Calabro Creative is the creative design firm founded by Melissa Grace Calabro in 2006. She earned a BFA in graphic design from the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in 2003 and then studied web design from 2003 to 2006. Prior to starting Design by MGC, Melissa freelanced for major New York City companies such as The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Columbia, and Scholastic, Inc.; her work has appeared in The New York Post, The Daily News, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, in more locally in the Poughkeepsie Journal and the Journal News. In 2010, Melissa was honored with the prestigious Forty under 40 Shaker Award. The award is given to young business leaders who demonstrate commitment and leadership towards their communities, and Melissa was honored in part for her “tireless effort working with numerous non-profits.” Part of her responsibilities as a recipient is to participate in the selection process for future winners.
Calabro Creative focuses on advertising design including layouts for newspapers and other print publications, brochures, email blasts, invitations, program books, website design, hosting and domains, e-commerce web sites and web banners. The firm’s work and clients include projects of every scope for businesses and organizations throughout the Hudson Valley, and Melissa’s clients value her expertise enough to ask her to design materials for the same events year after year. This includes numerous events held by the GSDCC including invitations for the 40 under 40, women in business events; and other local events such as Savor the Summer event, Rebuilding Together of Dutchess County Golf Outing, and the Hudson Valley Hub Wine event. Additional invitations created by Calabro Creative include invitations for various Health Quest functions including the “Better than Chocolate” events, and invitations to a variety of Boy Scout events. She has also designed the web sites for well-known organizations like the De’s Jewelers, The Villa Borghese, McCabe & Mack, Gutsy Girls Guide to Getting Divorced by Jonna Spilbor, Branches of Beauty, Think Social First, and Arlington Fire Department along with creating consistent branding by tying in the designs of their collateral materials.
Calabro Creative provides the flexibility to find the best design for every project and budget; the design process is driven by a clear understanding that increased sales and the financial success resulting from a graphic design project lead to an overall improvement of the economic climate in the region. Each client is treated as an individual, resulting in engaging designs in just the right style to reach the intended audience, whether it be through a glossy magazine ad, a captivating web site, or a postcard campaign.
Each web site created is easy to update, cost-effective, and by replacing paper materials with online ones has the added benefit of being eco-friendly. Calabro Creative is a certified (MWBE) Minority Women Business Enterprise.