Armistead Booker

Hi, I'm Armistead. Nice to meet you! I'm a visual storyteller, nonprofit champion, moonlighting superhero, proud father, and a great listener. Currently, I am a freelance communications strategist and art director for Refresh, my own Brooklyn-based design studio. I partner with some incredible startups, artists, and nonprofits to provide design thinking, content development, social tactics, brand identity, and strategic vision for the greater good. Recently, I was a strategic associate at FiveStone, a creative agency in New York City that collaborates with innovative organizations around the world. I primarily worked alongside Matchbook Learning to turn around America’s lowest performing schools, providing a wide range of services, including narrative and social strategy, classroom user experience and interaction, and professional development and pedagogy design. Previously, I was director of design and an educator at the American Museum of Natural History for over a decade, wearing many hats in the Museum with visual storytelling at the heart. I led the charge to build a foundation of design-centered experiences across the institution—from signage systems to digital platforms and app ecosystems—with the goal of inspiring Museum visitors and helping make the exhibitions more relevant and dynamic for an international audience. Over my years in NYC, I have served as marketing director for Metropolis Ensemble, an enthusiastic orchestra featuring an emerging generation of performers and composers; founding board member of Global Playground, an educational nonprofit building schools and libraries around the world; and communications director for Haven, a parachurch network of 500+ creative professionals across New York, London, and Los Angeles. My wife Elisa is the children’s director at Trinity Grace Church, and we live (and breathe) on the sleepy end of the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn with our energetic three-year-old son, Benjamin, beautiful newborn daughter, Elizabeth, and an active school of zebra danios. https://armisteadbooker.com/about/