Through our 13 years as a branding and product development firm we have worked on some unusual projects on both products and brand packaging. It has been a strange and sometimes wonderful trip, some projects we sooner forget than remember. Take a look.

The Kneeler

This concept was brought to us by a former boss of mine. He had a friend that needed help developing branding for a product.  It was a small portable foam pad with its own convenient carry case that would be used to kneel on in church. They needed a package and a corporate name for religious products. After one our most memorable namestorms, we came up with Spiritually Linked for the corporate name and the tag line “Comfortably closer to God”. I personally thought this was particularly clever. For the package we needed to show someone using the “Kneeler” in church. It was decided that I was the perfect model for the package since it would only be the back of my head showing. The day of the shoot I wore what I thought was dressy for today’s “casual” masses, khakis and a dress shirt. We shot it at Fuzion and dropped it into a stock image as the budget did not permit a shoot in an actual church. After reviewing our initial layout, the client decided I did not look dressed up enough for church and requested a reshoot with me wearing dress slacks. He obviously had not been to Saturday night Mass of recent. Reshot, the kneeler was launched. We prayed it would be a success!

Junk In My Trunk

This was game that never saw the light of day and this company has since been bought out by a larger company and no longer exists. The game involved the player wearing a big pink plastic butt on their butt, it had self-stick surface so you could pick up various illustrated boards of junk “apple core, old shoe” etc. and shake it off onto a mat illustration of a trunk, hence “Junk in My Trunk”. When shown to the buyer at Target, they felt it was decidedly vulgar and passed. Junk In My Trunk infamously did not move forward but we do have a handsome package mock-up on display at Fuzion.

Adult Toy (not related to Junk In My Trunk)

We traveled to NYC to meet with the client. Apparently, he was a big player in the porn & adult toy industry. He picked us up in his Mercedes which was stocked with some of the most explicit porn magazines we had ever seen. At our steak house lunch, he discussed his idea for an adult vibrating product that would look like a pen. We will leave it at that. Needless to say, Fuzion passed on this unique product development opportunity. I’m not sure how that would have looked on our website.

Beer Darts

Beer and Darts, what could go wrong? This game is definitely not for the faint of heart or for those with poor aim. I’m sure this daringly stupid game has been played at more than one drunken frat party. The rules of the game are simple 2 opponents sit opposite from each other maybe 10 or 12 feet apart and you put an unopened beer can between your preferably bare feet and take turns throwing darts at each other with the goal of hitting the beer can. If you were a good shot and hit the beer can, the other player had to drink the now gushing beer. If you were a bad shot, well you can google this and see darts sticking out of various appendages including legs, feet etc…use your imagination. We created a base so your beer – heaven forbid, would not fall over. Welcome to the “never moved forward hall of fame”.

Go-Girlz

We worked on product development as well as branding and naming of the line. These dolls were to be the antithesis of Barbie. They were to be dolls that would let little girls imagine being astronauts, explorers, scientists etc. without having a 13” waist or looking stylish. The product went pretty smoothly but the name was a bit more difficult. The client wanted a name that would exude action and excitement and after a namestorm we narrowed it down to our favorite “Go Girlz”. After a quick google search and a more professional search on TESS the governments “Trademark Electric Search System”, success! Go-Girlz seemed clear, no TM. We were ready to present!  Fortunately, someone tried it as a URL and surprise, it turns out it was a porn site. How embarrassing. Good rule of thumb when clearing names, just because it has not been trademarked doesn’t mean someone isn’t using it. I don’t remember what the final name was or if the doll every saw the light of day but the name Go-Girlz never did.

I hope you enjoyed Fuzion’s trip down “Stranger Things” memory lane. Have a strange thing or great idea you need help developing?

Reach out to us at info@fuziondesign.com

Bee all that you can Bee. That was the thought behind a new product idea developed by Len Ryszkiewicz, an avid home gardener. An electrician by trade, Len came upon a roll of tape used to mark electrical projects, etc. It was made to be biodegradable and was bright yellow. The gardener in Len kicked in, and he realized this would be a perfect garden ribbon to tie up plants; and from his deep knowledge of gardening, he knew that bees were attracted to bright colors like yellow. With more bees you get better pollination, and with a 60% decrease in bee population since 1947, it seemed a no brainer.

