realizing your opportunities

three integrated offerings
— research and consulting
— creating integrated
— communications
— fostering self-sufficiency

forging connections

authored articles

big ideas

bibliography

community involvement

Authored articles

Over the almost twenty-eight years that we've been helping organizations to define their visual and verbal voice—and to better communicate with their constituencies—we've learned a lot. Over 10,000 projects for hundreds of clients is certainly an education!

So when we can, we try and pass along a lot of what we've learned by writing—about branding in academia, the best ways to involve your entire organization in brand-building, the importance of connecting strategy to implementation, how different people learn, or the challenges that creating accessible websites pose.

We hope that you find these articles interesting and helpful. If you have any thoughts you would like to share regarding these topics, please feel free to contact us.

		Designing dialogues by Roger Sametz Customizing communications and communication paths to better engage customers and prospects-and to start and progress relationships. download PDF of full article SBA_DMI_dialogues.pdf / 1.3MB
		A strong brand is integral to successful fundraising Managing your brand to attract today's investors Fundraising Success by Roger Sametz and Andrew Maydoney A strong brand, once thought to be important only to the makers of laptops, soap, and cars, is perhaps even more critical to the success and sustainability of not-for-profit organizations. download PDF of full article SBAMR_FundRaising.pdf / 268K
		Creating and communicating value(s) Design Management Journal by Roger Sametz and Andrew Maydoney Design, communications design in particular, can create significant value for any organization. But if communications design is to deliver the highest possible value, the prevailing model of design needs to be re-envisioned. download PDF of full article DMI_values_article.pdf / 2.9M Courtesy of the Design Management Journal a publication of the Design Management Institute (www.dmi.org). Individual copies of this and other DMI Journal articles are available for purchase at www.dmi.org/publications
		Story telling through design Design Management Journal by Roger Sametz and Andrew Maydoney While the methods and materials of design do give "form" to communication, the ultimate goal of mucking about with type, color, imagery, space, and time, is to tell stories—to connect "teller" to "listener" in a dialogue that builds comprehension, commitment, participation, loyalty, and trust. download PDF of full article DMI_storytelling_article.pdf / 2.2M Courtesy of the Design Management Journal a publication of the Design Management Institute (www.dmi.org). Individual copies of this and other DMI Journal articles are available for purchase at www.dmi.org/publications
		Cultural Economic Development Low-cost communications techniques by Andrew Maydoney The City of Boston hosted a series of community conversations to serve information to its well-over 275 small to mid-sized cultural institutions. Sametz Blackstone Associates was invited by the Commissioner of Cultural Affairs to participate in these discussions and specifically, to lead conversations on ways that organizations working on shoe-string budgets can make the most out of communications programs while spending little money. The notes to those discussions are available for download here. download PDF of discussion notes OCA_lowcost_com_strat.pdf / 195K
		Views from above class = space = money Space : AIGA Boston Journal by Will Cook An airplane is a microcosm of society. The more money you have, the better seat you have, the more space you get. download PDF of full article AIGA_views_from_above.pdf / 146K
		Information design: a map to meaning Presented in cooperation with Peter Lawrence, Chairman, Corporate Design Foundation by Andrew Maydoney Information Design: A Map to Meaning—a presentation suggesting that in the most compelling information design, the expression of an idea should form a map to its meaning. This presentation includes collected exhibits and ideas from leading voices on the study of information design and its meaning. The first presentation of this material was given at Abt Associates in Cambridge Massachusetts. download PDF of full article SBA_information_design.pdf / 1.3M
		Branding and design beyond the corporate sphere: Being successful in academia Design Management Journal by Roger Sametz Much of the thinking and best practices related to branding and design in the corporate realm are of great value in the not-for-profit sector—particularly academia. Roger Sametz reframes fundamental branding strategies to better fit the academic culture, details the steps necessary to build a strong brand in this context, and shares examples of work Sametz Blackstone has done for several institutions. Contact us via e-mail for a reprint of this article.
		Creating a principles-based identity system to build brand equity: A systems approach that sells itself and works across functions, business units, and oceans Design Management Journal by Roger Sametz Communicating identity requires a strategy satisfying the needs of those who create information and those who receive information. In this case study, Roger Sametz outlines a program devised for Digital that addresses this task by defining three basic identity components combined with focused approaches to writing, typography, color, design and imagery—a balance that enables users around the world to create a broad range of media with a profile that is distinctively and consistently Digital. Contact us via e-mail for a reprint of this article.
		Using technology in training to build today’s work force Boston Business Journal by Roger Sametz download PDF of full article BBJ_training_to_build.pdf / 44K
		Strategic web sites rely on the right mix of team players Boston Business Journal by Andrew Maydoney download PDF of full article BBJ_strategic_web_sites.pdf / 40K
		Generosity in different flavors benefits everyone Boston Business Journal by Roger Sametz download PDF of full article BBJ_generosity_benefits.pdf / 44K
		Moving from corporate identity to brand identity: A great logo only gets you so far Boston Business Journal by Roger Sametz download PDF of full article BBJ_CI_to_Brand.pdf / 44K