Ashton Design works at the intersection of branding and placemaking, building identities for organizations that occupy physical space as much as market position. Clients include the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, where the studio shaped a brand presence for D.C.'s Metro and its riders; the Baltimore Museum of Industry, where a project honored food service workers; Lexington Market, treated as a living institution; The Climate Pledge; and The William Fell hotel, where the work captured the property's history.
Services span brand strategy and positioning, visual identity, messaging and voice, brand guidelines, rebranding, packaging identity, and launch and rollout. The studio applies this range across strategic identities, campaigns, websites, books and publications, signage and wayfinding, exhibitions, and branded environments, treating each project as an opportunity to build something meant to last rather than a one-off deliverable.
David founded Ashton Design in Baltimore in 1985 and led the studio for 35 years before transferring ownership in 2020 to longtime creative leads Jenny and Alexey. Now operating as a Baltimore-based studio with a global team, Ashton marked the 2023 SEGD Conference by celebrating 50 years of experiential design, a milestone tied to the discipline the studio has practiced across decades of institutional and public-facing work.