One day this past spring Len, a Pawtucket native, walked right into Fuzion unannounced; and after a very enthusiastic description of his product idea, Len hired us to brand and package his new product. Fuzion’s scheduled one of our famous namestorms, and we came up with a winner that was not only tongue-in-cheek, it perfectly described his product. “Bee-Line” was born with a tagline “Attracts bees and supports your local garden.” Next was the logo design. Len had expressed an interest creating a mascot for the brand. After researching several bee characters, Fuzion’s designers came up with a few options and applied them to packaging concepts. After careful consideration he chose “Sting,” a tough & buff Bee on a mission to deliver Bee-Line. The packaging included a honeycomb pattern to reinforce the Bee message and, of course, a lifestyle shot of the product in use. Check out the final packaging and meet Sting!  Easily one of the most fun icons we have developed at Fuzion.  He looks great on t-shirts, hats, and most importantly Len’s new business card.

Look for Bee-Line next Spring in a store near you and tie one on!

Need help with launching your brand? Contact us at: info@fuziondesign.com

Believe it or not in this 90º + weather, winter is what we have been working on at Fuzion. One of our newest clients is Paricon, owners of the brand Flexible Flyer. They are the makers of those iconic sleds,  which date back to 1898 when the first Flexible Flyer was patented by Samuel Leeds Allen in Cinnaminson, New Jersey. Their unique difference was a wooden cross piece that enabled the rider to steer with their feet or hands. It took a while to catch on, but in 1915 sales soared and over a 120,000 were sold. The brand changed hands many times over the years and is now owned by Paricon and based in Paris, Maine. Some sleds are still made there today, but most production takes place in China.

Enter Fuzion. With recent additions to their product line including snow removal tools (scrapers and brushes) to snowboards, fun in the snow toys, snow markers, snow block makers, snowman kits, and inflatable snow tubes, the old line look was feeling dated and disjointed. One of our first challenges was to update the logo, which had remained more or less unchanged since its inception in 1889. They wanted an evolutionary change as they didn’t want to lose the iconic eagle logo and any brand equity that went with it.  After exploring several versions, the chosen logo direction was cleaner and a bit more modern than the older version, but still definitely had the flavor of the original. Next we needed to design packaging that would work seamlessly with the new logo. With decidedly two very different product lines — the snow removal and kids toys — the lines needed to have two distinctively different looks but still be related. Another challenge was timing; we had to act fast as these are seasonal items and needed to be shipping by July for this winter’s sales. After developing several options for both lines, a direction was chosen that related the two lines but each felt different.

As we developed the new branding, we were also called upon to work on updating some of the products, including the snowman kit, snowball slingshot, snow markers, and several different snow molds from a penguin to a unicorn. Take a look at our logo and package exploration. Look for the products in the stores this winter, as some of them are shipping already.

Have some products that you want to fly off the shelves?

Reach out to info@fuziondesign.com or give us a call at 401.722.8555 and let’s make it happen.

What is CDS you ask? Why it’s Hasbro’s Creative Development Studios. A group of 10 different departments from Package Engineering to Creative Operations to Sustainability. Each with their own identity and or icon. A lot goes on behind the scenes in toy development that the general public has no idea is taking place. Earlier this year, Brendan Opiekun the Creative Manager at Hasbro’s CDS approached Fuzion about updating their branding and of course, we responded with a resounding yes, we would love to! We are going to give you a behind the scenes look of what we started with, what the direction was, the many concepts we produced and the final logo and matching icons.

The existing brand look spelled out Creative Design Studios. A mouthful. We focused our designs on the acronym CDS, to make a stronger visual statement along with being simpler to remember. The logo needed to incorporate today’s technology with the digital, pixel-based and 3D world we live in today. Keeping this in mind, we explored the use of pixels and 3D elements when creating the CDS logo concepts.

From there it was narrowed down to CDS with floating pixels in both a 3D and 2D design. After seeing these logos side by side, the final logo was chosen! A flat 2D logo was decidedly cleaner and fresher, with a stronger visual impact.

On to the icons.

The original icons were done in an almost sketchy manner. The new icons introduced subtle gradients to brighten the colors and a simple illustration style that paired well with the new logo. Incorporating that on a 3D base introduced the 3D aspect Hasbro was envisioning. We carried through the illustration style to create a cohesive iconic statement representing each department.

