History

Hi.

I'm Shawn and this is my website. 989 Design (pronounced nine-eight-nine, not nine-eighty-nine) is, as the logo above professes, a graphic design studio. I'm in Bay City, Michigan now, but that's just this chapter of the story.

In the beginning

989 Design's roots trace back to Denver, Colorado where I was working as a studio artist for a big ad agency. The agency offered a unique opportunity for me because the studio staff was on a three-day workweek. So for three days a week I spent my time working on jobs for Coors Brewing and Coca-Cola, and on my days off I was free to pursue freelance clients and earn some extra money.

After I had been in the studio for about eighteen months, the agency went through a reorganization that would have meant switching to a five-day workweek, which would have been problematic with my growing freelance business. I knew that in the long run I wanted to be out on my own, so I decided that the time was right. And that's when Shawn MacDonald Creative was born.

Learning to crawl

The first couple of years out on my own were really tough. I have read where people have said that there is beauty in struggle. I don't really agree with the notion because there is nothing beautiful about paying your phone bill late. Freelancing isn't for the weak-of-stomach because you often don't know when or where your next check is coming from. I've always said that I work without a net and I think that's a pretty good way to describe freelance design.

I never bothered with business plans or anything like that, but I did have an unwritten plan. Year one was just about surviving and paying the bills. Year two was to grow the business and gain some momentum. I figured if I could make it for two years on my own, then I could start to think about the long run.

Things were working out pretty much the way I planned. All of the clients I had when I first went out on my own were still with me, plus I had managed to land a number of new clients including a couple of real gems like Converse Shoes and Nestle Foods. So business was going very well and year three looked to be very good for me. That's when I threw a monkey wrench into the works.

SWM seeking a pleasant peninsula

As much as I love Denver and loved living there, I missed being closer to my family and being near water. I also missed the idea of real estate prices that weren't totally insane. So I decided that I was going to pull up stakes and move back home to Michigan. It took me almost a year to make the move and in September of 2004 I packed up my house and my dogs, bought a turn-of-the-century home on Bay City's west side, and began the next phase of my life.

Why 989?

One question I am asked a lot is why the name is 989 Design. One person even asked if I thought it was a strange coincidence that my business is 989 Design and the telephone area code here is 989, too. Um, no, that isn't a coincidence. In fact, it's quite deliberate. I figured that since I was moving, I should take the opportunity to re-brand the business. Mostly, I like the inner-line rhyme scheme. Nine Eight Nine De-Sign. ABACA. Nice, huh? And people seem to remember the name. More than a few times I've run into someone I've met in a business context (chamber of commerce or whatever) and they'll remember the business name and not my name.

The present

Since moving, things couldn't be better. It took about a year for the business to find its legs, but it's going very well right now. My current client list includes two professional sports teams the Saginaw Spirit of the Ontario Hockey League and the Great Lakes Loons, the Single-A farm club for the Los Angeles Dodgers. I also get the opportunity to work with the Bay Area Community Foundation, a non-profit that does more good things before 9AM than I'll do all day. Check the clients section of the site for links to many of my clients' sites.

Clients

I'm going to fix this page up, but for now I'll just list a few of my clients:

• The Great Lakes Loons

• The Saginaw Spirit

• Bay Regional Medical Center

• Bay Area Community Foundation

• ClearRiver Communications

• The State Theatre

• The Hollister Group

Collaborators

MJ Media 

Visit Mike and Josh at www.mjmediateam.com. I am a designer, but I am NOT a web builder. Part of the reason it took me so long to get a site up is because I wanted to do it myself. Forget it. Don't even bother trying. When you know what you want, call Mike and Josh and have professionals do it for you. You'll be much happier.