Thinking about Your Brand from the Start
With the job pickin’s slim, and new-found time on their hands, many of the recently unemployed are turning themselves into the next generation of entrepreneurs. Figuring that now’s the time to try out that idea they’ve always had on the back burner, and with nothing to lose, more and more small businesses are starting up. Starting a new business is of course a major undertaking, and making headway in a market with your new business can be tough, so think of branding as your friend. The friend you need right from the start. And a friend you should choose carefully. So put some thought into it.
I recently went to an amazing event called THRIVE: The Future of Printing sponsored at GSB’s print production facility and sponsored by HP. The format was pretty cool, it took place at in Long Island City. The backdrop was two amazing 21st century machines, the HP Indigo 5000 and the HP Indigo 5500. A couple hundred people filled the room to hear from experts Stephan Steiner, President, GSB, Rob Mangini, Director of Sales, GSB, Francis McMahon, Director of Marketing, HP and Jan Reicher, Vice President & GM Graphics Solutions Business & Imaging. 
As the country recovers from the economy, businesses and consumers are both looking forward to a fresh start. But wallets are slow to open up to big businesses. So how does a company get people to feel a bit better about using money on them? By redesigning their corporate logo! 
More than 20 graphic design graduate students visited CS Designworks as part of an annual program coordinated by instructor Elle Yoon. CS Designworks has strong ties to Pratt – Nick Chiechi, Michael Soha, Jose Ortiz and Liz Leih are all alumni. The session exposes students to the profession and workspace environment. Each staff member made a brief presentation to a group of five students and then the groups rotated so each got an idea of what each designer does. 
When starting up a company, there’s an initial checklist people usually go through: