DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

Both within Grafik and promoted by Grafik

As a branding and marketing agency, what we do has an impact. Often small, but often also surprisingly large. These outcomes are all parts of the woof and warp that ultimately is the fabric of our society, but for our work to have salutary effect, we must start with our own culture.

Company cultures are organic, but they can be steered—if leadership is committed, goals are serious, and people are empowered. For this to happen, diversity and inclusion initiatives must be approached using the same skills we use in all our client engagements. To that end, Grafik created a Diversity & Inclusion Committee as a first step.

The diversity & inclusion committee's purpose

This small group within Grafik identifies areas where our corporate culture can move from passive to active states of awareness and inclusion. Empowered to draw on all agency resources, the committee first established four aspects where an immediate impact could be made. Listed below are those areas, their original state as we began the process, the change we hope to establish, and the way to get there.

We must be held accountable to firmly established goals and objectives.

~ Gregg Glaviano, Principal

WORKFORCE

Diverse Recruitment

Before: Welcoming, but passive
Today: Active
How: Have a presence in, and recruit from, channels that will yield a greater pool of candidates underrepresented within our industry and here at Grafik

EDUCATION

Expanded Topics

Before: Industry-only topics
Today: Societal issues will be added to rotation of existing lunch & learn and design matters agency get-togethers
How: Host agency-wide discussions, from books to documentaries to in-person presentations

PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Facilitate ongoing initiatives, expand vendor choice

Before: Open to cause-related work as surfaced organically by staff
Today: Promote participation in existing initiatives; identify pool of new partners
How: Identify existing opportunities for dialogue beyond Grafik’s walls; find/promote new vendors in an updated resources guide

WORK PRODUCT & CLIENT INTERACTION

Promote modeling of an inclusive society

Before: Not a part of our sphere of influence
Today: Proactively make the case for assets that speak to openness
How: Create resources for ensuring final work product lives up to D&I goals, as well researching guidelines and industry best practices to help CS team deal with possible resistance

Our point of view

Some of our latest ideas related to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Design

Inclusive design considerations

At Grafik we have always been committed to having inclusive representation in our creative. But after witnessing the horrific murders of Black men and women at the hands of police and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests of the summer, we knew we ne…

Culture & Events

The smallest decisions

Considering the stresses of the pandemic, sheltering in place, a reckoning of racial injustice and everything that comes with these unprecedented events, it feels more than a little good to hear some positive news. Last week the Supreme Court delivered a …

Culture & Events

Inspiring new possibilities

What happened in Minneapolis, and its aftershocks, have had a profound impact on our world, and me personally as CEO of Grafik. As I watched what was happening all around us, I struggled initially: not knowing exactly what to say nor having the answers on…

Brand Strategy

Three brands that show Pride year round

June has come and gone, and so has Pride Month–the annual month-long celebration of LGBTQ+ representation and the anniversary of the historic Stonewall Uprising in New York City. This year we saw more brands than ever demonstrate their support of th…