Saunter began out of a desire for a better way of doing creative work, one that aligned the needs and desires of clients and creatives to deliver the best results possible. Here’s how we do it.

Keep a steady pace

To us, no word has done more damage to modern work than the “sprint.” Of course, the intentions were good, but we just find that it puts everything into the wrong frame of mind. A runner cannot sprint for their entire race — otherwise, it wouldn’t be a sprint. We save that intense effort for the moments when it counts, but otherwise, we work deliberately, intentionally, and well, more like a saunter than a sprint.

Believe in completion

The other part of a sprint that bothers us is the idea that if something can’t fit into one arbitrary slot on a calendar, it simply doesn’t get done. Or it gets shifted to a different slot, where all of a sudden the context doesn’t make sense. In our work, we’ve noticed time and again that projects get to about 90% completion before everyone involved either loses interest and moves on to the next thing, burns out, or some combination of both. If the work is worth doing, it’s worth doing right, and it’s worth doing all the way.

Appreciate the details

The final element of the Saunter approach is an appreciation for detail and meaning. The name of our studio is actually a reference to the Great Saunter, a long walk around the full perimeter of Manhattan, that founders Cole and Kara have done together a few times. It doesn’t really mean anything to anyone else, but that doesn’t matter. The name of the studio is our project, and that’s a detail we appreciate. We seek to create details like that in all of our work, for all of our clients.

Staffed by real people

Saunter was started by Cole and Kara Kennedy, a husband and wife pair of creatives who met over a mutual bewilderment of Adobe Bridge. They live and work in Brooklyn with their two cats, Swatch and Big Lou.


  • Creative Director

    Cole began his career as a copywriter and, before starting Saunter, spent seven years building and leading the in-house creative team at furniture brand Burrow. He’s worked with clients big and small, including Crown Affair, Yves Saint Laurent, Thinx, and more. He’s originally from Massachusetts and would love to talk to you about sailing, bikes, cities, and his favorite bands.


  • Design Director

    Kara is a product and brand design leader, and has worked with start-ups and established brands alike, including Classpass, Brooklinen, Prose, Shopify, and Rent the Runway. She brings a strong visual sensibility to her user experience work, blending sophisticated taste with a thorough understanding of strategy and research. In her spare time, she is likely watching Bravo, listening to emo music, or making an appointment for her next tattoo.