The new logo and icons were a hit! Brendan Opiekun states: “We were excited to work with Fuzion Design for our organization rebrand. Wayne and his team were quick to understand our business challenges and did an outstanding job of concepting unique and creative solutions to achieve our goals. The final branding materials were exactly what we needed to help us become a recognizable and respected presence amongst our global partners.”

Time for a rebrand? Let’s make it happen.

401.722.8555 

Ask for Wayne!

OOfos, the revolutionary recovery footwear brand, was looking to try on a new box for their new OOmg shoes. Duncan Finnigan, the brand leader & marketing director, wanted the consumer to know that they were getting something special, just by opening the package. They also wanted some real estate to tell their OO story. Fuzion stepped up to the challenge! After much research and several iterations later, we came up with an award-winning structure, and graphic design. The front flap opened to expose two separate compartments (one for each shoe) that could fold back independently and expose a major billboard for OOfos to tell their technology story. Not only did they have ample space there, but the entire inside of the extensive flap offered even more space to talk about Project Pink, their passionate project to donate 3% of all online sales to the Dana Faber Breast Cancer Research Center.

Package Engineering

With our in-house package engineering we were able to explore multiple structures and quickly cut them out on our Konsberg cutting table. After determining which structure worked the best for our needs, we then applied different graphic executions to give our client multiple options to choose from.

Package Design

Here you see the same package structure with different graphic treatments and photography. Notice how each has entirely different feel. The brown craft paper generally gives it a green, organic feel, while black always feels more high-end, and white brings a fresh clean quality. Black and white photography adds an air of sophistication and can help elevate the brand look, while also allowing spot colors to pop and help call out important features and benefits.

Try on some Fuzion branding. It might just make you stand out from the crowd and keep you a step ahead of the competition.

When we opened our doors in 2008, Fuzion was known mostly for our expertise in the juvenile and toy industry. Fast forward to 2019, Fuzion has branched out to consumer goods, personal care and even footwear. So put your toy boxes away and let’s explore some award-winning branding that has nothing to do with the toy or juvenile industry.

StoneClean Soap

Did you know the US’s largest manufacturer of bar soaps is in little Rhody? Neither did we. In fact, Bradford Soap has been helping us clean up our act since 1876. Finding us through DESIGNxRI and working in conjunction with Bradford Soap, StoneClean, a startup soap purveyor, was looking for high-end branding that would help it’s new bar soaps get a footing in the highly competitive industry. Fuzion’s award-winning branding helped launch the new kid on the soap block.

OOfos

This manufacturer of high-end recovery footwear for the avid runner was looking for a shoebox that set them apart from the pack. After much research, and exploring several structure and graphic approaches, Fuzion developed an award-winning package that opened in a very different way. Each shoe had its own nook, making the box look more like a display than a shoebox when opened. This unique design, along with an abundance of space for OOfos to tell their story, assured the consumer that they were getting something really special.

Muvit

Muvit is an all-purpose utility cart for families on the go. The client wanted a name that said what it did and a tag line that reinforced the “travel anywhere with your stuff” mantra. The branding needed to be contemporary and speak to the product’s “on the move” features. A piercing arrow graphic and the tag line “A moving experience” completed the branding with a touch of whimsy. The packaging’s bold graphics are simple but make a bold memorable statement.

We were excited to learn last week that Fuzion was chosen as one of Rhode Island Inno’s 50 on Fire Award Winners. Four firms in the design sector were chosen and Fuzion was the only branding firm amongst the 4. Since 2017, Rhode Island Inno has been covering and connecting the state’s ecosystem, producing digital media and events about the entrepreneurs, executives, startups, businesses, trends and topics that are the shaping the present and future of Rhode Island’s economy.

Let us help you set your business on fire (not literally of course). Give us a call 401-722-8555 and we can start a spark!

By Wayne Blatchley

Remember when Barbie caught all kinds of crap when she said, “math class is tough”? Well, I’m not sure she would have been in as much trouble if she said “design is tough,” but believe me it is. I have been doing it for most of my life (let’s not use real years here, but were talking at least 3 or 4 dogs). Design is tough, and sometimes depending on the client, really, really tough. But to be fair, from the client’s point of view, I’m sure they have found the design process difficult at times as well. What the client envisions and what the designer envisions are usually very different. Designers are improvers, always wanting to make it “better,” cleaner, more concise and this is not always what the client wants. So, it would not be uncommon to hear from a client “why is there so much blank space?” and the ever popular “can you make the logo bigger?”.

