Saline’s DesignHub Celebrates Ten Years in Business
Firm Specializes in Creative Web, Print, and Marketing Solutions for Area Clients
Saline, MI (November 23, 2009) – On Friday, November 26, 1999 – the day after Thanksgiving – Karen Ragland and Ted Chesky lugged in a load of desks, chairs, and boxes of equipment, then put up their shingle on a one-room office in the old Johnson Controls building on East Bennett Street near downtown Saline.
With that the two founded DesignHub, Inc., the Saline-based creative services and marketing firm now proudly celebrating ten full years in business.
Chris Kochmanski joined Ragland and Chesky as a DesignHub partner in 2002. Additional on-staff and freelance professionals today help the firm create Web sites, brochures, catalogs, newsletters, advertising, publicity, direct mail, trade show displays, and more for their clients – mostly small to medium-size organizations in Southeast Michigan.
In September 2006, DesignHub moved to its present digs in the historic Hoyt-Ford Offices at 600 West Michigan Avenue, on the banks of the Saline River, across from Wellers. It’s hard to miss the firm’s distinctive multi-colored “DH” logo on the building’s roadside sign when driving past it on US-12.
Award-winning Work for Clients
A good share of DesignHub’s work is for Saline businesses and organizations. The City of Saline is about to launch an extensive new Web site designed and developed by the firm. DesignHub has created logos for the Saline District Library, Saline Parks and Recreation, and the Saline Celtic Festival. The firm has also created Web sites for Saline-based American Aqua (www.americanaqua.com), Bemis Farms Childcare (www.bemisfarmscildcare.com), Homeowner Services of America (HSA; www.hsa-remodel.com), and Sun Engineering (www.sunengineering.biz).
Other DesignHub clients with significant presence in Saline include Chelsea Lumber and Evangelical Homes of Michigan. For the former, DesignHub developed the company’s Web site, www.chelsealumber.com. For the latter, DesignHub has created brochures, mailers, and advertising to help raise funds for the construction and operation of the new, state-of-the-art Memory Support Center at Brecon Village Retirement Community.
In recent years, DesignHub’s work has been recognized for excellence with Addy Awards from the Ann Arbor Ad Club. Award-winning projects have included elaborate press kits introducing new vehicles from Chrysler Corporation, artful product catalogs for Ann Arbor-based Motawi Tileworks, and the striking new Web site and brochures for Daycroft Montessori School (www.daycroft.org) of Ann Arbor.
DesignHub also recently designed and developed Motawi Tileworks’ online store, www.motawiathome.com.
Industrial and high-tech marketing is another DesignHub specialty. The firm provides creative services and marketing consultation to area technology leaders such as Advanced Photonix, Inc., Berry & Associates, Dexter Research Center, Dimensional Engineering, OptiMetrics, Sircon, Solution Recovery Services, and Survey Sciences Group.
Other DesignHub clients run the gamut from research and consulting (Center for Automotive Research, Corporate F.A.C.T.S., Program for Automotive Labor and Education) to professional services (Daniels and Zermack Associates, JPRA Architects, Metropolitan Building Services, SignGraphix), construction (Chizek Custom Builders, Peters Building Co., Phoenix Contractors, Rand Construction), real estate (McMullen Company, Samson Senior Properties, The Shipman Company), and industrial supply (Aluminum Supply Co., Hardwood Solutions, Marshall Sales, Inc., Vinylife Hose Co.)
A Decade of Steady Growth
DesignHub’s ten-year anniversary has come fast. “Sorry about the cliche,” said Chesky, “but we’ve been so busy, the time has just flown by.”
Ragland agreed, adding, “The past decade has been a rollercoaster ride, economically. First we felt the aftermath of 9/11, then the severe downturn from the banking crisis. There have also been upheavals in our business, especially on the Web side, with new twists on the technology emerging seemingly every day. But we’ve managed to weather the storms and keep up with the trends, and we’ve grown our business steadily.”
Clients clearly believe that DesignHub is doing something right. “Solid, dependable, and responsive.” “Easy to work with.” “No prima donnas.” “Like an extension of our own organization.” These are some of the words that clients used to describe DesignHub in a recent satisfaction survey.
Ragland and Chesky had previously worked together at another area marketing communications firm. Ragland brought to DesignHub her skills in account services, new business development, project management, and accounting – gained through 25+ years of business ownership and advertising industry experience.
Chesky, meanwhile, has focused on the creative side of the business. Similarly rich in experience, he continues to serve the firm’s creative director, chief graphic designer, and Web site design and development guru.
