About Me
Kate Butler Thomas
Designer & Creative Director
I’m a designer and creative director with deep experience building brands and bringing them to life across packaging, advertising, print, digital and environmental design.
I graduated from Ithaca College with a BFA in Film, Photography and Visual Art and began my career in commercial production in New York before returning to Maine and joining Swardlick Marketing. Over the next decade, I worked across art direction, creative direction and production for clients including White Rock Distilleries, Gorham Savings Bank, the University of Maine System and L.L.Bean.
In 2006, I joined White Rock Distilleries as Creative Director, leading brand development, packaging and marketing for a large portfolio of national and international beverage brands. My work included Three Olives Vodka and Pinnacle Vodka, two brands that grew substantially before being sold to Proximo Spirits and Beam, Inc.
I founded Rhizome Marketing in 2012 because I wanted to work more directly with clients and stay close to the creative process. Today, I partner with organizations ranging from emerging businesses to established brands, combining strategy and design to create identities, packaging, campaigns, websites and other brand experiences.
My work has received numerous honors, including 15 Broderson Awards, the Harvey Communication Award, recognition from Beverage Dynamics and the Packaging Association of Canada, and Designer of the Year from the Maine Graphic Arts Association.
What I enjoy most hasn’t changed much over the years: understanding what makes a brand different, finding the idea that brings it to life, and doing the hands-on creative work that makes people notice.