Which Came First?

Identity Design

At Which Came First?, we believe that relevance is the most important attribute of a successful identity. Design for design’s sake—in what is often the viewer’s first impression—doesn't help to solve unique communication challenges. What does is listening. We listen to our clients, become intimately versed in atheir enterprise and only then, communicate their ideas in the most compelling, appropriate manner possible.

Graphic Design

At Which Came First?, we undertake graphic design projects with the idea that they are one more pice of your identity. from posters to brochures to direct mail and advertising, everything we produce reinforces your image in a consistent, well-thought-out way.
Interactive DesignThe successful merging of graphic design and technology into what is often called interactive design is now critically important to the growth of your enterprise. At Which Came First?, we think of your web site, kiosk or DVD as another extension of your identity—one more way to convey your ideas to the public. And though we utilize all of the technological tools available to us, they are always the servant of good design, never the master.
In addition to Design, Which Came First? provides the following Writing and Research services:

Writing 

Advertising and direct mail copywriting
Brochures
Newsletters
Press releases/media materials

Catalogs

Business plans/proposals

Annual reports

Sales collateral

Feature/editorial writing

Technical writing

Web-site content

 

Research/Other

Product development
Marketing strategy
Public relations strategy
Brand and name development
Customer relationship management
Marketing and corporate communications
Web content
Advertising
Direct marketing
Interactive technology
Internet/E-marketing strategy
IT strategy and evaluation
IT product specifications

Michael Ronzano - Managing Director

Michael Ronzano, Managing Director at Which Came First?, began his career in design at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, the international architecture and engineering firm. After leaving SOM, he went to work for two New England-based studios, the Brownstone Group and Nautilus Design. In 1988, he moved to New York City, helping to launch International Design and Advertising, a design-marketing business. Leavind ID & A in 1990, he founded Which Came First?. Through his career, clients have included Scott Paper, the University of Southern California, Illinois Tooklworks, Managed Healthcare Strategies, Alpha One and Harvard Healthcare.
Michael is a graduate of the University of Southern California and a supporter of the Chelsea Football Club.

Alyssa Cieslak - Art Director

A native Michigander and graduate of Detroit's College for Creative Studies, Alyssa Cieslak is second-in-command at Which Came First?

A Jill-Of-All-Trades, Alyssa is a talented designer and illustrator whose illustration has been shown in exhibitions throughout the country. As a college senior her work appeared in CMYK. After graduation, Alyssa taught illustration and design at the Community Arts Partnership in Detroi. While in Detroit, her collaborations included The Dequindre Cut and Eastern market.

Alyssa is not as short as she looks.

Matthew Messmer - Director of Interactive Design

Without a doubt the best-dressed designer in Chicago, Matthew Messmer is responsible for engineering all of Which Came First's interactive design efforts.

In addition to be a coding wiz, Matthew is an exhibited artist, working with traditional japanese woodblock printing methods. He studied print making in Japan and his work has been exhibited there, in the United States and Thailand.

Her holds a BFA from Denison University and studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Waseda University, in Tokyo.