Category: Client Spotlights

Audubon Society: While it’s true that many birds head south for the winter, plenty are NYC lifers! The Audubon Society, which has been helping to conserve birds and their habitats in NYC for over 40 years, is a great place to get active in the local outdoors and nature conservancy community. The Audubon Society hosts over 200 education programs a year, including bird outings, classes, and volunteer events, among others…even in the winter! REIT has worked with them in many iterations, including designing their new logo and website, which you can check out here.

Little Island: Rain or shine, Little Island is one of my favorite public parks in the city! A quick 10 minute walk from my apartment, this park offers incredible waterfront and city views, textured greenery and seasonal gardens, and a dynamic, architectural layout that sparks my creativity. The park is free between the hours of 6am-9pm (winter hours) and in the summertime hosts music and theater performances.

Gansevoort Peninsula: Although it’s not yet beach season, Manhattan has something to celebrate come the warmer months — Gansevoort Peninsula, Manhattan’s first public beach opened to the public just this fall! With sand, a salt marsh, access to the Hudson River, and more, this park offers an oasis from the hustle and bustle of the city. And for my fellow art fans, the beach features Day’s End, a public art installation by David Hammons donated to Hudson River Park by the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Eat2explore: Treat yourself and your children to the only award-winning experiential cooking kit designed to bring cultural education alive through the exploration of world cuisines! I’ve recently gotten into cooking with my family and I absolutely love it — any way to make this easier is a win in my book. Plus, the founder of eat2explore, Rowena Scher, is a fellow Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) member, a fellow female founder, and previous EONY Mentorship Chair. I love to support my fellow entrepreneurs whenever I can! Learn more about the similarities between Rowena and me here.

Mil Gustos: Do you enjoy Mexican? Greek? Latin fare? Chicken wings? Salads? Look no further than Mil Gustos, the parent company of greatly loved delivery-only kitchens and well-known sit-down restaurants Miti Miti, Medusa Greek Taverna, Bogota Latin Bistro, Dirty Birdy Wings, and Fork n’ Greens. Your taste buds will thank you! Mil Gustos is an LGBTQIA+ and minority-owned business founded by George Constantinou, who also happens to be an EO member and good friend! What’s more, REIT had a hand in redesigning their brand logo and delivery-only kitchen concepts — check out our work here.

Big Gay Ice Cream: If you’re like me, there’s always room for ice cream. And if you haven’t checked out Big Gay Ice Cream yet, it’s about time! Not only do they have delicious ice cream flavors and unique treats, but they also offer catering and ice cream trucks for parties. And they may or may not be launching another sweet treat that REIT had a hand in designing…soon! Check our our conversation with managing partner Jon Chapski to learn more. 

Union Square Holiday Market: One of my favorite activities when the weather gets cold is checking out the Union Square Holiday Market. They have one-of-a-kind gifts, art, and killer food! One of my favorite mac-and-cheese spots is a vendor every year. This year the market boasts over 150+ local vendors! Not sure where to start? The market offers a holiday gift guide with an interactive map (scroll to the bottom of the page) to get the wheels turning. I recommend getting there early…it gets busy!

Balloon Museum: The Balloon Museum, founded in Italy in 2020 and winner of the World Best Proprietary Format 2022, is an experience for the senses. Artwork and installations from fourteen international artists create an original concept and interactive experience that is truly memorable for adults and kids alike!

Royal Palms Brooklyn: Royal Palms isn’t your typical bar; it literally brings fun and games into play. With 10 floor shuffleboard courts, 8 group cabana booths, 19 rotating food trucks, and too many delicious drinks to count, this is a spot to take all of your out-of-town friends. And did I mention it’s cute? They pulled out all the stops for this bar! 

Other Parents Like Me (OPLM): The holidays are often a time when family is top of mind. If you have a child experiencing mental health challenges, it’s important to take care of yourself, too. Other Parents Like Me (OPLM) is an online platform and virtual community supporting parents around the nation with access and support as they move from crisis to healing. I am one of these parents, which is why I cofounded OPLM with another parent like me, Casie Fariello. Learn more about our journey building this business here.

