August Creative prioritizes inclusive, impactful, and accessible design and digital communications strategies to activate and engage diverse communities of peoples from varying experiences and abilities throughout Washington State.

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August Creative is women-owned & operated.

August Creative is a Black and women-owned and operated WBE certified creative media and consulting agency founded by Mychal Handley and Danielle Ruse in 2018. Headquartered in downtown Olympia, WA, we are dedicated to growing businesses and mission-directed organizations that work to make Washington State a better place to live for everyone.

Celebrating ten years of creative partnership in 2023.

Mychal & Danielle met while working at Tiller Creative, a creative agency that recruited them in 2013. Their creative collaboration and friendship grew in the years to come, and in 2018 they opened their own agency, August Creative.

August parters with organizations and causes that help to make the world a better, healthier place for people and communities. With professional backgrounds in arts administration, design, public relations, and policy, we know that some of the most impactful work happens through advocacy and creativity. Our favorite projects address environmental justice, arts, education, and social justice.

We hold a master contract as an ITPS vendor in Washington State, and regularly support state and legislative agency work.

Designing for inclusion, impact, & accessibility.

Our mission is good design is for everyone. We believe that good design is at the center of every successful campaign and prioritize serving communities that have traditionally been overlooked in mainstream design practices. In each of our projects we engage stakeholders to identify and represent the unique histories, goals, and traditions of a community or organization.

Our web content is designed and constructed with web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG 2.1) best practices, and our websites and campaigns also aim to use plain, non-ableist language and inclusive imagery and graphics.

We want our work to reflect our values and are fortunate to partner with dozens of clients who share, challenge, and expand our understanding and practice of inclusive design.

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We are a WBE-Certified Business

August Creative is a WBE certified women-and-minority owned business. We specialize in partnerships with government agencies.

Mychal Handley

Creative Director

Meet M. 👋🏽

Danielle Ruse

MPA, Project Manager

Meet D. 👋🏻