Desert Elements Design :: Web Design and Graphic Design in Santa Fe, New Mexico and beyond

Desert Elements Design, a Santa Fe-based website development and graphic design firm, brings years of solid design talent, technical expertise, and quality project management to our clients, turning their business goals into creative marketing solutions. We understand that design is about more than aesthetics. It takes a strong sense of business strategy and technical foresight to create a design that works, and we pride ourselves in becoming partners with our clients to achieve their marketing goals.

Specializing in high-quality graphic design and website development services, our mission is to provide professional online tools and print materials that fit the specific needs of our clients at an affordable price.

molly duncan
creative director

Molly, President and Creative Director for Desert Elements, brings over 16 years of graphic design and media arts experience to the table. Her creative ideas in defining a look and brand with clients have helped set Desert Elements apart from others. Molly has kept her website and graphics design skills current with futures and trends in this growing field by applying her MFA in Media Arts and Computer Science; and has built from her core skills in graphic design using a rapidograph pen and paper to the first version of Illustrator on a black and white Mac. She brings strengths from a diversified background, including graphics for an architecture firm, layout and design for magazines, making jewelry, designing, marketing and producing her own line of children's clothing, and website design. She has also taught as an adjunct professor at the New School in New York, and is one of the founding members of Desert Elements Design.

cheryl eisenhard
consultant

Cheryl is an active consultant for Desert Elements Design. She offers her experience and expertise to Desert Elements to carry out the vision and production of marketing campaign executions and the overall vision. With her, she brings four years of experience with The Martin Agency, in Richmond, Virginia, planning and managing projects as an Account Executive. After four whirlwind years of working on television, radio, print, and direct mail campaigns, Cheryl headed to Santa Fe to concentrate her efforts on website development with Panorama Point Corporation. She is a founding member of Desert Elements, and is also continuing her passion for cooking professionally.

alisa gariba
web services director

Alisa began spinning webs in the '90s. She has worked for Internet Technology companies as a developer, as a designer, and as a project manager. Her clients have included major arts and culture organizations, financial institutions, tourism industry operations, and small businesses, among others. Additionally, Alisa has served as a volunteer business mentor, IT consultant, and teacher with several development organizations: with the Geek Corps in Ghana, with the Financial Services Volunteer Corps in Macedonia, and with the Peace Corps in China. She earned degrees from the University of Minnesota and from St. John's College in Santa Fe.

john spence
programmer

John, originally from Tucson, AZ, climbed the ranks of the software company, Intuit, before deciding that the corporate life just wasn’t for him. After moving and spending a year in Barcelona, Spain, he developed his skills as a freelancer who specializes in custom PHP and Java programming and database administration with clients in five countries. Today, he still resides in Barcelona enjoying the sunny Mediterranean and has mastered the telecommute from his home office, not to mention, is also now fluent in Spanish.

vanessa quintana
graphic design intern

Vanessa studied Graphic Design and earned a Bachelor of Fine Art degree in 2007 from New Mexico State University.

kristin quintana
web intern

While in college, Kristin's interests in language, communication, and art merged into the study of graphic design and web development. Working with a medium in flux is an exhilarating adventure on which Kristin hopes to absorb as much as she can on the subject. Kristin recently graduated from New Mexico Highlands University in December 2007 with a BA in English and a minor and concentration in Design Studies.

oban lambie
web hosting

Oban grew up splitting time between San Francisco, California and Northern New Mexico. He began his computer career at the age of 12 during summer computer programming camps learning the ancient arts of BASIC and LOGO programming on Apple IIe's. After attending college at San Diego State University Oban's computer career took off with the immergence of the Internet. Since then he's become an accomplished web Programmer, Database Designer and Systems Administrator. He's been the lead Systems Administrator for an ISP, programmed for startups during the dot.com heyday, and built the backend of many enterprise level web sites. He currently is the President and Systems Administrator for Brownrice Internet, Inc., a successful hosting, server co-location, and custom programming business.

anne bingham
copywriter

Anne's communications expertise includes public relations, marketing, and professional writing for the hotel industry and luxury real estate market. She has served Texas' first destination resort—Lajitas, The Ultimate Hideout—as Communications Director since 2002. Prior to joining Lajitas, she was the Director of Marketing for La Posada de Santa Fe Resort and Spa in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and she has been a freelance copywriter for Christie's Great Estates Magazine, a publication showcasing the world's premier homes, for several years. She has a B.A. in English from Southwestern University in Texas and an M.A. in English from the University of New Mexico.

