The Barn won 9 Graphic Design USA awards this year

It was only five years ago that Nick Matarese started his sports branding agency The Barn in the den of his apartment. Looking back on the first wave of gigs he landed, the design work he was willing to do and the prices he charged clients, Matarese said he tends to cringe.
Now that The Barn is in a corner office at the coIN Loft, Matarese is finally able to say “no” to projects that don’t fit his company’s growth, and nine months into 2015 his agency has won nine national graphic design awards from Graphic Design USA, including recognition for The Barn’s work in web design, advertising design and branding.
Last year, the Wilmington-based agency reeled in just one award.
“We’re winning national and international contracts, yet we’re still nimble enough to work with smaller business, and do work we are proud of,” said Matarese, who has mentioned he often catches flack for the niche market his agency has capitalized on. “It has validated that my niche is award worthy.”
Matarese said that while many people tend to think that “masculine design” is low culture and juvenile, these awards might say otherwise.”
“These awards prove that it doesn’t have to be,” he said. “And that I might be able to change the minds of not only the public, but my design peers who may think that.”
Matarese said that over the past year, The Barn been fortunate enough to work almost exclusively for clients that make him want to ignore the clock — projects where there’s a certain level of trust that exists between agency and client. It sounds nice, but Matarese said working those gigs isn’t as easy as it may sound.
“Everyone wants to put on a happy face and say everything is great, when sometimes you are putting that happy face over top of a person that hasn’t slept in three days,” he said. Yet, with nine awards in hand, Matarese can’t help but feel that the work was validating — both professionally and personally.
“Nine national design awards tells you it was worth it.”