Design & Marketing Series
A series for artists & businesses
Instructors: Mike Risano and Marty McDonald
Wednesday, July 24 @ 6 PM
Spark Coworking and Makerspace, 165 E Craftsbury Rd, Greensboro, VT
FREE
This class in our series is an interactive practice in creating a brand platform for your business or product.
In our last class on July 9, we discussed what a brand platform is, and why it is important to clarify the background of your brand before moving into important choices like colors, fonts, and icons to represent your brand. This Wednesday we will try our hands at creating our own brand platforms. In pairs or as a small group, we will complete the attached worksheet, modeled after the brand platform that Marty created for Golden Coast Mead in 2016 (see attachments).
Come prepared to discuss these questions as they apply to your own brand. Each student will walk away from this class with the beginnings of a brand platform. You will be able to use this work to jump into graphic design, or guide your conversations with graphic and web designers you may want to hire.
Grants for continuing development...
Those who have been attending the series regularly, or who are able to rejoin us for this brand platform exercise, are all eligible to receive a credit at Spark up to $200. Grant information sheets will be provided at this class, as well as instructions for how to use your grant. The Spark credits may be used for memberships, passes to access our Adobe software, printing costs, and more. This is a great way to print brochures, posters, and more for your business.
Please RSVP to this class before 12 pm on Wednesday, July 24.
Mike Risano is a freelance web developer and graphic designer with over a decade of experience building and managing websites for various small and large businesses nationwide and over 20 years of graphic design and print marketing experience. New to the NEK, Mike hopes to network with local business owners and residents to help them develop the skills they need to build their own websites for their businesses, organizations, and hobbies.
Marty McDonald has been an Art Director and Creative Director for over 20 years, with industry awards for clients like Coca-Cola, Southwest Airlines, and Stonyfield Farm. He launched the first-of-its-kind sustainability-based marketing and brand development firm, working exclusively with companies like Patagonia, Energy Star, and The Honest Company. His company was a founding B Corporation, setting a new corporate standard for social and environmental performance. A central focus has been on food systems and permaculture, working with regenerative farming industry leaders White Oak Pastures and the Savory Institute, young farmers and artisan food producers, the Washington State Department of Agriculture, Viva Farms, and The Center for Local Food and Sustainable Living.