We knew we wanted to hold the ribbon cutting in May, because not only was this the month we moved into the studio, it also marked our first year in business as Different By Design, not to mention that in May Billy also celebrated his 30th birthday!
We got in contact with the two design professors (Gregg Berryman and Alan Rellaford) immediately once we picked a date and we were so thrilled when they assured us they would be there!
I remember Billy speaking highly of both Gregg and Alan often during his years at Chico State. It's funny because there are some students who were not fond of these professors and when I personally met them I didn't understand why they might be disliked. When I asked Billy about it, he said it was because both Gregg and Alan were honest. They gave honest critiques of the students' work and pushed them to be better. They didn't just tell you what they thought you wanted to hear, they challenged you to put out your very best work. Billy not only admired them for this, he appreciated the fact that they were disciplining him to be the best designer he could be.
Gregg Berryman actually founded the design department at Chico State over 40 years ago. He is also the designer of CSU, Chico's logo and current seal. CSU, Chico was the first university in the CSU system to develop an integrated visual identification system. ("Traditions"; www.csuchico.edu)
Gregg has won many national design awards and is the author of several articles and books on design theory.
Alan Rellaford is actually another former student of Gregg's and a fellow CSU, Chico alumni. He previously worked at some of the best design firms including Sargent + Berman, Bright + Associates, and Landor Associates before returning back to Chico as a design professor and he is now currently the Creative Director for CSU, Chico.
Not only did we have the honor of having both of these well respected men in the design community at our opening (along with Gregg's lovely wife), but they both also spoke about Billy before the ribbon cutting and it was by far one of the greatest moments of the evening.
In one of the pictures you can see Gregg holding up a marker sketch Billy created while still a student. It was a mockup sketch for a book cover for Watershed and the drawing is of a needle in a haystack (Billy had 2 of the top 3 designs, and his other design went on to win and be the cover for that year's book).
I love that Gregg took the time to locate Billy's old work and it was perfectly fitting for the opening. Gregg spoke that while he knew a few good designers in the Yuba Sutter area, these designers commuted out of town for work. He joked that in the design community they would say, "Finding a good graphic designer in Yuba City would be like finding a needle in a haystack!" He went on to say that when we mentioned to him back in October we were thinking of opening a full time design studio in Yuba City he said, "Why?!" However he went on to discuss that he remembered Billy for his tenacity and strong work ethic. At the time Billy was a student, he not only commuted two hours daily for school, he worked weekends at Sam's Club, worked a design intern on campus (where he was later hired), volunteered on the AAF sponsored NSAC student design competition (where he was selected to be one of the lead designers), and we had our second son the second to last of Billy's semesters out at Chico during finals' week! Gregg recalled that despite all of these commitments, Billy always put forth exceptional work and that he was sure that Billy's combination of tenacity and quality design work would insure success.
He also mentioned our business name and how he liked that we were "different" because of the added value an educated and professional designer can bring to small businesses, helping differentiate them from their competition as well.
Alan was also kind enough to speak and he recalled how you usually remember students for 1 of 2 things: being great or being bad. He said Billy always stuck out to him and it was for being a great student and designer. Alan actually headed up the team Billy was lead designer on for the NSAC design competition and talked about Billy's role in helping their team win first place in their region.
We cannot even begin to thank both Gregg and Alan enough for coming down to Yuba City for the opening of Yuba City's first creative print design and art studio by a former CSU, Chico graduate! Gregg mentioned that he was bringing the needle in the haystack print back "home"; he was right! We hung the print up in the studio and we love that it reminds us not only of the path Billy completed to get to this point this far, but also of the great instructors that helped to get him there!
We were truly blessed by their presence. Thank you Gregg and Alan! Your being here meant the world to us!
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