About the Studio
Nearly 20 years of refining the details that matter.
Highly Refined Design is a woman-owned branding and design studio based in Gramercy, NYC. We work with independent businesses, professionals, and organizations on brand identity, websites, design, and communication.
Good design starts with understanding what you’re trying to say, and paying attention to everything that helps you say it. We bring the same care and attention to detail to every engagement, from building a brand from the ground up to helping an established organization communicate a complex idea. You’ll work directly with our founder throughout the process, with a collaborative approach that connects ideas and design.
About Christine Collister
Founder & Principal
I’m a graphic designer with nearly two decades of experience working directly with founders and senior leadership teams across finance, consulting, architecture, and franchise development. My background in both marketing and design gives me a practical understanding of what happens behind the visuals: the business goals, the audience, the story you’re trying to tell, and all the decisions that need to come together to make it work.
Good design lives in the details. Not because every detail needs to be noticed, but because the right details make an idea more compelling and more distinct. My wheels are always turning. I ask questions, mull over the answers, and keep working until everything feels like it belongs.
I get to test my philosophy on a regular basis when I publish, edit, and design Irving, a print magazine about the culture and businesses of NYC’s Gramercy neighborhood. It’s a very different kind of project from corporate communications, and it’s given me the opportunity to build something from the ground up — to experience firsthand the many details, decisions, and occasional rabbit holes that come along with it.
I work with both small, independent businesses and larger, established organizations. I particularly enjoy working with smaller businesses because I understand how personal every step can feel — from choosing a name to figuring out how to communicate what you’ve built.
Before establishing Highly Refined Design, I founded Better Pitchbooks, where I designed strategic communications and investor materials for firms including Citizens, McKinsey, and BlackRock Sustainable Investing.
Earlier in my career, I held marketing leadership roles at Golub Capital, ultimately serving as Marketing Manager within the firm’s Middle Market Lending group. There, I developed marketing communications for a rapidly growing private credit platform. I began my professional path at a boutique design firm on Philadelphia’s Main Line before relocating to New York City.
I earned my BFA in Graphic Design from Rhode Island School of Design. I also went to elementary school with Taylor Swift’s touring drummer, which seems worth mentioning somewhere.
Outside the studio, I’m rarely without a carefully chosen soundtrack, whether I’m running, cycling, cooking, or exploring art and culture. What I’ve been listening to lately