Yale Club Talk: What Will It Take to Rebrand the World?
5/5/2021
The Yale Club hosted a Zoom talk on March 15, 2021, with Elizabeth Howard, Connector/Creative/Consultant/Columnist, who interviewed Janet Odgis, President and Creative Director of Odgis + Co, about the value of her education at Yale and how it helped launch her 35-year-old branding firm.
“When I was pushing 30, I realized I no longer wanted to be a captive designer working for a single company. I wanted creative freedom to pick and choose my clients and the type of projects I work on.”
Going back to graduate school was a transformational, life-changing event for Janet. At Yale, she was able to learn from some of the most brilliant minds of the design field, which included luminaries such as Paul Rand, Armin Hofmann, Bradbury Thompson, Wolfgang Weingart, Edward Tufti, Elton Robinson. Robert Herbert, the visionary art historian, and the professor was her thesis advisor.
Through their encouragement, her company launched in 1985 to a resounding start. Paul Rand introduced her to his long-time client at IBM and Bradbury Thompson introduced his client at Westvaco. Janet began working with other companies such as Champion Paper and museums like MoMA right out of the gate. Janet set up her office on lower Fifth Avenue and hired a staff, many former students from Parsons, within the first year of business.
In the “How I Started My Business” video, Janet discusses how specific school assignments were an inspiration to her design career and her time as a teacher.
Today, Odgis + Company has evolved into a full-service branding firm that can take a client from strategy through execution in all different media. To stay successful, it has been necessary to continually reimagine her business. These are some thoughts on how that might be accomplished.
In these short video excerpts from the Yale Club Branding Talk, Janet also discusses her perspective on reimagining your brand.
The videos are:
Elizabeth Howard’s questions penetrate the surface during this candid conversation. In the face of today’s disruptions, it’s vital to re-examine your value in light of the changes we will continue to deal with in the future. Janet advises on the importance of finding relevance, recognition, and reliability in the story you tell.
Read this article on LinkedIn
Odgis + Co is an award-winning brand design studio based in New York City. We Make Business Beautiful.
“When I was pushing 30, I realized I no longer wanted to be a captive designer working for a single company. I wanted creative freedom to pick and choose my clients and the type of projects I work on.”
Going back to graduate school was a transformational, life-changing event for Janet. At Yale, she was able to learn from some of the most brilliant minds of the design field, which included luminaries such as Paul Rand, Armin Hofmann, Bradbury Thompson, Wolfgang Weingart, Edward Tufti, Elton Robinson. Robert Herbert, the visionary art historian, and the professor was her thesis advisor.
Through their encouragement, her company launched in 1985 to a resounding start. Paul Rand introduced her to his long-time client at IBM and Bradbury Thompson introduced his client at Westvaco. Janet began working with other companies such as Champion Paper and museums like MoMA right out of the gate. Janet set up her office on lower Fifth Avenue and hired a staff, many former students from Parsons, within the first year of business.
In the “How I Started My Business” video, Janet discusses how specific school assignments were an inspiration to her design career and her time as a teacher.
Today, Odgis + Company has evolved into a full-service branding firm that can take a client from strategy through execution in all different media. To stay successful, it has been necessary to continually reimagine her business. These are some thoughts on how that might be accomplished.
In these short video excerpts from the Yale Club Branding Talk, Janet also discusses her perspective on reimagining your brand.
The videos are:
1. Should You Change Your Company’s Name? “This is the most radical of surgeries”
2. Do You Have a Consistent Brand Story? “Typically, everyone tells a different story”
3. What Does it Take to Rebrand? “Not for the faint of heart”
4. What Does A Logo Represent? “A Logo is your silent ambassador”
5. How I Started My Business
Elizabeth Howard’s questions penetrate the surface during this candid conversation. In the face of today’s disruptions, it’s vital to re-examine your value in light of the changes we will continue to deal with in the future. Janet advises on the importance of finding relevance, recognition, and reliability in the story you tell.
Read this article on LinkedIn
Odgis + Co is an award-winning brand design studio based in New York City. We Make Business Beautiful.
