Michellene DeBonis
Founder and Strategy Lead

After more than two decades in the brand strategy and creative fields, Michellene envisioned a more nimble way to center the brand development process around each client's distinct needs. In 2015 she founded Zeste, a collaboration of top talent specializing in diverse disciplines. With Zeste, Michellene brings together a bespoke team to guide for-profit and non-profit clients to achieve their goals.

Michellene draws upon a unique depth of experience with prestigious clients in a broad range of categories, including media and technology, consumer products, fashion, healthcare, education, philanthropy, entertainment, and financial services. As a co-founder of UTA Brand Studio from 2012-2015, United Talent Agency's brand strategy and creative consultancy, Michellene helped build a robust client portfolio for clients and consumer brands like American Girl, Barbie, Fisher-Price, WebMD, Bare Minerals, and the Elizabeth Taylor luxury brand.

Before that, she worked at renowned global brand and strategy firm Siegel + Gale for nine years during the dot com boom, where she helped launch startups like eBates and grow established brands, including Microsoft, Yahoo!, and HealthNet. Her collaboration with Zeste Creative Lead Fiona Blankenship dates from this time; it is one of many long-standing creative partnerships that Michellene has nurtured throughout her career.

Michellene also has a broad competency in non-traditional assignments, like those that further her advocacy for public education by boosting reputational awareness and enrollment for several California school districts. 

Fiona Blankenship
Partner and Creative Lead

Fiona has a knack for conceiving complex, rich visual systems and then directing their successful implementation so that every touchpoint reflects the intent of the brand strategy. Her career spans more than 20 years in the design industry in New York and Los Angeles.

Fiona and Michellene began working together at Siegel + Gale in 2001 and have since partnered on dozens of successful client engagements. At Siegel + Gale, Fiona worked as a Creative Director for five years, where she helped reinvigorate established brands and launched new ones in the healthcare, entertainment, media and technology, fashion, consumer products, and non-profit sectors.

In 2006, Fiona founded the creative firm Collective, and in the years following has created identities and brand systems for a diverse range of clients including, but not limited to Paradigm Talent Agency, BMWi, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, UTA, Staples, Amgen, Coca-Cola, Participant, Skoll World Forum, The Walt Disney Company, American Express, and the Elizabeth Taylor Trust.

Fiona is an adjunct professor at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and shares a patent for the design of the BMI I logo. Her work has been featured in The Los Angeles Times, Dwell, and The Wall Street Journal, and she has received numerous awards, including one from Communication Arts for excellence in packaging design.