About

Design Is In The Telling

Design-product Systems combines the creativity and intuition of natural storytelling with tech-savvy entrepreneurial vision. We have a 14-year track record of hands-on systems development and problem-solving work in a variety of industries.

Founded in 1997, Design-product Consulting and Marketing set out to help make design work more accessible, and design skills more marketable. We have helped practitioners capitalize on their design work to achieve overarching creative and business goals. Relaunched in 2007 as Design-product Systems, the company’s expanded scope of services includes solutions that simplify marketing activities to give design professionals, business owners, and marketers more time to do what they do best.  

Our Design Career Branding Services – personal branding for design industry professionals – help people at all career levels prepare for a job search, change career directions, or launch new ventures by refining their project and career stories to project a more targeted, efficient, and authentic professional image.

With each addition to the Boston skyline, the A/E/C industry is coming back. But new players, issues, and opportunities are remaking the landscape of our design economy. From traditional practices to interdisciplinary startups, Design-product Systems serves to give each its own expression, and ensure a prosperous future for all.

Meet Michael Sweeney, CPSM

Founder and Principal

MichaelPSweeney_HeadshotMichael Sweeney, CPSM, Founder and Principal, studied creative writing and architecture at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island, receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in 1994. He completed Boston University’s Applied Project Management Certificate Program in 2002, and has completed graduate-level courses in technology, entrepreneurship, and marketing. He has held public relations, project management, and client relations positions in several start-up and high-growth companies, and has been an active volunteer leader in several non-profit organizations. He also performs regularly as a stand-up and improv comedian, storyteller, and character monologist.

See a full interview with Michael Sweeney in the SMPS Boston chapter’s Member Spotlight.

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Praise for our work:

Mike helped us finalize a large proposal on a tight deadline for a next-level opportunity for our office. He clarified and streamlined our project team’s combined approach for this high-profile public project. Our proposal made a positive first impression, and the client has since awarded us other projects. Mike’s attention to detail and efficient storytelling has helped us introduce and position our small-but-growing office as knowledgeable partners in community building with public agencies, as well as integrate this capability into our branding and services.

Ray Dunetz, RLA

Principal, Ray Dunetz Landscape Architecture

I started my solo practice/firm in 2010, and have grown to two part-time employees and on-call support. Mike worked closely with me, and developed a marketing road map that integrated our current capabilities with what we needed to be doing to generate work in key growth markets. I recommend Mike and Design-product Systems to other design practitioners and I look forward to using more of his unique storytelling skills

Leonardi Aray, AIA

Principal, Leonardi Aray Architects

Posting member news to the recently-launched online FAME section of architects.org was a high-profile program. We couldn’t have met our deadlines without Mike’s valuable support.

Pamela de Oliveira-Smith

Communications Director, Boston Society of Architects

Thank you for your valuable input on my résumé.  I revised my information and I feel recharged!

Karen Ostromecki, IIDA, NCIDQ

KO Interior Design

Michael has contributed with an attention to detail and a desire to understand the bigger picture that has been invaluable in so many of our deadline-driven activities. He adroitly manages projects to completion with genuine concern for the welfare of research subjects and staff, and has helped me to effectively ezpand our project capacity.

J. Max Goodson, DDS, Ph.D

Director of Clinical Research, The Forsyth Institute

Your charts and graphs were excellent and really helped us determine which entry criteria needed to be amended in order to capture the population we needed for this study. I don’t believe we could have made these adjustments without the summary information you provided in the startup. Capturing the appropriate population right off, and making adjustments soon is what has really saved this project.

Terri Clark

Director of Clinical Affairs, Interleukin Genetics, Inc.

Michael is a tireless worker with an endless desire to know more and deliver more for the company.

Thomas Hickerson

Director of Development, Akaza Research LLC

Mike demonstrated his depth and ability to follow me through my process and understand the complexities of my work. He was able to help me articulate my process as a tangible product with clear benefits. He has an outstanding ability to grasp nuances, find an accurate perspective, and refine language while keeping the tone authentic.

Irene Buchine

Positioning and Marketing Consultant, Irene Buchine Consulting