Approach
Studio Madalin approaches every project the same way: not with a brief, but with excavation. Call it cultural archaeology: the detail nobody's touched, the story hiding in plain sight, the asset being left on the table. Finding that thing is the work, and everything after it - the strategy, content, identity, campaign, experience - is built around what we uncover.
Everything we do is social-first. Content is conceived for the platform from the start, with the hook, format, and pacing built to perform, not just to look good.
The execution is art-forward. Creative direction draws from film, photography, visual art, and architecture, calibrated to your brand and visible in every deliverable. Never content for content's sake, but work that looks as good as the brand deserves.
And it rarely stops there. Content becomes series, campaigns become cultural moments, events become communities. The goal is never a single deliverable, but a sustainable system that outlasts the engagement.
Founder
Madeleine Johnsson is a creative director & strategist based in DC. Her work applies structured thinking to cultural problems building brand systems, content, campaigns, and experiences across hospitality, institutions, and cultural projects.
Before Studio Madalin, she served as Marketing Director for one of DC's leading restaurant groups (Albi, La' Shukran, YELLOW) building the marketing identity for what would become the best new restaurant in DC. She has worked on large-scale productions at the White House, co-curated programming with the National Gallery of Art, and co-founded Hast du Feuer, a DC music and arts event series that grew from 200 to over 3,000 attendees in under eighteen months that was recognized seven times by The Washington Post.
A multicultural upbringing across six countries and an MA in Economic Theory and Policy give her work its edge: an instinct for what resonates that a single-lane background would miss.
Outcomes