Ken Barnes is a pioneer in Brand-Forward retail design and for nearly three decades his well-honed expertise in brand creation, interior design and branded architecture has guided work for industry giants such as Starbucks, Eddie Bauer and Nordstrom.  In 1998 Barnes helped found the design firm M3 and served as its Creative Director for more than nine years. His goal; to remove the barriers separating concept creation, brand development, core messaging and architecture and to create a culture in which those energies would be focused as a single creative vision. The realization of his unique methodology proved highly successful and with his leadership resulted in unprecedented company growth, revenues and recognition. Since leaving M3 in 2008, Ken has continued to refine his brand-forward design philosophy attracting regional and national brands keen on harnessing the potential of brand, message, design and architecture.

Ken lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife Julie (also a designer) and their three dogs. Their son Kip is a graduate of the USC Film School and lives in Los Angeles with his fiance; Katie.

The most gratifying parts of Ken’s career have been working side by side with his wife and mentoring young designers by passing along skills taught him by the masters he apprenticed under. Thanks Gordie, Bruce, Denny, Bob.