Fuzion recently hosted a branding seminar for RI Goldman Sachs 10K Small Businesses and one of the topics we covered was how to work with designers. So Brian Boyle of Cross Trainer and I came up with some helpful hints for when working with designers. To make it a little more fun, we did a scripted role-play (coming soon to a theater near you).

1. You hired a designer; let them design.

Designer: These are the designs we came up with for your logo after carefully researching your market and the competitive set in your arena. Please look them over and we can review tomorrow.

(The next day)

 Client: I showed the logos to my wife, the mailman and my 5-year-old son. We kind of like option one, but think it should be green and purple and change the font to something more fun like brush script and add a light bulb for the dot above the “i” to emphasize how smart our product is.

Moral: You hired the designer to design; let them design. Don’t show your milkman; show your audience.

2. Know your budget.

Client: I need a complete branding from ground up, research, naming, logo, business card, signage, sales sheet, and trade booth.

Designer: Wow, that is a lot of work and a really great project for us. Do you have a specific budget in mind? It’s really helpful for us to know if you have a budget so we can try and work within it its parameters.

Client: No, I don’t really have a budget for this at all. Have no idea what it should be. Can you just come back with a proposal?

(2 days later)

Designer: We came up with a proposal and it looks like around $20K for everything.

Client: OMG, never thought it would be that much I only budgeted $10K. I was hoping you would come in under that. What can we take out?

Moral: If you have a budget, share it with the designer. It will save time, effort, and frustrations for both parties.

3. Be fair.

Client: (on phone) We love your work and really want to work with you, but could you just mock something up quick, so we can see what you are going to do?

Designer: (thinking) That’s basically like asking me to do the work for free. It devalues my work and goes against everything I stand for. Normally I wouldn’t but this is a great potential client and I need this job, so I’ll do it just this one time.

Designer: Okay, I’ll do some mockups if it will help me get your business.

Client: Awesome, thanks, this will definitely pay off for you I promise. *fist pumps in air* knowing that they will never pay this designer for their creative work. 

Moral: There’s a special place in hell for clients that behave this way. Be fair to your designer and they will work hard for you.

4. Design is not a commodity.

Designer: I’ve reviewed the RFP, and this project is right up our alley. We’ve helped a lot of businesses just like yours achieve their goals. You’re looking at $25K all in for the design and programming.

Client: What?!? The last website we did cost $2,500! How is this possible?

Designer: Ok, so how did you like that site?

Client: Well… it never really worked the way they said it would, and I practically designed it myself using a template they provided, and the programmer got a new job and changed his number, but besides that it was alright for a while.

Designer: We’re going to approach this site very differently. This site will be built using state-of-the-art tech in combination with professional custom design by award-winning designers. Your website is your most important marketing tool, and we will use this platform to effectively communicate your brand. We understand your needs and have several happy clients that can vouch for our capabilities.

Client: Ok, would you do it for $3,500?

Moral: Design is not a commodity, so make sure you’re comparing apple to apples.

Do you need some branding? Would you like to test your newly acquired working-with-a-designer skills? Give us a call! We may just let you make the logo bigger (maybe just a little).

It has been 10 years since Fuzion opened its doors in 2008 (in hindsight, probably not the best year to start a business). While the timing may have not been ideal, Fuzion has managed to persevere and thrive through the years and are excited to be celebrating our 10th anniversary.

Starting out in a 1500-square-foot office, which seemed way too big. Wayne remembers it seemed like two BBs rolling around in a boxcar. But before you could say Jiminy Cricket, we outgrew the space at 150 Main Street, and in 2012 moved to a spectacular new 4,500-square-foot space in the Design Exchange building at 161 Exchange St., practically a stone’s throw from the former office. Hundreds of projects later, we are still producing award winning branding solutions for a wide variety of clientele.

To celebrate, we are going to take you on a stroll down memory lane to show you some of our most memorable and successful projects at Fuzion to date. Have a favorite? We would love to hear about it.

1) Easy-Bake

Easy-Bake Oven is easily our most famous project to date. The biggest challenges for this iconic toy makeover were to eliminate the light bulb, which was the heating element, and to design a modern new look that would feel at home on the counter in today’s modern kitchens. After hours and hours of research and probably 3 dozen design iterations, Fuzion knocked it out of the ballpark. When the Easy-Bake Oven was launched, it became one of the top 10 selling holiday toys that year, and continues to be on the wish list for aspiring chefs!

