About

HALO 22 is an independent collective of creative professionals working in identity, brand, print, packaging, content, advertising, communications, websites, and digital experiences.

We bring decades of diverse experience to every project for our clients, and we pull just the right team together for the goal at hand.

The Name

You were going to ask, right? Okay. Sun dogs, sun pillars, moon dogs, and parhelia are part of a family of optical phenomena called 22° halos. In short, the right group of hexagonal ice crystals comes together to produce any of these halo effects.

The results can be stunning.

Plus, a relevant domain was available.

Sun Halo by Bieverwin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sun Halo by Bieverwin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Moon Halo by Indivox, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Moon Halo by Indivox, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Client Testimonials

“HALO 22 beautifully reimagined the visual identity for our long-standing signature conference, which required infusing new, vibrant life into a brand while not disturbing its foundation. Their team brings a blend of think-outside-the-box meets manic attention to detail to every project.”

—Jesse Rutledge, National Center for State Courts

“An excellent collaborator who can move with a client at any stage in the communications journey. HALO 22 works with various stakeholders and creates excellent communications—the rare team that is top-notch in both strategy and execution.”

—Katie Levey, Pyxera Global

“I’ve worked with HALO 22 since their launch. David and Emily have been involved in Microspace sales and marketing collateral for years, and they have always done good work. Their strongest attributes? They listen, ask good questions, turn around work quickly, and I’m almost always impressed with their first take! Lately, they’ve been helping us develop some internal and external materials for CBC Corporate, working alongside our WRAL Digital Solutions team, and continue to be full of great ideas.”

—Chris Overby, Capitol Broadcasting Company

“HALO 22 is where we go when we have a problem that's nagging us, or the nebulous outline of an idea, or 12% of a plan. It's not only that they're great listeners, teasing out what we really need; they're also experts in iterative problem-solving, honing, and recombining multiple approaches until the solution emerges, as if by magic.”

—Jennifer Bedell, Atomic Empire

“HALO 22 is our go-to whenever our organization needs a high-quality marketing concept, brand, or design. They take the time to understand exactly what our goals are for each project and then consistently deliver work that blows us away.”

—Gina Rozier, Downtown Durham Inc.

The Team

  • David Spratte

    CREATIVE DIRECTOR

    David has worked with words, images, and how they come together in design for decades. That experience helps him guide people and projects to accomplish what they've set out to do. When not on the job for HALO 22, you might find him taking photos, cooking, or playing with cars.

  • Emily Combs

    LEAD DESIGNER

    Emily began her career by creating custom blog designs in the early 2000s. Since then, she’s received a BFA in Graphic Design, and gained over a decade of experience on projects for screen, print, and brands. When she isn’t designing, you’ll find her reading sci-fi/fantasy novels and hanging out with her cats.

  • Jennifer Bisbing

    WRITER AND EDITOR

    Jennifer Bisbing is an award-winning book editor and photographer. She's our go-to editor and helps shape and shepherd all the words—both for web and print. Jennifer also develops content guidelines to keep style and voice consistent. When not behind a viewfinder or working with words, she's climbing mountains.

  • Jennifer Bedell

    BACK-END DEVELOPER

    Jennifer has spent 20 years writing and maintaining extensible software. She's like a kid in a candy store when she's developing a custom solution to a novel problem or learning a new tech stack. Given her experience shepherding complex projects to completion, you'll sometimes catch her in the Project Manager role here at HALO 22.

  • Mark Garbrick

    Mark Garbrick

    FRONT-END DEVELOPER

    Mark has been turning design ideas into web realities since the early days of CSS. When he's not tweaking a stylesheet or wiring up JavaScript listeners, you can find him all over the world doing wildlife photography or at home playing Minecraft with his son.