promotions, and support.
Born in Illinois and a graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University (BA in Art, i.e. “pre-bartending” to his parents at the time), Jeff has been in the promotion agency world for over 11 years and has served such wonderful clients as Butterball, Sears, Office Depot, RadioShack, Disney and Coinstar.
Why Clique Studios? Says Jeff: “It affords me the opportunity to work with creative and passionate people who love to think and act upon exceptional ideas.”
Jeff has a beagle named Cooper, ten nephews and nieces, loves photography, and finished his one (and only) Chicago Marathon (2009). His personal dream is to travel Russia for six months with his camera. Check him out at www.JeffMolitor.com.
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Senior Architect
John Gile is the senior experience developer at Clique Studios, designing and building the details and interactive experiences of Clique websites. John loves to construct the interactive, creative, and highly usable interfaces that deliver each client’s content impressively and powerfully. If your website was built by the wonderful people at Clique, odds are that John got his hands dirty in the process.
Before his calling to Clique, John worked as a Development Director for a children’s charity in St. Louis, MO, where he built relationships, managed marketing and communications efforts, and raised funds to keep their mission alive. In those days, John spent his evenings moonlighting as a web developer.
John graduated from the University of Missouri, Columbia. When John is not developing beautiful websites or serving less fortunate children, he enjoys reading (fiction), hanging with his best pal Stanley (his boxer/bulldog mix), and participating in all sorts of questionable behavior.
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Strategic Planner
Siobhan Neely brings her diverse set of talents and experience in communications strategy and management as Clique Studios' Strategic Planner. With her passion for creating smart and compelling business communications, Siobhan is poised to provide clients with excellent service, keen insight, and convention busting work to help them succeed.
In her former life, she worked as a strategic communications planner at major advertising agencies building national brands like Payless Shoe Source, Pfizer, Lincoln Financial and Kmart. After spending many nights running focus groups and schlepping giant post-it notes across the country, she decided to switch gears and work as a consultant helping small businesses find their voice and build brands from the ground up.
Siobhan graduated cum laude from the University of Florida with a B.A. in Anthropology and went on to pursue an M.A. in Advertising/Strategic Planning from the University of Texas at Austin. Her passion for music, surfing and food has taken her from Rome to Melbourne to Medellin and back and she is ready to soak up all Chicago has to offer. Just don’t expect this native New Yorker to extol the virtues of deep dish pizza any time soon.
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Developer
François Bouyer is a web and mobile developer at Clique. Freshly imported from France, he specializes in custom web and mobile development.
Before coming over to Clique, François had a previous internship in a french software company where he built their website and several Web apps. He was also a freelancer in Web development for a couple of clients while continuing his studies at hand.
François graduated in Computer Science from the University of Poitiers, France. He is currently working on the final step to complete his Master’s Degree in Web Technologies and Databases. When he is not doing magic with PHP or jQuery, François walks the streets to discover the Windy City.
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Interactive Designer
Sue Janna Truscott is Clique Studios' interactive designer. Her main task at Clique is making the digital world a more beautiful place.
Before joining Clique Studios, Sue Janna was the Senior Graphic Designer at a Chicago B2B marketing agency mainly working on projects for Motorola, Cars.com, Schawk, Knaack and Dentsply. The wide range of projects included brochures, websites, corporate identities, illustrations, trade show booths, package design, vehicle graphics – in short, she has designed it all.
Sue Janna graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a degree in graphic design. In her spare time, she enjoys participating in triathlons, doodling cute (but evil) characters and crocheting her fingers off.
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Experience Designer
Before joining the team at Clique, Chelsea specialized in print and package design, and had her first taste of interactive design while working with a New York-based development team. She graduated with honors from the Illinois Institute of Art - Schaumburg, obtaining her BFA in Graphic Design.
With an extensive personal background in photography, Chelsea documents everything, everyday, in photo. When she's not designing for the web, you can find this midwest native feeding her cardio addiction by the way of cycling, running, and snowboarding.
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Video Producer
Christian Ramirez is the video producer at Clique responsible for directing, producing and editing video content for projects. He brings any video concept you have to life, talking and moving.
Prior to joining the Clique team, Christian was a rogue videographer accessing business from startups to national organizations to create documentaries and promotional material. Interested in moving pictures and the creative process from an early age, Christian honed his skills shooting all various types of film in school and after graduation.
A graduate of the Communications program at DePaul University, Christian learned to wield a Camera, saddened to find out no one makes a side holster for his piece.
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Experience Developer
Erik is an Experience Developer at Clique, focusing on both the front- and back-end of website and mobile applications.
Hailing from Michigan, Erik graduated from Michigan State University with honors, earning his degree in Creative Writing. Since graduating college he has lived and worked as a web developer in New York and Chicago, working for several digitally focused advertising and marketing agencies while freelancing for a broad range of companies whose focus is content management development.
When he's not creating new websites, Erik is an avid runner, an around-the-city concert-goer, and a zombie enthusiast. A voracious reader, he also collects antique, rare, and signed copies of early twentieth-century books.
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We recently moved the new HQ down the street to the Fine Arts Building on Michigan Avenue. We’re glad we did. In the heart of the Chicago Loop, and overlooking Buckingham Fountain, Grant Park and the lake, we truly believe we’re now in the coolest building in the city we love.
Built in 1884 for the Studebaker Company, the building is in the National Historic Register, and once held the offices of Frank Lloyd Wright and Lorado Taft. The rooms are now filled with dozens of artists, including orchestras, opera singers, interior design studios, violin makers, art galleries, and more. With the only manually operated elevators in town, even the elevator ride can be an experience.
We'd love to have you stop by. We'll make the coffee.