Having fun, doing good, looking back ...

In May 1978, Joy Yoshikawa and Pat Hayes sat together on Joy's porch and wrote three goals for our new communications firm. The Design Company was determined to ... "have fun, do good work, and make a profit" from day one. The odds, of course, were against the success of a women-owned small business, but over 40 years have passed; thousands of projects have been successfully completed; hundreds of satisfied clients, valued vendors and wonderful friends have been added to our history. Even though for many of those years we achieved only the first two goals, we never lost sight of our original priorities.

It is still our goal to continue having fun ... because you give us the opportunity to do what we enjoy; and beyond doing good work, our aim is also “doing good” ... by listening carefully to you and to the needs of our community.

... and moving forward.

Our third goal has evolved over time. Originally “Making a profit” was essential for staying viable, but then “Paying it forward” became far more important. “Moving forward” is now the logical next step. Looking to the future, we want to give back to our community in a variety of ways. … adding talented, socially committed creatives to The Design Company pool, as well as honoring TDC’s commitment to promote these individuals, as well as like-minded clients and contacts to the community at large. With that in mind, we are about to introduce TDC2 ... The Design Company CONNECTION! Watch for it!

Our Story

Having fun.
Doing good.
Moving forward.

Joy Yoshikawa

Joy Yoshikawa

Pat Hayes Kaufman

Pat Hayes Kaufman

  • Expertise in print design and production, MS Office design and production, web design
  • Multiple pro bono services for a variety of metro nonprofits
  • Co-inventor of Snake Oil, a party game now being self-published by Snake Oil, LLC
Scott Lindberg

Scott Lindberg
Memorial

  • Expertise in user interface design and development, print design and production
  • Curator and owner of New Documents, a gallery specializing in important 20th century graphic design