About - HDK

How we work

HDK is a digital agency specialising in arts, culture and heritage.

Our team brings together strategy, design, development and marketing, with a deep understanding of the cultural sector. From early thinking through to delivery and ongoing support, we work closely with our clients to understand their challenges, their audiences and what they want to achieve.

We call our approach Artfully Digital. It’s about bringing creativity and technical expertise together to create work that is considered and built to last. As a certified B Corp, we’re also committed to considering the social and environmental impact of the work we do.

We believe good digital knowledge should be shared, too. Through our free monthly webinars, we explore practical topics across web and digital marketing, helping organisations across the sector build their digital knowledge and confidence.

Strategy

How do you get where you want to go? Our strategy work digs into your audiences, your goals and your current digital output to help shape your next steps.

We deliver content and digital audits, and campaign planning built around where you want to go. We don’t hand over a document and disappear; we work collaboratively with your team, building strategies that can flex and grow as your needs change.

Websites

We are WordPress specialists with over 20 years of experience designing and building websites that are as flexible as they are visually striking. Every site we build is designed to grow with your organisation, easy for your team to manage and built to last.

Our process covers discovery, content planning, design, development, launch and analytics. We build to high accessibility and sustainability standards as a matter of course, and every site is hosted on infrastructure that won’t let you down.

Marketing

We know good content. From paid social, organic social and email through to SEO and analytics, we plan and deliver campaigns built around your audiences.

We also produce the content to fuel them: copy, photography, and video production. Whether you need creative thinking or a data-led approach, we can help.

Support

Websites need looking after. We provide ongoing technical support to keep your site secure, up to date and running smoothly, with sustainable hosting, regular updates and fast turnaround on fixes.

We also offer training for your team, so you feel confident managing your site independently.

Our values

Culturally grounded

We actively engage with arts and culture - it shapes how we think, how we work and the decisions we make. That understanding runs through everything we do.

Curious by nature

We ask questions, challenge assumptions and keep learning. It's how we do better work.

Collaborative by design

Our best work happens when we're working closely with clients, not just for them. We bring the right people in at the right moments to get there.

Future focused

We make decisions with longevity in mind. That means building work that's accessible, sustainable and ready to adapt as your organisation grows.

Our commitment

We became a certified B Corp because it reflects what we were already doing. For us, it’s a validation of long-standing responsible practices, not a new direction.

In practice, that means making sustainable choices at every stage of our work, from how we design and build to how we host. We measure the environmental impact of the websites we launch and aim to reduce it wherever we can.

We also believe business should give back. We support Cardboard Citizens, our neighbours at Hoxton Hall, on both a paid and pro bono basis, and donate to their cause every time we receive client feedback.

Two decades in arts and culture digital

22+

years of experience working in the sector.

We've supported more than

425

organisations, from small independents to national institutions.

Since 2022, over

4,730

marketing professionals have attended our free monthly webinars.

