By Anna Alonso Olcese | Photography by David Parra
Albey Coronel, owner and creative director of award-winning Neutral7 Design Group, and his team comprise one of Gainesville’s hottest design studios. The group behind Gainesville Fashion Week brings style, sophistication and diversity to everything it tackles, from branding and graphic design to printing and sign production.
“We like to have a world mentality and think outside the box…grabbing inspiration from everything and anything possible,” says Coronel.
Whether it’s a small startup or a multinational enterprise, the Neutral7 team tackles each project the same way: it looks at the big picture and focuses on providing solutions that help clients succeed. In that process, team members develop lasting relationships with the people that put their trust in them.
That relationship is one quality that Coronel believes sets them apart from other agencies: a close relationship between clients and the creative team without anyone in the middle.
“There are no hoops to jump through” says Coronel. “We just get straight down to the business of making a company or product reach its full potential.”
Competitive pricing with a huge value on the service and products, as well as in-house printing capabilities that allow for quick turnaround also attract clients to Neutral7. But, their success in the marketplace is not a result of competitive pricing; it comes from delivering excellence time and again, generating loyal clients and supporters.
Senior graphic designer, Javier Espinosa, says, “Our products and services sell themselves by word of mouth and by people recognizing our work.”
The team enjoys working with the small local companies who have passion for what they do. One example is Southern Heritage Sauces, for which they developed the brand and packaging from the ground up. Project manager, Rachel Smith, says that when the design work received national recognition, winning an American Graphic Design award, it was rewarding to have experienced the growth of a company from its inception.
Coronel also likes the work they do for Gainesville Fashion Week, noting that there is a level of collaboration and an explosion of talent that is energizing, contagious, motivating and challenging.
“The energy in the team is extraordinary,” he raves.
Neutral7 also is proud of its lasting relationships with well-established businesses in the area, such as the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce, Prioria Robotics, the University of Florida, Contemporary Management Concepts, LifeSouth, and several others.
What makes the team happiest, however, is when they make their clients proud.
“I’ll never forget the moment a client was so proud of the award-winning work we completed for him that he sent us all balloons and chocolates,” says graphic designer Chrissy Sedgley. “Nothing beats the feeling you get when clients get excited about a completed project!”