Riveter Design

After sitting down with Jess Tompkins for the first time, Jordan’s initial thought was, “Everybody needs to meet this chick.”

Jordan initially reached out to Jess on LinkedIn after being impressed with her portfolio. A year of freelance work later, the rest of us caught up. Projects moved. The work clicked. “OMG I love her” became the standard refrain from the account team.

Jess says she felt at home here from day one. We can confirm: The feeling is mutual.

Now we’re making it official.

Meet Jessica Tompkins, our new graphic designer.

When she’s not making our proposals look like slam dunks, you might catch her with a chai (cream and sugar, no coffee, ever), an anime queued up, or her recent rescue Bailey—a German shepherd-pit bull mix she would like you to know she loves so much.

Help us welcome Jess to the team! Give her a follow and check out her full bio at riveterdesign.com/about

Buffalo has a long tradition of educational excellence, and The Education Collaborative of Western New York has been part of that story since 1998.

EdCo is a network of educational institutions working together on challenges and opportunities that shape student success. They set out to build Kinvera, a professional learning platform for—and by—educators. Their vision was an alternative to the cold, corporate ed-tech platforms dominating professional development. EdCo wanted Kinvera to feel like a welcoming classroom where growth happens through peer-to-peer connection rather than top-down compliance.

Within that vision was a design challenge: How do you create a brand that feels credibly professional without feeling sterile? How do you make accessibility feel inviting rather than institutional?

EdCo’s naming insight provided the answer. Kinvera combines “Kin” (connection) with “Vera” (truth) to capture the platform’s promise: educators connecting with verified content from practicing experts. That became the foundation for a visual identity where warmth and credibility work together, and patterns suggest the growth and connection. The color palette deliberately moves away from corporate conventions toward warmer tones. Typography stays clear without bureaucratic weight. Navigation removes friction for people who are already overwhelmed.

Every design decision serves educators experiencing burnout and digital fatigue. What emerged is a brand where form works in service of function, creativity serves impact, and professional development feels like an opportunity rather than an obligation.

EdCo brought nearly three decades of educational trust and a vision for what professional learning could become. We partnered to build the identity that brings Buffalo’s educational excellence to educators everywhere.

Some partnerships you measure in projects. Others, you measure in chapters.

Our relationship with Beth Taylor goes back to 2013, when we designed the logo for her real estate firm, Envision Real Estate. That mark got an update last year, and took home an award at this year’s Buffalo American Advertising Awards GALAAA.

Even as Envision was evolving, so was Beth.

Building on years of experience as a top-producing agent and team leader, Beth launched . It’s a professional development ecosystem for women in real estate who want to elevate their skill set, increase their earning power, and build a business that supports—instead of consumes—their life.

Beth’s personality is a huge part of the draw. She’s candid. She commands a room. And she makes everyone feel like they belong.

The brand needed to match that energy: confident and luxurious without being stuffy, bold and vibrant without being overly feminine.

We developed a full visual ecosystem anchored by a “Beth” signature that signals her unmatched coaching style. The “Rebel Royal” color palette composed of deep emerald, rich ruby, and warm citrine balances luxury with warmth. Exclamation marks and playful typography add to the energy, while an upward angle (18° to be precise) woven throughout the identity captures the concept of elevation that sits at the heart of everything Beth teaches. Brushstroke patterns and bold graphic elements round out a system that’s as dynamic as Beth herself.

Thirteen years in, this partnership keeps finding new ways to grow. From a first logo to an award-winning refresh to a full brand ecosystem for an entirely new venture—that’s the kind of creative relationship we live for. ✨

The 2025 American Welding Society Foundation Impact Report opens with a loss. Bill Rice, the Foundation's longest-serving board chair and its most significant individual donor, passed away last year. His legacy gift will fund scholarships, education, and workforce development for generations.

That's the kind of impact the American Welding Society Foundation makes possible: contributions that outlast the contributor.

"A Legacy Built to Last" honors Bill Rice's memory while telling the broader story of how AWSF turns individual investment into multigenerational opportunity. The report follows people at every stage of that cycle—from Olivia Peleg, a first-generation trade student whose scholarship sparked a fabrication club; to Nicholas Peterson, 1993 WorldSkills medalist-turned-AWS Director at Large who helped establish the society’s competition guidelines.

AWSF brought Riveter in to develop the report’s theme, design the report, and profile incoming Josh Burgess’ story from high school welding competitor to incoming AWS President.

Holding both grief and forward momentum in a single document required care. The result reflects what lasting legacies achieve: looking back with gratitude and forward with intention, at the same time.