GS Design: The Start of Our Next 25 Years
by Marc Tebon on July 27, 2011 Twenty-five years ago, in 1986, Jeff and I started this thing called GS Design. As I reflect on this milestone today, I wonder where all the time went, and marvel at how much has changed. The last quarter-century has seen constant, radical change in our industry (remember “paste-up”?). Rolling with those changes has certainly made things challenging and exciting – and it has also made the time just fly by.
In the face of all that “excitement,” however, I’m especially grateful for the things that remain the same. Because those are the most important things, the foundations upon which we’ve built our business.
For one thing, while Jeff and I have been through a lot together, and we maintain a strong partnership – and even stronger friendship. Our 1986 girlfriends are now our wives. And even as we work hard to balance the needs of a demanding business with building our families, we still make time every year to take a motorcycle trip to talk business, envision its future, and laugh at all the good memories we’ve collected along the way. Our first employee, Amy Reid, is even still here, as are a good number of those that joined our organization during the early years.
What began as a couple of guys, fresh out of college, trying their hands in the design business, now includes nearly 50 of the most talented strategists, designers, writers, user experience architects, and developers this town has seen. Our company has certainly grown up; GS Design offers a broader range of capabilities and expertise than Jeff and I ever envisioned during those early days. And we work with a far more impressive array of clients than we could have ever dreamed. Despite that, the spirit that was there at the start remains at the core of GS Design today. Our unique culture is proof of that.
While Jeff and I take pride in the role we’ve played in making GS what it has become, we recognize that our success has been heavily dependent on the great people who surround us. Our employees are like family – to us and to one another. Perhaps the thing that gives me the most pride of all is that our business helps support so many people and families. Likewise, our clients have become good friends who overwhelmingly supported our growth at every step. It’s because of all these people that we still love coming to work each day.
So, while we celebrate GS Design’s 25th anniversary with enthusiasm, we’re eager to get started on the next 25 years. For there’s no doubt they hold the same, if not more, growth, opportunity, and happiness that comprised our first 25.