Korn and Cortés join Gensler’s brand strategy and digital design practice

Boston, MA Denise Korn and Javier Cortés have joined Gensler’s brand strategy and digital design practice area in the city office. Korn will serve as creative director with Cortés, Korn’s business partner since 1996, who will lead the studio. Korn and Cortés also bring with them a team of seasoned designers and brand strategists, adding new expertise to Gensler’s office, which grows to 160 employees. Together they previously led Korn Design, a firm founded by Korn 25 years ago, known for crafting innovative brands for hospitality, real estate and cultural organizations.

“We are so excited to have Denise and Javier join our team,” said Doug Gensler, principal and co-managing director of Gensler’s city office. “We know that their talent for creating courageous, passionate, and driven brands is well-aligned with Gensler’s mission of creating a better world through the power of design. They bring a depth of experience in hospitality and lifestyle brands that will be of great value to our clients.”

“More than eight years after first working together on the Boston Ballet, I’m thrilled to have Denise, Javier, and their team join Gensler,” noted Jeanne Nutt, principal and co-managing director of Gensler’s Boston office. “I’ve long admired Denise’s commitment to community, collaboration, and bold creativity. I’m looking forward to all the great work we’ll do together.”

Korn Design was founded in Boston in 1992 and has cultivated holistic brands across the U.S. that are meaningful, distinctive and powerful -- such as Carpenter & Company, Daniel Boulud, Boston Properties, The Blackstone Group - LXR Luxury Resorts, Brookfield Property Group, Northeastern University, and Sage Hospitality.

“Joining Gensler opens a new world of opportunities to create brands that are fearless, bold, and true,” said Denise Korn. “We are looking forward to enhancing and expanding our services and leveraging our new global network to deliver incredible, indelible work to our clients.”

Actively involved in the greater Boston community, Ms. Korn founded in 2003 Youth Design, an urban youth program connecting talented urban high school students to career opportunities in design through professional mentorships. In 2012 she was presented the Fellow Award from AIGA for her contributions to raising the standards of industry excellence, and her impact as a champion of diversity and advocate for youth. She is a Senior Fellow in Social Innovation at Babson College’s Lewis Institute and was recently appointed by Massachusetts Governor Charles Baker to the Board of Trustees at Massachusetts College of Art & Design.

Cortés, is known for crafting complex brand strategies for clients like the Waldorf Astoria New York, Ritz-Carlton, and multiple independent hotels soft-branded in Marriott’s Autograph Collection. Cortés served as a Connector for former Mayor Thomas Menino’s Boston World Partnerships program, as Vice President of AIGA Boston, and is currently on the board of the Huntington Avenue YMCA. He was named as one of Massachusetts most influential people for the Latino community by El Planeta in 2011.