Fit combines a deep capability in ethnographic research, comfort with systems problems, a history in product and interaction design, and a determination to do what it takes to establish the conditions for positive change.

Fit has established long-term relationships with corporate and institutional clients aiming to make a viable, sustainable difference for people and society. Increasingly, Fit is turning its attention to work in sustainability, local development, and other issues whose scope exceeds the reach of any single organization.

History
Fit Associates was founded in January 2005, by Marc Rettig and Jenna Date. Since that time it has grown in prominence and influence in the industry, pioneering the application of research and design methods not only to products and strategy, but to the social contexts in which those products are created and used.

In 2008, Fit rewrote its corporate intention, setting itself to seek the greatest impact for the common good.

Marc Rettig
After a first career as a software developer, Marc found that the field of Design allowed him to combine his passions for ethnographic methods, language, systems thinking, and people. His work as an designer, educator, and researcher brought him together with Fit Associate's co-founder, Jenna Date, through a shared commitment to shipping design that improves life.

Marc’s personal client list includes BBC, the U.S. Army, Crate and Barrel, Microsoft, Allstate, Caterpillar, Diamond Partners, and Texas Instruments. He has taught both lecture and studio courses at Carnegie Mellon’s Graduate School of Design (where he was the 2003 Nierenberg Distinguished Chair of Design) and the Institute of Design, IIT, in Chicago.

Prior to founding Fit Associates, Marc served as Chief Experience Officer of the pace-setting user experience consultancy HannaHodge, where he was responsible for the firm's user-centered process, team culture, and research initiatives. He was a Director of User Experience at Cambridge Technology Partners. Prior to that he was a consultant with seeSpace, VP of Design for Digital Knowledge Assets, and a Senior Architect in the Advanced Technologies Group at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). Marc has an undergraduate degree in Anthropology and Linguistics, and completed requirements for a Master’s in Computational Linguistics at New York University.

Marc frequently speaks and conducts hands-on workshops in industry and academic settings around the world. He currently serves on the advisory boards of UXNet, The Interaction Design Association, and Rosenfeld Media, and is on the editorial staff of interactions magazine.

Jenna Date
After four years of contribution to Fit Associates, Jenna is now the Director of the Masters in Human-Computer Interaction program at Carnegie Mellon University.

Jenna's skills in research and design, her creative mind and heart for people, and her point of view on business, society, and meaningful work were crucial to Fit Associates' formative years. Jenna established a way of working that became the heart of Fit's practices and principles. Her spirit continues in the work at Fit, even as she brings those same qualities to her new work at Carnegie Mellon.

Jenna's undergraduate degree in Women’s Studies & Literature was followed by a first career in database design and management for environmental law firms. She holds a Master’s in Human-Computer Interaction from the Carnegie Mellon HCI Institute. Jenna's experience and interests include interaction and software interface design, process management, organizational planning, group facilitation, ethnographic research, community relationships & urban planning, and design for sustainable living.