The Team

KAREN BARRANCO
Founder | Creative Director and Consultant

Forever seeking the right story to help her client’s businesses get recognized, Special Modern Design’s founder, Karen Barranco, serves that story up with brand strategy, a touch of business consulting, and simple, yet appropriate brand identities and logo design.

Prior to launching her own branding and communications firm in 2000, she spent five years as a Creative Director at Evenson Design Group leading a team of designers to create award-winning campaigns and designs for some of the world’s most iconic companies including Apple, NBC Universal, DayRunner, Disney, Mattel, Universal Islands of Adventure, Pepsi Company, Warner Bros., Nestlé, and Cartoon Network. She proudly claims the design of the title logo for the mid-90s cult-classic Kingpin. Karen led the herculean task of overall creative direction for her team of over fifty to development hundreds of unique and story-based product brands for three "islands" in Universal’s Islands of Adventure (part of Universal Studios in Orlando). Individual brands were created to develop designs for the gift and essentials stores, Jurassic Park shop, and Seuss Landing, at a time when Dr. Seuss’ brand had never been introduced to the public.

It was as Brand Director of Red Ant Media USA and Creative Director at a celebrity-based marketing website start-up, where she gained technical knowledge in the dawn of the rapid rise of the dot com era. Working in design firms for years made her realize that clients were not getting the direct communication they needed. Their message was getting diluted as it traveled from administrator to designer then back to client. She then adopted her own process and founded Special Modern Design based on the need to craft and deliver effective branding campaigns working directly with the client. Looking forward, Karen understands that marketing has changed where consumers seek commerce vs. commerce seeks consumers.

MICAH CALABRESE
Lead Interactive Developer | Strategist

Micah is a bit of a wonder boy. Programming since the age of five, he is extremely talented both technically and creatively. His understanding, strategic insight, and search engine marketing skills to promote clients’ brand and business goals is instinctual. He can turn a web design into a growing business with abounding traffic and revenue. Micah is responsible for overseeing all programming and database architecture as well as integrating technical requirements with creative vision. Before joining Special Modern Design, Micah programmed and consulted for several interactive firms such as Red Ant Media Group, Toy Box Entertainment, Southern California Edison, and L.A. County Fire Department. He was the interactive lead at Premiere Radio Networks where he oversaw development and maintenance of content managed websites for popular radio shows such as The Jim Rome Show, Coast to Coast AM, American Top 40. Other online projects: Digital Kitchen, USC, AT&T, Brain Pop, and Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA).

Micah is also an accomplished musician unusually skillful at playing the bass parts on a synthesizer with his left hand and the drums with his right hand --- simultaneously. His ambidextrous skills afforded him to perform at Coachella Music Festival in 2006.

DONNA LA BRECQUE
Brand Strategist | Copywriter

Donna La Brecque is an award-winning writer and brand strategist. Over the past 15 years, she has developed a reputation for engaging with companies who already embrace—or quickly come to understand—the value of branding. As one of today’s leading writing-based brand strategists, she is sought after by entrepreneurs, start-ups, and local, national and multi-national companies, agencies and organizations. Her work is known for its creative voice and strategic strength, personally refined or newly developed for each brand or assignment. Donna has touched just about every business sector that exists—from vehicles and vodka to kettlebells and super foods. Past, present and long-term clients include Anthony Robbins and Companies, Centrix, CityCenter Las Vegas and its destinations Veer and The Harmon, Disney, Estancia La Jolla, Estée Lauder Companies, Hotel Shangri-La, La Brea Bakery, Lexus USA, Lexus Global, MGM, Nestlé, Reebook, Siegfried & Roy, SpaRitual, Steelcase, The New York Times, Universal Studios, Walker Zanger, among numerous others. She teaches brand development at Art Center College of Design, and holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of California at San Diego and Harvard University, respectively.