https://www.rit.edu/news/student-run-design-firm-brings-entrepreneurial-spirit-campus

Command+g Design Lab began in 2019 with four women graphic design students under the guidance of Assistant Professor Keli DiRisio. Since that time, Associate Professor and Graphic Design Program Director Carol Fillip and Professor Lorrie Frear have joined the leadership team. Command+g has evolved into a viable business with an expanded student team of selected junior- and senior-level students as demand for its work skyrocketed after its formation.

Buoyed by a business plan supported by the College of Art and Design Dean’s Office and external donations, Command+g employs design students at RIT for all aspects of running the business. It also provides a platform to build team members’ portfolios and self-promotion strategies in a professional design studio setting. Command+g is a full-service studio that produces projects including branding and logo development, motion, web, video, and app development.

Command+g has executed design work for numerous clients, focusing on community-minded initiatives that assist nonprofit organizations. A signature project was working with Common Ground Health and teens from across five counties to create a mental health awareness campaign, featured in libraries across the area.

Other clients include LIV Golf, Left Brain Consulting, Artists Unlimited, Onyx Spear, Compass Consulting, From Suarez’s Basement, and various departments on RIT’s campus.

As the creative director, I have overseen the work and students for the past 4 years. Currently, we have 16 students on staff and over 30 clients. I spend a lot of time with Command+g because I believe in the mission and the goals of teaching our students what it is like in a real-world scenario of running a studio. I spend approximately 20-30 hours a week, unpaid, (on top of my full-time teaching schedule) on Command+g, doing payroll, meeting with clients, organizing files, managing clients, and hiring students.