Who we are

Our ideas don’t come from just one place, or one person. They grow through different perspectives and backgrounds, shaped by the people behind the work. Meet the team below.
Hans de Kretser
Director & Founder
Hans started his career in-house at arts organisations, including English National Opera and Sadler's Wells, at the moment digital marketing was finding its feet. That experience shaped everything: how he thinks about audiences, what organisations actually need, and why digital done well makes a real difference. He's since worked with more than 425 arts organisations on their online presence. HDK is the result.
Raf Malanga
Creative Director & Designer
Trained at Central Saint Martins in Communications Design and Digital Media, Raf has been shaping HDK's creative output for over 15 years. That foundation runs through everything he makes, from brand identity to user experience. If it looks good and works well, Raf probably had something to do with it.
Zoe Watkins
Client Services & Business Development
Great partnerships take time and attention. Zoe brings three decades of experience working with multi-disciplined marketing agencies and their clients, bringing a genuine instinct for building long-lasting, positive relationships. She oversees our portfolio clients, both existing and new, making sure that we consistently meet expectations at every stage.
Katy Manuel
Audience Specialist
From large-scale commercial venues to small subsidised companies, regionally and in London, Katy has spent years marketing arts organisations of every shape and size. At HDK, she's brought that breadth of experience to projects for the Barbican, the Garden Museum, and English National Ballet. Her focus is audience development and marketing strategy: understanding who an organisation is trying to reach, and how to get there.
Bella Richards
Digital Marketing
With a background in PR and communications and a genuine interest in film and the visual arts, Bella brings a sharp eye for visual storytelling to her digital marketing work at HDK. She's led digital content strategy for clients like Birmingham Royal Ballet and the Barbican, as well as digital advertising and email marketing campaigns, and plenty in between.
Fizz Woor
Digital Marketing
Fizz works across digital marketing and business development for HDK, with a focus on social media strategy, content creation, and campaign delivery. Her visual culture background shapes how she thinks about creative work, and it shows in what she produces. She has delivered fundraising campaigns for Cardboard Citizens, workshops for Hoxton Hall and the Barbican, and social media and content work for Carlos Acosta and Acosta Danza.
Molly Richendrfer
Marketing Executive
Molly joined HDK as an intern while earning a PR degree from Boston University, and hasn't looked back. She now works across social media management and content creation, digital advertising, and strategy for our clients, all while studying Digital Culture & Society at King's College London. Outside of work, you'll often find her at a concert or exploring London's arts and cultural offerings.
Phoebe Cleghorn
Partnerships & Events Manager
Phoebe manages HdK's ongoing programme of webinars and events, adding value to our clients and beyond through the facilitation of topical industry conversations. She also plans our partnership activity throughout the year, identifying opportunities to expand HdK's network, deepen our sector engagement and make new connections.
Lavita Daryanani
Senior Project Manager
Lavita has managed web projects for Arts Council England, Untold Museum, and Alexandra Palace, keeping complex builds on track and clients well looked after throughout. She has a knack for finding creative solutions and making the process feel straightforward, whatever the scope or budget.
Roz Woodroffe
Senior Project Manager
With over a decade of experience managing web projects and a genuine love for the full journey from proposal to launch, Roz has worked with clients including London Craft Week and English National Ballet, keeping everyone connected and the project moving. She's the person who makes sure the client and the team are always on the same page.
Join the team
We're always interested in hearing from people who care about arts and culture and want to make digital work that matters.
View open roles
Ece Firat
Project Manager
Outside of work, you'll find Ece at a gallery, a gig, or somewhere in between, so she's exactly where she's supposed to be. Having worked across many industries with a background in development, she can get to grips with a range of clients and contexts quickly, and understands what's happening under the hood. She's worked on projects for the Postal Museum, English National Ballet, and the Nureyev Foundation.
Jannick Moth
Technical Lead & Developer
Jannick's combination of creative instinct and technical precision shapes how he approaches complex builds, and it shows in his work. As a professional dancer himself, he brings a genuine understanding of what arts organisations need to every project. He's led builds for Rambert, English National Ballet, and Arts Council England's All In website. If you have a technical question, Jannick is the person to ask.
Joseph Berry
Web Support Developer
Joseph combines his diverse technical knowledge with his years of experience working with entertainment-industry creatives to provide fast, practical and easy-to-understand solutions for our website support customers.
John Carter
Web Support Manager
Having worked across the arts and cultural sector in a range of roles, from box offices and IT helpdesks to marketing and digital teams at major arts centres and specialist museums, John brings a real understanding of how arts organisations work and what they need from their websites.
Nicola Butcher
Senior Designer
With over 20 years of experience designing for print and digital across arts organisations, tourism, start-ups, and corporate branding, Nic brings a considered, well-rounded eye to every project at HDK. That breadth of experience is something you notice in the work.
Lisa Kew
Senior Designer
A graphic designer, brand specialist, and artist with experience across non-profits, corporate businesses, arts organisations, and consumer brands, Lisa understands brands from the inside out. She brings that same creative instinct to everything she designs.
Greig Cooke
Senior Web Developer
A senior web developer with 20 years of experience and a background as a professional dancer, Greig's combination of technical skill and creative sensibility makes him a natural fit for HDK and the sector we work in.
Chad Rossouw
Senior Web Developer
Holding a Masters in Fine Art from the University of Cape Town, Chad worked as a designer, educator, editor, artist, and writer before moving into development. That breadth of experience across the humanities shapes how he thinks about the web and the people who use it.
Peter Blach
Film & Editing
Starting his career in the UK TV industry in 1995 and working his way into production across reality TV, short documentaries, and film, Peter has been filming and editing for HDK for over 12 years. Whatever the story, he knows how to put it on screen.