By the time Kochmanski joined DesignHub, he had amassed over two decades of experience in business-to-business marketing with leading area technology companies such as Mechanical Dynamics, Cleo Communications, Interface Systems, and ADP Network Services. Kochmanski added expertise in marketing strategy and copywriting, along with sales and account management ability, to the DesignHub mix.
In time, the firm’s steady growth convinced Ragland, Chesky, and Kochmanski to build the DesignHub team. Jason West, a talented young graphic designer and Web developer, signed on in 2008, and has especially helped the firm keep pace with changing Web methods and technology. Ryan Sexton is DesignHub’s chief Web programmer.
In addition, the firm draws upon a stable of freelance designers, programmers, photographers, and other creative professionals as needed. This business model enables the company to expand and contract as the workload demands.
Ragland’s mellow seven-year-old dog Copper – believed to be a Nova Scotia Duck-tolling Retriever – spends most business hours with the DesignHub staff at their office. He lends a calming canine presence when deadlines are tight.
Community and Professional Involvement
DesignHub makes a point of giving back to the communities that support it. The firm sponsors many community events, organizations, and charities. These have included C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Saline Area Schools, the Saline Area Youth Baseball Association, the Saline Celtic Festival, Saline Fiddlers, the Saline Firehouse Chili Cook-off, and more.
DesignHub’s contributions have not only been financial; the firm sometimes donates its time, services, and marketing expertise to help favorite causes.
Saline resident Renee Dooley lends her distinctive graphic design touch as a regular DesignHub contributor. With her husband Dan Dooley and friends, she organizes Saline’s annual Winter Beach Blast at the UAW hall, benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The whole DesignHub staff enthusiastically supports the event.
Ragland, in particular, is a whirlwind of community involvement. She on the executive board of the Saline Area Chamber of Commerce, the publicity committee for the Evangelical Homes of Michigan Memory Support Center, the Saline Culture & Arts Committee, and the organizing committee for Saline Summerfest.
In recognition of Ragland’s extensive contributions to the community, the Saline Area Chamber of Commerce saluted her as Saline’s Citizen of the Year for 2007.
This past August, DesignHub and its landlord, Phoenix Packaging, Inc., hosted the first annual Great Gatsby Regatta, a festive benefit for the Saline High School’s crew team, on the two companies’ riverfront grounds. Ragland, who is on the crew team’s board of directors, was the event’s chief organizer. It raised money to build a boathouse for the team. Guests were invited to dress in ‘20s-era outfits, and they danced to old-fashioned big-band music. About 150 people attended and made financial contributions.
Kochmanski, meanwhile, volunteers for the Friends of the Saline District Library. He is a former director of the Ann Arbor IT Zone and a current director of the Ann Arbor Ad Club. He also initiated the popular Marketing Roundtable program series for Ann Arbor SPARK, and continues to serve on its organizing committee.
Once per month, Kochmanski contributes marketing consulting to a selected start-up or young technology company as a member of SPARK’s Expert Resource Board.
Both Ragland and Kochmanski are graduates of the Saline Leadership Institute – Ragland in 2006, and Kochmanski the following year.
Chesky is a member of the Great Oak Cohousing Community of Ann Arbor. He shares in managing the community, contributing to it, sharing in its upkeep and day-to-day activities, and enhancing its resources.
West recently volunteered to help organize and conduct programs for Refresh Detroit, an association of some of the area’s top Web designers and developers. He is also a member of the Michigan Usability Professionals Association.
DesignHub is a member of the Saline Area Chamber of Commerce, the Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Chelsea Area Chamber of Commerce.
In for the Long Haul
Looking ahead, DesignHub is confident in the continued growth of its business. “We’re in this for the long haul,” said Kochmanski. “Thanks to the support of our great clients, we’ve managed to survive, and even thrive, in a shaky economic climate.”
DesignHub is, at this very moment, enhancing its offerings, especially in the Web-related areas of search engine optimization, content management systems, and social media. Their main aim: to meet their clients’ ever-increasing needs.
“Now let me go into sales-pitch mode for a minute,” added Kochmanski with the hint of a smile. “Are you looking for a creative services firm that will work as your partner to help you increase sales and build your business? If so, we’d love to hear from you.”
DesignHub can be contacted at (734) 944-8705 or info@design-hub.com. Learn more about the company, and see a portfolio of their work, at www.design-hub.com.
Media Contact:
Chris Kochmanski
(734) 944-8705
chris@design-hub.com
www.design-hub.com