Sky Ting Yoga Studio: Sky Ting, located in Chinatown, blends Katonah yoga, pranayama practices, Vinyasa and Hatha yoga, and Taoist teachings to create a memorable yoga experience. With many teachers to choose from, and a virtual platform for those who prefer to practice at home, the studio offers many ways to support your physical and mental health this holiday season.

GOOD MOVE: GOOD MOVE is a dance and mindful fitness studio located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Founded by Jules Bakshi, professional dancer and choreographer, GOOD MOVE makes dancing accessible, even for those of us for whom movement doesn’t come easily! From dance and pilates classes, to workshops and trainings, this is a great way to mindfully connect mind and body…or a great gift for someone who may benefit from something like this.

Muse Paintbar: This paint & sip is located right in my neighborhood, but there are many locations along the east coast! With classes almost every evening and different options to pick and choose from, this is a great gift or experience to flex your creative muscles. Plus, Muse Paintbar is founded by another female entrepreneur, which I am all for!

Knitty City: A little birdy told me that knitting is all the rage…and if it has staying power in New York, I believe it! Knitty City, located on the Upper West Side and founded in 2006 by a female entrepreneur by the name of Pearl, offers knitting and crochet classes, and a wide selection of yarns for any home project. From Men’s Night to Mending Circles, to WiPs Wednesdays, Knitty City has plenty of events and activities to get into the knitting craze.

Mud Matters: Try your hand at throwing on the wheel or create handbuilt pieces with friends and family. The studio offers intro classes, screenprinting workshops, and even longer-form classes for budding ceramicists. 

“Reitdesign wishes you a merry fitness and a healthy new year.”

Reit created a holiday gift box for clients to start the new year off…REIT! Each Live REIT box included a custom designed reusable water bottle, drawstring bag, and a pamphlet of NYC-based health and wellness activities to take part in. Even the boxes were customized to include fun and research-backed facts about fitness. Like, did you know you that the right type of music can increase performance by up to 20%?!

“Stir. Sip. Sigh. Repeat.” 

During the 2013 holiday season, REIT created a year-end holiday gift that brought “comfort & joy” to our clients in the form of a make-your-own hot chocolate kit! The custom box and custom pieces—which included 1 branded ceramic mug, 4 reusable jars of “Mix-Ins,” 5 interlocking cases of spices, and an interactive “Cocoa Contraption” offering 8 assorted recipes from 4 categories: Classic, Sweet, Spicy & Zesty—combined photo-realism and Reit’s own whimsical hand-drawn illustrations. Perhaps our most successful holiday promo, several recipients went out of their way to thank us, posting photos and tagging #reitdesign on socials. Plus, REIT took home The Davey Awards GOLD for our packaging design!

“Good fortune awaits you.”

At REIT, we’re all about planting the seeds for partnership, nurturing our client’s growth, and supporting our clients’ successes—and our holiday gift in 2014 year was a testament to that. REIT’s “Lucky You” box was filled with all one might need to bring good luck: providing three bamboo shoots, long a symbol of good fortune in Asian cultures, along with care directions and all the fixings—a planter, rocks and special charms—to attract health, wealth & longevity. Each was stamped with iconic symbols and Chinese inscriptions (authentically written by our in-house, multi-lingual team). Clever and ever-green, this gift is one that keeps on giving.

“Squeeze Tightly, Neck Passionately & Canoodle Daily.”

REIT wanted to deliver a memorable “thank you” to clients during the 2015 holiday season that reflected our love for NYC. We created a retro-romantic NYC themed GET SMITTEN box that included interactive elements, cheeky copy, and tactile cues that revealed articles of winter clothing packaged beneath. On the inside of the box lid, an imprinted city map pinpoints places that have romantic and special relevance to REIT employees.

“Little known, largely bizarre…”

In 2016, REIT wanted to have some fun with the notion of “holiday” by celebrating the “little known, largely bizarre” holidays that happen throughout the year! Produced entirely in-house by the reitdesign team, each sanded wooden box was personally labeled and individually hand-stamped. Upon opening the box, clients received a panoply of customized items for your desk, including a fold-out, perforated monthly calendar highlighting these holidays and NYC destinations to celebrate them, chronological greeting cards with original artwork by reitdesign team members, three pocket-sized custom-designed notebooks, and logo pencils and erasers—tools for noting down any holidays our clients wish to celebrate.

