Introducing Grinstead Design Collective, Ltd.

10 years: 2013-2023

My post-grad career started with stints at the Denver Broncos and then at HarperCollins Publishers, all the while having the chance to freelance on the side. In the course of three years, my freelance opportunities grew enough to the point where I had to make a choice: cut back on freelancing (and potentially lose clients) and stick with my job, or go all in on freelancing. At the time, this was a proposition both a no-brainer and one with a lot of risk. My husband and I were two years into living in NYC which comes with heavy expenses; yet, we were pre-kids and I always wanted to build up a business before having children—instead of simultaneously. A family situation arose right around the same time I put in my notice to leave my job, which provided further confirmation that I wanted flexibility to do work I love, while having the opportunity to be present with people I care most about, and time to serve within other things.

In 2013, I relocated myself across the East River to a co-working space in DUMBO and began the full-time endeavor of running and growing the business named Elisign Design. Here, in 2023, we’re renaming our endeavor to Grinstead Design Collective, Ltd. 

Elisign Design

The name was coined in 2008 deep in the class Art 333: Corporate Identity at my alma mater, Cal Poly SLO. We were tasked to come up with a company name and develop our visual branding for it. Being young and naive, I thought combining my name “Elise” with “Design” would make for a memorable and unique name–Elisign. However, halfway through the assignment, I learned that “Elisign” was an existing sign company in the U.S., so I needed to add “Design” to it as a distinguishing marker. Flash forward another year and another class, we developed all of our business materials using this identity. This set me up well practically to run a freelance business professionally right out of college. 

Yet, Elisign Design remains an ambiguous name that frankly, people don’t know how to pronounce or remember how to exactly spell. A rename has been long overdue. 

Growth as a Collective

In the past decade, I’ve been incredibly privileged and blessed to grow my business and client roster, landing in a sweet spot of working with mission-driven non-profits and educational institutions while keeping my hand in the publishing industry, a long-time love. Alongside serving many wonderful clients over the years, I’ve also had the opportunity to bring along others to participate in the work. 

While I love wearing multiple hats, there are some I don’t wear as well as others. That’s where the value of my teammates and contractors comes in ten-fold. Together, we pull from our strengths to collaborate and produce better results for our clients. Today, the business is far beyond just me of “Elisign Design” and now truly is a design collective. 

Who are we now?

Grinstead Design Collective, Ltd. is a growing group of individuals coming together as a design collective to address our clients’ visual communication challenges in a cohesive way. We leverage specialized talents to match the need of each project. Through our design, we seek to create solutions that communicate effectively to:

• Establish credibility and deepen connections with those you desire to reach. 

• Reach people where they are and help bring them to what they hope to do.

We thrive in the intersection of visual design + human behavior to produce design that seeks to inform and change people’s lives for the better. 

Meet the three primary individuals working with me today: Kate, EV, and Julia.

What now?

For our business, we’re beginning to dream more towards the future when young children are in grade school and time opens up; for now, we’re grateful to balance the work we love with the lives and people we love. We’re taking the mark of this 10-year anniversary to:

• remember the growth that has come, 

• express gratitude for the work and people that have been part of our journey, 

• and keep moving forward in the work we do—

all while uniting ourselves under the entity that currently expresses us best: Grinstead Design Collective, Ltd.

Thank you for being part of our journey the last ten years. We can’t wait to partner with you in the years to come.