GID Goes To 11

When I joined Graffito SP last December, life was good. New job, talented (and nice) colleagues, comfy office space, and a boss that was seriously willing to let me do things my way. I was hired to build a design team that could provide creative support to the rest of the GSP team, making their work even stronger than it already was. In Spinal Tap terms, the goal was to take the quality of their work from a 10 up to an 11. Jesse and I called it GID (short for Graffito ID which is short for Graffito Identity) like it was some underground military initiative. I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that those days when we were defining GID’s DNA were the happiest and most promising of my professional career.

Brooke Porter, a ridiculously talented graphic and web designer (amongst other things), joined us right after the new year, which was a relief for me. She fit right in and having worked with her before, we could kick GID off with very little learning curve. I was very familiar with her process and she was already able to translate my cryptic direction and wordy critiques, so productivity started on day one of her arrival. This connection was also important because about a week after she became a member of the team, I had to take some personal time away from work. Then, about a month after my return, the world started crumbling around us due to COVID-19. You’d think starting strong only to have to take long series of pauses would leave me tired and discouraged. But I’m not.

I give a lot of credit to Jesse for keeping us all feeling positive and more to the point, employed. If you know Jesse, I don’t think you’d be surprised to learn that he has been an absolute rock. But ultimately, I’m feeling optimistic because our new-ish creative team now has the potential to be more helpful than we ever imagined. When we first formed GID, it was always our intention to one day offer creative services to existing Graffito clients, but we’ve come to realize that it also makes sense to expand our efforts to local restaurants and retailers that are going to need help developing assets in a rapidly changing post-coronavirus world. Because of this, we’ve decided to take GID to the next level.

Today, I’m pleased to announce that what was just an internal design team with a snazzy nickname, is now a standalone creative agency offering businesses a suite of creative services including branding + identity, environmental graphics, website design, and photography.

Because of our integration within Graffito, which has decades of combined experience working in neighborhood strategy + communications, retail development, retail leasing and urban design + planning, GID can offer its clients unmatched knowledge of the Restaurant, Retail, and Real Estate industries. This synergy is truly what makes our design firm different than the others, and we can’t wait to help our colleagues across these three industries take things up to an 11.

Before I encourage you to check out our website and get in touch if you have a project in mind, I want to share our pledge to potential GID partners:

1. Dedication: If we take on your project, regardless of the budget, it’s because we believe in it. We will show the assignment the respect it deserves. If for whatever reason we don’t think we can fully commit to your project, we won’t take it on.
2. Responsiveness: Over the years I’ve learned the secret to keeping clients happy…Respond immediately to their emails and calls. It’s literally that simple.
3. Regular Communication: If you’re used to working with designers that disappear for weeks (or months) at a time while you’re waiting for a deliverable, then you’ll love working with us. You may even become tired of the regular, unprompted updates, but we feel that’s a good problem for our clients to have.
4. No Surprises. You’ll be well aware of next steps and when to expect drafts and deliverables. And you’ll see our progress as it happens through countless (if necessary) iterations. There’s no sense in spending time designing something if we aren’t sure you’re going to like it, so we make sure to include you early and throughout every step of the way.
5. Collaboration. We’re partners, and you’re going to be involved in our process whether you like it or not. If you don’t want a collaborative relationship, GID is not for you.
6. A Powerful Team. When you hire GID you’ll will have access to the entire Graffito family. If you hire us to design your brand or name your new housing development, but you need advice on a retail issue, we will gladly put you in touch with a member of Graffito that can help.
7. Transparency. What we quote you on a project is what you’ll pay. No hourly billing here, so if the scope of a project stays the same then so will the final amount due. And if we don’t nail it, that’s on us, not you. We’ll work until we get it right.

We are so excited about this venture and hope you are too. If you fall within the Three R’s (Restaurant, Retail, Real Estate), and you need help with branding or creative services, please reach out to me at drew@graffito.com.

Until then, please check out our shiny new website at the link below!