In 2017, the NYC-based Stanton Hoch Team had much to be thankful for—including being ranked in the country’s top .0000985% of real estates by The Wall Street Journal! Of course, they couldn’t do it without their clients. To help Stanton Hoch express their gratitude, REIT developed a festive Thanksgiving Promo that included 7 to-go containers designed to share leftovers with family, friends, and those who may have been without dinner this holiday season.

In addition to the handy containers, the promo package included a notecard, labels, a wraparound sleeve, container lids that were imprinted with trivia and fun facts alongside significant statistics about Stanton Hoch. The gift kept Stanton Hoch’s name in front of existing clients and sparked conversations with prospective clients.

“The Gift of Giving”

In 2017, REIT wanted to deliver a much-needed message of hope. Inspired by the theme “The Gift of Giving,” we departed from the tradition of sending gifts to clients—by putting some of our favorite NYC charities in the spotlight. We created a fully customized and digitally embossed mailing tube that contained a tote bag; five sets of circular cards embossed with gold metallic and raised UV pattern printing; five stylized enamel pins, each representing a specific category of charity; and a fold-out description sheet that shared charitable information. Taken together, this package not only reinforced the holiday spirit of giving, but it also helped raise the profile of charities whose work is more vital than ever.

“Self-Care”

In 2018, REIT’s holiday theme was self-care, and our in-house team created a package that provides our clients with products and services to de-stress from the uber-active lifestyles they lead. Created entirely in-house, the team filled the custom-designed package with four loose teas from the iconic McNulty’s Tea & Coffee Co in the West Village, complete with branded reitdesign items, including a glass mug, diffuser, and coasters. Gift boxes also included a card that shared hidden oases in New York City where one could take a moment of reflection & respite. Client response was outstanding—wowed by the beautiful packaging and appreciative of the reminder to take a beat for themselves.

Gifts are not only reserved for the holiday season! In 2018, long-time REIT client New York International Auto Show (NYIAS) wanted to create a special gift for its 60 Board of Directors to be presented at their Annual Meeting. REIT designed and created custom labels with individual board members’ names, and sourced a winemaker that could provide magnum bottles of a California Cabernet Sauvignon.

Each label, created with digital short run printing techniques to spot gloss varnish and metallic inks, included the Show’s 2018 poster on the front, while the back label featured the story of the NY Auto Show and showcased past show posters. The bottles were housed in a custom box with logos affixed on top and a fly sheet within, thanking the board of directors for their service.

“Enjoy life’s simple pleasures”

In 2019, we returned to the basics, providing recipients with delicious holiday movie themed popcorn recipes they could create on their own using our branded popcorn kernels and popcorn bowl. Created entirely in-house, the team selected two specialty popcorns with assorted toppings, and created a “Film Buff’s Recipe Guide” pamphlet that included the reitdesign team’s favorite holiday movie recommendations  accompanying by unique, movie-themed popcorn recipes.

Creating the magic touch…the REIT way! In 2020, Cresimo requested REIT’s branding services to create packing for its innovative line of stainless steel bar and coffee related products. The company was struggling to establish an elevated brand that could reach and appeal to both its commercial and consumer audiences—they were looking for that “magic touch”. With current packaging design varying significantly across products, the REIT team worked to design a cohesive brand identity and create packaging that uniquely identified each product and its signature features.

Our layouts featured prominent logos that tie each product to the brand, dramatic black backgrounds with vibrant pops of color, and strong hero shots of each product to capture attention. Like many of REIT’s holiday gifts, we thought it important to customize each product’s offering — so the reitdesign team added signature drink recipes the user could try with the purchase of the product.

