Hello
Imber Design was founded in Portland in 2025 by Maddy Mackin Freeman. We create thoughtful interior environments for commercial spaces—workplace, retail, medical office, hospitality, and education—that function well and feel good to inhabit. The goal is simple: design spaces people actually want to spend time in, spaces that encourage connection and foster community in the everyday.
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The name comes from the Latin word for rain—a nod to what makes the Pacific Northwest so lush and beautiful, and a reminder that what might seem like a burden is also the source of what we love most about where we live.
About
I came to interior design through fine art, studying at Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland. That foundation taught me to see space as something more than function—it's about experience, feeling, and how people move through the world. After working for PNCA and the last twelve years at firms including Hacker Architects and DBW, I started Imber Design to focus on what matters most: creating environments that honor both place and people.
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My work draws from the quieter, intentional design traditions of Scandinavia and Japan alongside the Pacific Northwest—places where interior architecture is rooted in respect for materials, light, and the human scale. The clients I work with are open to innovation and genuinely curious about how design can improve the way people work, gather, and connect.
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Every project starts with the same questions: How will people actually use this space? What will make them want to be here? I believe good design should feel inevitable—like the space has always been waiting to serve its purpose.