50 Great Places to Work

By: Sherri Dalphonse, Cindy Rich, Ellen McLellan and Wayne Nelson |  11/2003

Greenfield/Belser
Brand design

The moment you walk into Greenfield/Belser's lobby—with its stone reception desk, next to a pond surrounded by plants—you know this is an unusual place. "We have a number of recruits who, the minute they walk in the door, say, 'I want to work here,'" says Donna Greenfield.

The fun continues throughout the brightly painted office, festooned with a bubble-gum machine, a punching bag, pinball machines, and a wall of water.

A hybrid of an advertising agency and a graphic-design firm, Greenfield/Belser creates ads, annual reports, brochures, posters, and Web sites—all with the aim of branding a firm.

“Rarely does someone come in and say, ‘I need a brochure,’” says Burkey Belser. “They’ll say, ‘We need a presence in the market.’ We give them a voice and a style.”

Although clients have included GE, Common Cause, and the Smithsonian, more than 80 percent are law firms. Says long-timer George Kell: “Nobody's bored here.” Hard work is rewarded by gift certificates and bonuses.

Most employees are in their twenties and thirties. It keeps the place energetic, right down to weekly happy hours. Every Friday, the staff eats lunch together while one person presents a mini seminar on a topic he or she knows, from PowerPoint to color theory.

For a small firm, it offers a slate of benefits, including a 401(k) match of up to $1,000, profit sharing, and a health plan that covers part-timers.

Greenfield/Belser, 1818 N St., NW; 202.775.0333; www.greenfieldbelser.com