Denise Korn

Impact and Connection, by Design

By Elisa Gallaro

Denise Korn (B.F.A. '87) is the creative strategist behind some of the most recognizable brands in real estate, hospitality, education, and the arts. She is also an activist, champion of diversity and equity in the creative economy, and mentor to the next generation of creative urban talent nationally.

Behind her success in each of these roles is an almost instinctive understanding that what people desire most is a sense of connection — with one another, within organizations, and even with places and the built environment. Whether she's branding a new hotel, recasting the image of a beloved cultural institution, or mentoring inner-city youth, Korn is determined "to break down barriers and invite people into new spaces."

Korn began her career in New York City, creating maps, information graphics, and editorial design for special-section magazines for The New York Times and, later, for major design agencies. She returned home to the Boston area when her husband, Ari Nachmanoff ('87), was recruited to launch a new venture. It was 1991, the economy was in recession, and design opportunities were limited. Korn hung out a shingle and established Korn Design.

She focused her early client base primarily on the performing arts and cultural institutions. When a friend in real estate development asked Korn to assist with a new hotel project, "that changed everything for me," she says. "It helped me connect the dots, as a designer, between visual, experiential, and physical storytelling."

"That's when I started embracing all of the possibilities with the built environment," Korn adds, "using design to create magnetic places and spaces where amazing things happen."

For more than 25 years as the founding principal of Korn Design, she helped define and distinguish the brand essence of independent hotel and luxury residential properties such as The London Hotels in New York City and Los Angeles; Four Seasons Private Residences One Dalton Street, Boston; The Estate, Yountville, Napa Valley; Halcyon Hotel, Denver; The Mayflower, Washington, DC; and Lovango Resort & Beach Club, St. John. Korn continued to amplify the power of arts and culture with pivotal rebrands such as Boston Ballet and Northeastern University. She also worked closely with James Beard award-winning chefs, as well as emerging talent in the culinary space — branding many unique dining experiences for Daniel Boulud, Sage Restaurant Group, and the Palm Restaurant Group, to name just a few.

In 2003, long before the national stage turned its sights on diversity, equity, and inclusion, Korn launched the award-winning nonprofit Youth Design, serving greater Boston urban high school students. The mission was to help close the equity gap for young talent by providing training and access — opening doors to careers in the creative economy while diversifying the design industry. This innovative "platform for change" earned Korn the 2012 Mentor of the Year Award from the Ad Club of Greater Boston and Leader in Diversity Trailblazer Award from the Boston Business Journal in 2015. Far more important, from her perspective, more than 1,500 youths benefited from mentoring, professional development, and paid on-the-job work experience with leading design and creative firms.

"The diversity challenge across the design industry in this country is very real, and it's holding us back in so many ways," Korn says. "I have always employed young, diverse, creative people and simply let them shine."

She is quick to acknowledge her own privilege as a white woman, raised by dedicated parents in a home full of love, providing a really strong support system. At the same time, growing up Jewish in a large Eastern European immigrant family has had a profound impact on her world views and moral compass. She is a product of the classic American melting pot, which introduced her to a mix of cultures but also gave her a taste of how it feels to be an outsider. 

"My parents wanted to give my sister and me the best," she says, "but there was a lot they didn't know about choosing a career in art and design. I had to find things out on my own, often by jumping into the deep end of the pool and figuring it out."

Korn's college experience is a case in point. She chose Cornell because she was determined both to study art and get an Ivy League education. By her second year, Korn had declared a major in photography and minors in printmaking and painting. She'd also discovered "a real love for image-making and storytelling" and decided to pursue a less traditional path. While her classmates embarked for Europe to study abroad, with the help of photography professor and mentor Jean Locey, Korn headed to New York City for a year at Parsons School of Design.

"It was there that I was exposed to the interconnectivity between design and visual arts — and the opportunity to be a designer," Korn says. "I had a couple of pivotal professors at Parsons, and Jean was my champion behind the scenes all the way through." Korn returned to Cornell for her senior year. After earning her degree, she moved to Manhattan to pursue what would become an impressive career as head of Korn Design and later founding Yellow& Partners, the creative consultancy she launched in 2021.

Korn Design merged with Gensler in 2018, giving Korn the opportunity to have more global impact as a director of lifestyle brand for the internationally renowned architecture and design firm. "Then the pandemic hit, and I couldn't leave my living room," Korn says. She decided to step away from Gensler, regroup, and refocus her work through a new lens, bringing together all the learning from her earlier successes with her personal passion to realize social change through design. 

"It's always been people and relationships first," Korn says. "As a designer, I work best in community with others — whether we're bringing a vision to life or working toward solving a complex social problem, it's always about collaboration and partnership."

Yellow& Partners has already reset a new creative platform where Korn continues to effect change in the world through design and environment. She has served as a Senior Advisor for Arts & Culture with Embrace Boston, a leading nonprofit that works at the intersection of arts and culture, community, research, and policy to help dismantle structural racism. Korn continues to collaborate with Boston Ballet, creating a new way to de-mystify ballet and bringing dance to the streets via ÜNI, an immersive pop-up public art and online experience.

She remains involved with Cornell as a member of the AAP Advisory Council and a visiting lecturer in the Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration. She sees enormous value in her Cornell education, is a staunch supporter of AAP's interdisciplinary approach, and welcomes the opportunity "to lead here in new ways." 

Korn enjoys connecting with students at Cornell as well as in public high schools and colleges around the country. Despite their different circumstances, she offers the same advice to both groups of young creatives. "Get out of your comfort zone and move into places where you never imagined yourself before," she says. "The more you challenge yourself, the more you'll identify where you need to grow and where you can bring the most value through your unique perspective."

Students who question that advice need only look at Korn's impact on the creative economy, design, and branding — and the thousands of young people who have benefited from her own lessons learned along the way and her continued commitment to share and mentor onward.