Kirsten Ritschel, Designer + Chocolatier, Kiki’s Cocoa

Always curious about how things are made, Kirsten set out to learn the art of printing, captivated by both its process and the power to choose what stories deserved to be told. It brought her to award-winning agencies like Grabbarz & Partner in Hamburg, and then later Goodby, Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco, where she brought design expertise to motion graphics teams. At Google she led visual storytelling efforts in the internal Marketing and Communication’s team by leveraging design thinking principles to create clear and engaging content and led creative direction for the publication of the high-end coffee table book chronicling the first ground-up development of Google’s Bay View campus.

I wear many hats in support of Food Ethnographer. As a Visual Storyteller, I translate the essence of our Food Ethnography brand across various mediums, including website design and (video)production. I also act a Community Catalyst, managing cohorts of people eager to share their stories with us. Additionally, I contribute to a sense of community by co-producing events and crafting immersive experiences through flavor creation.

Her love of chocolate created Kiki’s Cocoa: “When I moved from Hamburg to the US in 2000, I found myself disappointed in the quality of available chocolates — that’s how I decided to do it myself, combining culinary acumen with graphic design chops to create my own confectionery for carefully crafted chocolates.”