2) PearHealth

The PatientPod was Fuzion’s first foray into the burgeoning healthcare market. Our client, Pat Mastors, saw the need for a product that could help prevent the spread of pathogens after her father became a victim of MRSA during a routine hospital visit. Fuzion helped her design and brand the PatientPod portable wellness center. It easily clipped on a bed rail, IV pole or even a wheel chair, reducing fall risk, helping prevent the spread of pathogens, eliminate lost patient items and reduce harm during care.

3) Allen Bike Rack

Good things do come in small packages! The owner of Allen Sports came to Fuzion with a cardboard mockup for a compact foldable bike rack. After trial and tribulation, and some Fuzion engineering, the Allen Sports One Bike Compact Folding Bike Rack was born! It even came with a carrying tote bag that could fit into your backpack. When launched at Walmart, it soon became a top seller. Fuzion went on to develop several variations, including a 2-bike rack and a lightweight aluminum rack.

4) AT&T

The challenge for Fuzion on this very high-end line of baby monitors was that AT&T had never made the foray into baby products. The big question was how do you take a line look designed exclusively for tech products and make it work amongst a sea of baby monitors. Luckily, Fuzion was up for the challenge and persevered with a look that was clean with concise information and lifestyle photography that warmed the line look and helped tell the story of these high-tech baby monitors. Chalk another award-winning branding to Fuzion!

5) Candylicious

Who wouldn’t want to eat a bubble? Especially if it tasted like tutti frutti or bubble gum! Little Kids, a local manufacturer of toys for kids of all ages, with a knack for all that is bubbles, posed that question to Fuzion with their new edible bubble line, “Candylicious.” Fuzion not only developed a playful and colorful logo and line look, but also helped bring the iconic Candy Bandit character to life. Candylicious was a huge success when launched at Toy Fair in 2015 and won a prestigious American Graphic Design Award for packaging in 2015.

6) SmartSheer

Smart Textiles Inc. needed to launch a new sheer drape line. Though stylish and unassuming, these patented sheers had insulation qualities comparable to polystyrene insulation and would save on energy bills. The challenge was to quickly communicate the story at retail. After much research, Fuzion designed a brand look that stood out from the competition, utilizing iconography to convey its features. An immediate success at Bed Bath & Beyond, it spawned several lines of window treatment products.

7) Nösh

This start-up baby & toddler snack food company engaged Fuzion to create a unique brand story and an eye-catching retail presentation to ensure the successful launch of their new rice crackers in the highly competitive specialty baby and toddler food market. Designed to resemble an established farm fresh organic brand that would attract health-conscious foodie Moms, Nosh Launched in 400 Babies “R” Us in September 2016. Fast forward today, it is now in over 4,000 stores and more than 20 countries. Fuzion has won awards in both branding and website design for this artisanal organic brand.

8) 20 Volt

Talk about fast! This 20 Volt RC truck with speed up to 30 MPH, grossed millions in sales for the parent company Kid Galaxy in partial thanks to Fuzion’s ability to tell a story through compelling graphics and package structure. Not only did Fuzion design the brand look, but also designed the graphics for this speedy RC vehicle. A very cool gritty skull graphic and dynamic font treatment helped drive home the differentiating 20V interchangeable battery feature. When launched at a major warehouse club last fall they literally flew off the shelves.

9) Metalform

Metalform, a manufacturer of gun magazines who sold to gun manufactures like Smith & Wesson, represented a unique branding challenge for Fuzion. They also sold their own brand, Metalform. Seeing an opportunity in a marketplace full of poorly branded competitors, Metalform decided to invest in marketing. Utilizing our proven brand strategy, Fuzion targeted the uninspired branding of the competitive set and developed a brand look that made Metalform pop off the shelves. The look was debuted at a major trade show (in a booth that was also designed by Fuzion) and sales shot up!

10) Brackitz

Brackitz is a STEM building system, developed by a dad scientist noticing that his kids wanted to build things that just couldn’t be executed with traditional blocks. After success in the specialty market, they decided to take their package to next level for the big box store arena. Eliminating a window box added real estate for a larger branding presence and a lifestyle image to show scale. A new bold vertical logo and dynamic photography on a bright green field added drama and excitement. The new look was a unanimous success at Hong Kong and NYC toy fair in 2018.

