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about

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kudos

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press

ABOUT

Design is an integral part of every successful business. Studio Schaad Design delivers creative visual solutions that communicate simply and clearly.

Innovative, enthusiastic and skilled, the principal of the studio, Cathleen Schaad excels at helping her clients clarify, define and achieve their project goals.

Cathleen at work in her studio.Studio Schaad Design manages both large integrated communication programs, and smaller discrete projects. Cathleen offers a wide range of professional expertise including (and by no means is limited to) the strategic branding of print communications, websites, book design, packaging, signage and advertising.

Prior to establishing Studio Schaad Design in 2009, Cathleen held a Senior Designer position at WGBH Design, a nationally renowned graphics studio at Boston’s PBS Station. Cathleen serves on the board of directors for the Melrose Symphony Orchestra.

ABOUT STUDIO SCHAAD DESIGN

Studio Schaad Design offers marketers, educators and entrepreneurs informed art direction and thoughtful design solutions. Innovative, enthusiastic and skilled, the principal of the studio, Cathleen Schaad excels at helping her clients clarify and define a projects’s goal with over 20 years experience. Design is an integral part of every successful business, and Cathleen focuses on creating visual solutions that solve very specific challenges.

Cathleen at work in her studio.Studio Schaad Design manages both large integrated communication programs, and smaller discrete projects. Cathleen offers a wide range of professional expertise including (and by no means is limited to) print communications, websites, book design, packaging, signage and advertising.

Prior to establishing Studio Schaad Design in 2009, Cathleen held a Senior Designer position at WGBH Design, a nationally-renowned graphics studio at Boston’s PBS Station. Cathleen serves on the board of directors for the Melrose Symphony Orchestra.

CLIENTS

  • Private Enterprise
  • APTI, Acupuncture Physical Therapy Institute
  • Bloomberg Marketing Incorporated
  • Charles River Residential Brokerage
  • Christopher Kimball's Milk Street
  • GenusMail
  • Greater Lowell Community Foundation
  • Hunt's, Photo and Video
  • Huntington Rare Coins and Precious Metals
  • Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
  • KBL Fitness
  • McGolf, Inc.
  • Meadows Consulting, LLC
  • NetAge, Inc.
  • New Boston Fund
  • New York Giants Corporation
  • OrderMotion
  • Rizzo & Rizzo Accountants
  • Andrea Shapiro Consulting
  • That Funny Mamma, LLC
  • Universal Studios
  • Village Properties
  • Kris Willcox Consulting

  • Non Profit
  • BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life)
  • Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay
  • The Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation (FAIC)
  • Housing Partnership Network
  • Institute for Nonprofit Management and Leadership
  • John Snow, Inc.
  • PBS National
  • Second Chances, Inc.
  • Stockholm Environment Institute
  • Tangier American Legation Museum
  • Tug Pegasus Preservation Project
  • WGBH Educational Foundation
  • World Education, Inc.

  • Education
  • Atrium School
  • Tufts University
  • Wellesley Cooperative Nursery School
  • Williams College

  • Publishing
  • Communications Consortium Media Center
  • Davis Publications
  • Margaret Shepherd, Author, Calligrapher
  • Barry Wiley, Author

KUDOS

Cathleen is an outstanding designer. She is able to explain design theory in a very easy-to-understand manner for the non-designer with endless patience. She was hired to design a web look for a new online community of single women over 40. What she designed was elegant, beautiful and just the right tone. We hired her because her portfolio was extraordinary and we liked the range of work she's produced over the years.

Kate Spencer

Marketing and Communications Consultant


Cathleen took on a complete overhaul of the Melrose Symphony's marketing materials, including a strategic re-branding of the MSO logo, website, print and merchandise. She effectively communicates by asking questions about what we want to "say" about the Melrose Symphony through these materials. She is constantly mindful of differing opinions within our organization and provides thoughtful insight to help synthesize varying ideas and form a cohesive product. Cathleen is always quick to turnaround an idea and oversees projects through production with great attention to detail. Her fresh perspective has brought a new energy to the entire organization.

Jessi Eisdorfer

General Manager

Melrose Symphony Orchestra


Working with Cathleen Schaad/Studio Schaad on my fourth book was one of the highlights of my professional life. She took a seven-essay manuscript about a museum's art collection and made it into a work of art itself. She was graciously open to suggestions and continued to make wonderful amendments to the original plan. I am so happy with the outcome that I feel tempted to choose as my next research project one tailored specifically to her design skills.

Diana Wylie, Professor of History

African Studies Center

Boston University

WORK EXPERIENCE

  • 2009–present | Studio Schaad Design | Creative Director and Principal
  • WGBH Educational Foundation | Senior Designer, Art Director
  • Massachusetts College of Art | Visiting Lecturer

EDUCATION

  • Center for Digital Imaging Arts at Boston University | Web Design Certificate
  • Lesley University | Candidate for Masters Degree in Expressive Therapies
  • Massachusetts College of Art | BA Graphic Design

AWARDS AND HONORS

  • 2012–present | Melrose Symphony Orchestra: Board of Directors
  • Graphic Design USA: Certificates of Excellence for Publications Print + Online
  • APEX Award: Grand Award for Publication, Award for Publication Excellence
  • Clarion Award
  • Communicator Award: Award of Distinction

PRESS

Melrose Free Press Business Profile, By Carol Brooks Ball, Published March 2011
STUDIO SCHAAD DESIGN
CATHLEEN SCHAAD

 

How did you get started in the graphic design business? 

Studio Schaad Design's success is the result of having a wonderful network of supportive colleagues and clients. I worked at WGBH Design for more than 20 years and learned from the best.

During that time, I also taught at Massachusetts College of Art and Design and did some freelance work. In 2009 when WGBH restructured, I was laid off. I took advantage of the time and returned to school at Boston University's Center for Digital Imaging Arts to refresh my skills, and earned a certificate in Web Design. Graphic design, consulting and training are what I love to do. My background as a designer, manager and teacher shows my wide variety of skills and has definitely helped me to develop an equally diverse portfolio with branding, marketing, advertising and web design examples.

 

Are different skills required when designing for print vs. web?

Yes. Fortunately, my experience includes creating content for television. Designing for the Internet is more like designing motion graphics rather than for a static landscape like print.

With web design, you need basic technical proficiency in HTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP. With print communication, your design needs to keep the viewer interested in moving from cover to cover and read the content in between. Design for a website or that which will be viewed on a computer, phone or other portable device, needs to be choreographed. It needs to keep your eyes, mind and fingers engaged.

So does print, but people can be expected to read print from left to right. Online, the dynamics of a page can be combined in multiple directions and layers with animated and interactive components, so you need to provide both the clear expected navigational structure, as well as a creative, fresh, memorable experience.

 

What's your favorite project been to date?

It's the variety of media, and wide range of communications that keep me fulfilled. If I had to pick one, it would be Enchantment: Pictures from the Tangier American Legation Museum, a book I designed. It has incredibly exotic and beautiful imagery and thoughtfully written text.

As for web, my favorite has been working with officials at the Melrose Symphony Orchestra. The first priority was to update the look and functionality of their website. I created a new logo and designed a template, which the general manager [Jessi Eisdorfer] now maintains and regularly updates with fresh content.

Working together I continue to help the MSO manage its brand with consistent professionally produced print and other marketing collateral. I get enormous creative satisfaction in seeing this system of materials develop, and I expect the MSO's attendance numbers to grow. They can count on me being in the audience!