BOARD OF ADVISORS

beth mcrae

Beth McRae has over 25 years of business development and leadership experience. As Global Director leading a multi-billion dollar IBM - Cisco strategic Unified Communications (UC) engagement, she is leading a complex global program integrating UC into IBM GTS service product lines accelerating strategic value for joint customers.

Ms. McRae has led companies to award-winning levels of recognition, market share, and revenue growth. As Vice President, Strategic Alliances & Marketing for Vista Information Technology, a privately-held call center & managed services firm, Ms. McRae was instrumental in establishing the brand, market strategy and sales alliances leading to an acquisition by Avaya.

As a senior member of the Avaya start-up team for Global Business Communications Solutions and Managed Services, Ms. McRae directed the build strategy of a national business development organization to penetrate new markets for Remote Managed Services, On-Demand Hosted Solutions, and VoIP Migration Outsourcing.

Prior roles include serving as Senior VP Business Strategy for docHarbor, VP and General Manager Cirrus Technology Inc. and several marketing and product development roles at Arbitron.

Additionally, Ms. McRae founded C.G. Paris Inc. a business development & management consulting company where she advised multiple start-up companies.

Beth received her BA in Radio, Television & Film and her Masters in General Administration for Management Information Systems from the University of Maryland system. She served on the Board of Directors – University of Maryland, UC Alumni Association for four years and was also a key member, University of Maryland President’s Club Steering Committee. Currently, Beth serves as a hospice volunteer for Providence Hospice of Seattle.

bill mcdow

Bill's broad business, technical, and financial expertise spans the IT life cycle in a mix of independent consulting and private sector companies (startup, turn around, corporate practice). A key thread throughout has been an increased company value, market share, and revenue through innovative business services solutions.

Service innovation disciplines include strategic business communications consulting, enterprise customer interactions, web-enabled content management, converged enterprise infrastructure management, and services-oriented architecture.

Companies were sometimes large (Cisco - currently, Avaya) but mostly small (VISTA Information Technology, docHarbor, LCT, others) - all with an entrepreneurial focus for success.

Bill's key contributions include formulating engagement methodologies, directing systems development and integration teams, seeking and nourishing strategic alliances, and managing to the bottom line for customer delight.

Bill brings a BA from Emory University, a Masters in MIS from the George Washington University plus energy, enthusiasm, and creativity to the table.