“Together we can pay it forward”

If it wasn’t already clear, every year REIT designs holiday gifts for our clients! But in 2020, in lieu of gifts, the reitdesign team gave back to the city that built us by creating custom-designed soup cans to raise awareness about food insecurity. To further REIT’s impact, the team donated to NYC food banks and called upon our clients, followers, and professional network to support hunger relief. In addition to designing and donating, for the month of December REIT shared tips, resources, organizations, and opportunities to help out fellow New Yorkers across our social media platforms.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted businesses across New York City deeply and abruptly, none more so than the events industry which came to a grinding halt in 2020.  When the Javits Center was tapped to transform its space into a hospital facility and later a vaccination center, Reit recognized there was an opportunity not just to heal bodies, but to elevate hearts and minds. Our team created over 60 Javits Center graphics with 80 translations projected within the facility TV screens and the Jumbotron along the busy 11th Avenue thoroughfare and shared across social media feeds, underscoring the support, community, strength, and resilience New York is known for. Public reaction was enthusiastic and appreciative, generating thousands of reactions, social media shares, and news coverage. Spoiler alert: Reit won SILVER at the Davey Awards for our Integrated COVID Campaign!

NPD, an analytics engine powering brands’ data-driven decisions, needed support creating and promoting their new publishing products, U.S. Manga Data Service and NPD PubTrack Digital Audio, in concert with the 20th anniversary of their successful BookScan product launch. Reit combined our digital design expertise with our marketing experience to design, manage, and execute the digital ad campaign for NPD’s Books Group publishing sector. 

Reit worked with a great group of conservationists to refresh NYC Audubon Society’s brand and redesign their website. From logo and color concepts to UX/UI design, it’s all in the details! This design soars high above the city skyline and is one you sure don’t want to miss. Spoiler alert: Reit won GOLD at the Summit International Awards for our redesign!

Reit collaborated with SL Green to deliver several individual brand concepts — including logo development and color paletting — in addition to crafting advertisements and messaging. What’s special about this client is that each of SL Green’s projects has its own branding unique to each building. Reit also had a hand in developing the UX, wireframes, and website design of the iconic Lipstick building (885 Third Avenue, between East 53rd Street and 54th Street).

We changed our name and rebooted our look to better reflect our core values and our future outlook. There’s a lot of thought that went into Reit’s redesign and we’re hopeful that this new iteration pays homage to our heritage and resilience, while also signifying what we’re looking towards in the future. Check out our new website and read on for the reasons behind the rebrand.

Reit is proud to work with Big Gay Ice Cream Shop on their sweet new branding and design initiatives, which will launch as we approach the warmer months! 

In addition to running Reit, our founder Liz Reitman took on two Nonprofit Board Positions for Entrepreneurs’ Organization of New York (EONY). She serves as the Vice President of the New York Chapter and spearheads the Mentorship Program, which offers 1:1 mentorship opportunities for EONY members and M/WBE entrepreneurs. With her leadership this year, the Mentorship Program Team doubled participation from EONY members and almost tripled participation from our partner organizations. Learn more about Liz’s experience as a women leader (alongside EONY President, Debbie Kiederer) in Part 1 of our series: Women Founders In Focus.

We profiled Elizabeth in our August Meet The Team to share more about her work at Reit and what she does for fun.

Reit’s work with a broad range of clients was awarded at the 2021 Summit International Awards and the Davey Awards: 

🥇 New York City Audubon Rebrand (Summit International Awards) 

🥈 ENTRADA Rebrand (Summit International Awards)

🥈 Cresimo Packaging (Davey Awards)

🥈 ENTRADA Rebrand (Davey Awards)

🥈 Javits Center Integrated COVID Campaign (Davey Awards)

Our work with Russell goes back to our beginnings at Barnes and Noble College Group and we’re psyched to now partner with Russell on his own venture, Collegiate Retail Consulting Group, to reimagine campus retail. Reit was responsible for concepting the logo, tagline, messaging, and web UX design to help establish Russell’s consulting group as a leader in the field. With strong client relationships and knowledge of the market, Reit was up to the task.

Liz Reitman signed the reitdesign LLC papers on this day 26 years ago. Last year we wrote about our experience celebrating 25 years… and we’re sharing again to commemorate this anniversary.

Other Parents Like Me (OPLM) was founded to address the growing crisis of teenage substance use and mental health issues — by creating an empowered digital community of parents supporting parents with help, hope, and healing. Reit’s design, branding, messaging, marketing, and website development have been critical to establishing OPLM’s look, feel, and digital footprint. Watch this space for OPLM January 2022 launch — and if this resonates with you or you know someone who could benefit from joining this community, pre-register to become a founding member and save 50% on membership.