The Brigade
- Open roles
- 0
- Founded
- 2003
- Employees
- 1-10
- Offices
- 1
About The Brigade
The Brigade was an independent digital product, interactive design and creative technology studio based in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 2003, it combined product strategy, visual design and engineering to create digital experiences for technology, entertainment, media, healthcare and public infrastructure clients.
The studio worked across responsive websites, mobile applications, voice interfaces and interactive installations. Its projects brought together user experience design, creative direction and application development, often involving custom interfaces, content platforms and integrations with external systems. This combination supported both public-facing campaigns and products intended for practical, everyday use.
Digital products and interactive experiences
Music and entertainment formed a substantial part of The Brigade’s portfolio. For Spotify, it developed interactive web and mobile experiences associated with the company’s US launch, playlist advertising and the Beatles’ arrival on streaming platforms. These projects used digital interaction to help audiences discover, share and engage with music.
Its product work included Pasted, a mobile collage application co-created with James Mercer of The Shins. The application translated paper cutouts, vintage imagery and collage-making into a mobile creative tool. In voice interaction, the studio partnered with Google and HQ Trivia on “Hey Google, get me ready for HQ,” a conversational trivia warmup experience for Google Assistant.
The Brigade also designed and developed the public-facing web platform for TriMet’s Hop Fastpass transit fare system. Other work included an advertising solutions experience for The Washington Post, Nike Women Move Mix, touchscreen presentation software for Twitch’s Game Developers Conference presence, and product strategy and interface design for Cabin Health’s neurology telehealth experience.
Across these engagements, the studio connected brand expression with functional product design, adapting its approach to campaign experiences, consumer applications and service platforms. Its active client operations wound down around 2023, after approximately two decades of work.
More about The Brigade
Founders and historical leadership
Ben Fogarty and Zeke Howard founded the studio. During its operating history, Fogarty held President & CEO and Chief Design Officer roles, while Howard led product and marketing and served as Creative Director. These are historical roles, rather than confirmed current appointments.
Studio website design
Van Holtz Co’s case study describes the agency website’s complex layouts, angled clip paths and animated lines, illustrating how its public presentation expressed its approach to digital design and technology.
Community participation
The studio hosted Design Week Portland open houses that introduced visitors to the designers and developers behind its work. It also published writing and case studies about design, development and digital innovation through its Medium publication.
Notable credits
11 creditsOffices
Where The Brigade is based
- Portland, Oregon, United States
Portland office
Open roles
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