	Desert Elements Design, a Santa Fe-based website development and graphic design firm, brings years of solid design talent, technical expertise, and quality project management to our clients, turning their business goals into creative marketing solutions. We understand that design is about more than aesthetics. It takes a strong sense of business strategy and technical foresight to create a design that works, and we pride ourselves in becoming partners with our clients to achieve their marketing goals. Specializing in high-quality graphic design and website development services, our mission is to provide professional online tools and print materials that fit the specific needs of our clients at an affordable price. molly duncan *creative director* Molly, President and Creative Director for Desert Elements, brings over 16 years of graphic design and media arts experience to the table. Her creative ideas in defining a look and brand with clients have helped set Desert Elements apart from others. Molly has kept her website and graphics design skills current with futures and trends in this growing field by applying her MFA in Media Arts and Computer Science; and has built from her core skills in graphic design using a rapidograph pen and paper to the first version of Illustrator on a black and white Mac. She brings strengths from a diversified background, including graphics for an architecture firm, layout and design for magazines, making jewelry, designing, marketing and producing her own line of children's clothing, and website design. She has also taught as an adjunct professor at the New School in New York, and is one of the founding members of Desert Elements Design. cheryl eisenhard *consultant* Cheryl is an active consultant for Desert Elements Design. She offers her experience and expertise to Desert Elements to carry out the vision and production of marketing campaign executions and the overall vision. With her, she brings four years of experience with The Martin Agency, in Richmond, Virginia, planning and managing projects as an Account Executive. After four whirlwind years of working on television, radio, print, and direct mail campaigns, Cheryl headed to Santa Fe to concentrate her efforts on website development with Panorama Point Corporation. She is a founding member of Desert Elements, and is also continuing her passion for cooking professionally. alisa gariba *web services director* Alisa began spinning webs in the '90s. She has worked for Internet Technology companies as a developer, as a designer, and as a project manager. Her clients have included major arts and culture organizations, financial institutions, tourism industry operations, and small businesses, among others. Additionally, Alisa has served as a volunteer business mentor, IT consultant, and teacher with several development organizations: with the Geek Corps in Ghana, with the Financial Services Volunteer Corps in Macedonia, and with the Peace Corps in China. She earned degrees from the University of Minnesota and from St. John's College in Santa Fe. john spence *programmer* John, originally from Tucson, AZ, climbed the ranks of the software company, Intuit, before deciding that the corporate life just wasn’t for him. After moving and spending a year in Barcelona, Spain, he developed his skills as a freelancer who specializes in custom PHP and Java programming and database administration with clients in five countries. Today, he still resides in Barcelona enjoying the sunny Mediterranean and has mastered the telecommute from his home office, not to mention, is also now fluent in Spanish. vanessa quintana *graphic design intern* Vanessa studied Graphic Design and earned a Bachelor of Fine Art degree in 2007 from New Mexico State University. kristin quintana *web intern* While in college, Kristin's interests in language, communication, and art merged into the study of graphic design and web development. Working with a medium in flux is an exhilarating adventure on which Kristin hopes to absorb as much as she can on the subject. Kristin recently graduated from New Mexico Highlands University in December 2007 with a BA in English and a minor and concentration in Design Studies. oban lambie *web hosting* Oban grew up splitting time between San Francisco, California and Northern New Mexico. He began his computer career at the age of 12 during summer computer programming camps learning the ancient arts of BASIC and LOGO programming on Apple IIe's. After attending college at San Diego State University Oban's computer career took off with the immergence of the Internet. Since then he's become an accomplished web Programmer, Database Designer and Systems Administrator. He's been the lead Systems Administrator for an ISP, programmed for startups during the dot.com heyday, and built the backend of many enterprise level web sites. He currently is the President and Systems Administrator for Brownrice Internet, Inc., a successful hosting, server co-location, and custom programming business. anne bingham *copywriter* Anne's communications expertise includes public relations, marketing, and professional writing for the hotel industry and luxury real estate market. She has served Texas' first destination resort—Lajitas, The Ultimate Hideout—as Communications Director since 2002. Prior to joining Lajitas, she was the Director of Marketing for La Posada de Santa Fe Resort and Spa in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and she has been a freelance copywriter for Christie's Great Estates Magazine, a publication showcasing the world's premier homes, for several years. She has a B.A. in English from Southwestern University in Texas and an M.A. in English from the University of New Mexico. BOARD OF ADVISORS beth mcrae Beth McRae has over 25 years of business development and leadership experience. As Global Director leading a multi-billion dollar IBM - Cisco strategic Unified Communications (UC) engagement, she is leading a complex global program integrating UC into IBM GTS service product lines accelerating strategic value for joint customers. Ms. McRae has led companies to award-winning levels of recognition, market share, and revenue growth. As Vice President, Strategic Alliances & Marketing for Vista Information Technology, a privately-held call center & managed services firm, Ms. McRae was instrumental in establishing the brand, market strategy and sales alliances leading to an acquisition by Avaya. As a senior member of the Avaya start-up team for Global Business Communications Solutions and Managed Services, Ms. McRae directed the build strategy of a national business development organization to penetrate new markets for Remote Managed Services, On-Demand Hosted Solutions, and VoIP Migration Outsourcing. Prior roles include serving as Senior VP Business Strategy for docHarbor, VP and General Manager Cirrus Technology Inc. and several marketing and product development roles at Arbitron. Additionally, Ms. McRae founded C.G. Paris Inc. a business development & management consulting company where she advised multiple start-up companies. Beth received her BA in Radio, Television & Film and her Masters in General Administration for Management Information Systems from the University of Maryland system. She served on the Board of Directors – University of Maryland, UC Alumni Association for four years and was also a key member, University of Maryland President’s Club Steering Committee. Currently, Beth serves as a hospice volunteer for Providence Hospice of Seattle. bill mcdow Bill's broad business, technical, and financial expertise spans the IT life cycle in a mix of independent consulting and private sector companies (startup, turn around, corporate practice). A key thread throughout has been an increased company value, market share, and revenue through innovative business services solutions. Service innovation disciplines include strategic business communications consulting, enterprise customer interactions, web-enabled content management, converged enterprise infrastructure management, and services-oriented architecture. Companies were sometimes large (Cisco - currently, Avaya) but mostly small (VISTA Information Technology, docHarbor, LCT, others) - all with an entrepreneurial focus for success. Bill's key contributions include formulating engagement methodologies, directing systems development and integration teams, seeking and nourishing strategic alliances, and managing to the bottom line for customer delight. Bill brings a BA from Emory University, a Masters in MIS from the George Washington University plus energy, enthusiasm, and creativity to the table.
	DESERT ELEMENTS DESIGN, INC 505.424.8090 info@desertelements.com 410 Old Santa Fe Trail Suite C, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 about \| services \| portfolio \| employment \| contact \| home