Recently, Fuzion was invited to pay a visit to one of our oldest clients, Fit & Fresh of Providence, RI. Fit & Fresh, formerly Medport LLC, started out making cases for diabetics to keep associated paraphernalia conveniently in one place. It has since evolved into a company built around a hugely successful healthy lifestyle brand, with stay-cold food containers and insulated lunch bags for every occasion and taste.

Since Fuzion’s launch in 2008, we have worked closely with Chuck Miga, Executive VP and his team at Fit & Fresh on various branding projects and designing new products, patterns and packaging.

The reason for our visit to Fit & Fresh was two-fold, one to meet and introduce ourselves to the growing staff and second, to share our presentation on “How Millennials Are Changing Brands.” The presentation was attended by the sales, marketing, design, and product development teams, and was presented by Esther Tseng, Fuzion’s Associate Creative Director. Avoiding the inevitable Death by Power Point, Esther gave a very condensed version of the months of research, designs, and surveys that led us to finding the voice for our new brand and how millennial buying habits shaped it. It was followed by a brief question and answer period.

If your interested in having Fuzion present ”How Millennials Are Changing Brands” to your team, Please contact Wayne or Esther at: wayne@fuziondesign.com or esther@fuziondesign.com. If you’re not local, we would be happy to present Via GoToMeeting.

With the recent and exciting changes at Fuzion, we’ve decided to give ourselves a fresh new look. Everyone needs to upgrade and change things up a bit at some point. Just think back to your own style back in Middle School and you’ll quickly realize that rebranding is necessary!

We are proud to present the new Fuzion logo. Take it all in! Isn’t it a beauty? When coming up with this logo, we wanted something clean and contemporary. The two shades of contrasting blue gives off an exciting pop, while bringing in an air of sharp sophistication. The ‘Z’ itself has become more versatile as it can be used as an icon and as a pattern in the future.

We dropped the word ‘Design’ from this logo because we wanted to show that we offer much more than just design. We are evolving, which is really the focus of this rebranding. Rebranding is a necessity for all businesses to grow and keep up with the times. We’re already known for our stellar work with toys and packaging, but we also wanted to show that we are diving deeper into new markets like strategy and branding as we move forward. 

Nobody wants to look stale and outdated, and things move so fast these days that keeping up is key so you don’t get lost in the shuffle.  We believe that this new look will get our message across of how we have evolved over the years. 

On September 22nd, as part of the Annual Design WeekRI, Fuzion hosted a Happy Hour, and if we must say (and we must) it was a smashing success, with over 50 attendees of new friends and old. Our bartender (and designer), Dave Costa, served up refreshing Fuzion Mules in frosty copper mugs emblazoned with our new logo, which was also a complimentary gift for attending the event. Some of Fuzion’s finest gave tours of the studio while our guests chatted and enjoyed a gourmet repast. The highlight of the evening was a presentation by our Associate Creative Director, Esther Tseng, on how to sell to the finicky millennial. A good time was had by all and we’d like to say thank you to DESIGNxRI, and all that attended for making the evening such a success.

As Fuzion moves forward, we would like to congratulate owner and President Wayne Blatchley for recently graduating from the Goldmans Sachs 10,000 Small Business program. He was one of 24 Entrepreneurs in RI in the 3rd Cohort of this 12 week stellar program that offers a mini MBA in business. Wayne noted that it was lot of hard work and discipline to complete the course, but it really gave him a perspective of how he can do little things every day in his business to make it more successful. The biggest take away for him was learning to work on his business, and not in it. He is already applying his growth plan by adding a digital cutting table to Fuzion’s arsenal of creative tools. It will enable us to produce more package mocks-ups, faster, and at a higher quality than before. It was something our clients were asking for, and Wayne had been thinking about for years, and the 10K Small Business program helped him devise a growth plan to make it a reality. Our new CAD table is being shipped from Europe as we speak!

In other news, we continue to grow our knowledge base of trends in the graphic world and to that point, Esther Tseng has been accepted into a Design Forward program run by DESIGNxRI. Design Forward offers a comprehensive strategy to strengthen and support the design sector skills, talent pipeline, and career trajectories in Rhode Island and we are just as excited as Esther, that she is taking part in this great program.