Bonfire, the motion design and integrated media company, and sister facility of Bay Area mainstay Phoenix Editorial, announced it has grown its team. Associate Creative Director Barry Munsterteiger, Producer/Technical Advisor Kenji Hayashi, and Associate Art Director Adam Oestergaard have been recruited to handle Bonfire's growing volume of design work.
Bonfire is starting the new year with a number of high profile design assignments. The company has also seen an increase in clients coming to Bonfire to help solve their design challenges - whether it's creating futuristic product UI design, immersive digital entertainment experiences, or creative content for the big screen.
"It was clear as 2009 was drawing to a close that we needed to expand, so we've added to Bonfire's already heavy-duty brain trust," said Said Julia Sonder-Patchin, executive producer for Bonfire and Phoenix Editorial. "Barry's many years with Apple enable him to communicate with our technology clients on a user level. He's also an amazing designer, most notably in the world of user interface design. We're also fortunate to add Kenji, an extremely detail-oriented producer and an expert at compression technology, so he'll be a huge asset as we upgrade our production pipeline. Rounding out the trio is Adam, who truly has the makings of a rock-star animator."
Barry Munsterteiger is a formally trained industrial designer whose specialty is solving complex business problems through design. With experience that spans digital, broadcast, user experience and user interface design, Munsterteiger brings strategic thinking as well as technical and creative innovation to Bonfire, where he'll be working closely with Creative Director Matt Silverman and Associate Creative Director Phil Spitler on Bonfire's highest profile technology clients.
"When we decided we needed another creative leader on our team, Barry was the first person I thought of. We've worked together on numerous projects over the years for Apple, and our careers have followed similar core paths while diverging in different directions," said Bonfire Creative Director Matt Silverman. "His unique expertise from his time at Apple will help Bonfire transition into the new bleeding-edge motion-intensive interactive space."
Munsterteiger comes to Bonfire after spending nearly eight years with Apple, most recently as a creative director, where he played a key role in R&D that led to the development of iTunes LP and iTunes Extras. He also spent five years as technical director and was the very first person hired to join Apple's in-house motion graphics department. Munsterteiger's career has included management and design posts at several Bay Area design and technology companies. He began his career as an industrial designer, working at Index Design & Associates, and Procter & Gamble.
Producer and Technical Advisor Kenji Hayashi will be working across both Bonfire and Phoenix Editorial and will be tasked with what he affectionately dubs, "extreme cat-herding." Hayashi's key responsibilities will be bringing together creative teams from both facilities on jobs, managing the budget schedule and overseeing the post-production workflow, in particular video compression and how it relates to acquisition, post and delivery. Before joining Bonfire/Phoenix, Hayashi was an executive producer at Compression Group, and prior to that, spent five years at Rough House Editorial, where he was executive technical director and producer.
Denmark native Adam Oestergaard is a talented animator and 3D artist who honed his skills during a 10-month-long stint at Bonfire while attending the Academy of Art, San Francisco to earn his MFA in Visual Effects. Previous to heading out to California (and thus, fulfilling a childhood dream), Oestergaard studied at Northern England's Cumbria Institute of the Arts, where he earned a degree in 3D and Visual Effects.