Ethan Manning is a designer, illustrator, typographer, and letterer, but first he is a listener. Listening has opened doors he never imagined, from the offices of Nike and NASCAR to a professional baseball team in South Korea. When ego is set aside and people are truly heard, trust is built. That trust shapes everything he creates.

Ethan Manning was raised in the deep South as a scrappy kid in a lower middle class family. His imagination was shaped by simple and resourceful moments such as pushing Tonkas through the mud, collecting cicada husks, and playing makeshift baseball games with magnolia bulbs. More than anything, it was nurtured by his Granny. Every Sunday she would make biscuits from scratch, her 45 degree bent fingers working the dough as she shared stories about her upbringing. She told wild tales of her and Ethan’s grandfather and how they built a farm from nothing after the war. That perspective of true Southern grit has stayed with Ethan all his life. He learned how to make things happen when it seemed like there was nothing left in the cupboard. In the South, folks know how to turn table scraps into the best of stories. 

While studying at the University of Southern Mississippi, Ethan found his way into RARE Design, where the late Rodney Richardson showed him how branding could create deep resonance with people. That lesson lit a fire that still drives him today. Craft matters, but connection matters more. His work is about creating brands that feel inevitable, that speak in a language people already understand, and that leave a lasting mark.

From HGTV stars to local churches to global sports leagues, Ethan brings the same focus to every project: listen first, understand deeply, and create with purpose. For him, design is more than problem solving. It is an act of helping, and helping is what branding and design are truly about.