Cassia Henry is a Digital Brand Stylist with almost a decade of experience in graphics, design and branding. She lives by the motto: “Branding is my passion and passion is my brand” which is evidenced by dedication and keen eye for detail. Based in the picturesque city of San Fernando in Trinidad and Tobago, Cassia uses her intuition, knowledge and her natural flair for the creative to ‘breathe new life’ into businesses and brands who need to reveal their true self and connect with their customers in an authentic way. Her gifts and talents can be seen with brands such as Marketing.
Marketing Dynamic Business Solutions, Carli Communications. TCJ Management Company Limited, SheCasa to name a few. Her experience at various advertising agencies had led her to work with multinational companies such as Bank of Baroda, Repsol, Lensyl Products Limited and the Guardian Group of Companies which have served to help her develop her natural skills and talents. Later, after founding House of CDB Limited she has chosen to service both entrepreneurs and business owners with CDB Design studio as well as delve into bridal invitations with CDB Luxe Invitations. Cassia is currently pursuing her Associate Degree in Graphic design and is very much in love with family life. She speaks very fondly of her grandmother who was actually her motivator to pursue her goals and she is the mother of two very energetic kids Dante and Deidra. Cassia can be quoted as saying: “Above all else, I do this because it is something I have been passionate about. Being a creative, it is hard not to be true to oneself and I could never exist pursuing something I was not excited about. I do it for my children as well; I believe that while I am true to myself and follow my dreams, I become the best person and mother that I can be.”
CH: You know every time I get asked this question its a hard/ funny one to answer because to be honest there was really no specific start date. I always did “odd jobs” since the first day I learned the graphic programs in a more freelancer capacity. Even though in 2013 the business was officially registered, I was not quite operating it yet as I just had my son, then I started giving it some attention in 2014 but ultimately I really shifted to relying on this as a sole source of income in 2016 when I met my business coach Adanna Austin.
CH: Brand management is extremely important whether you’re looking to build a business brand or not you are still a personal brand in everything you do and as such your brand image as both a personal brand or a business brand is important especially if you are the brand for your business. Eg. coaches, specialists, consultants, etc.
CH: My most memorable campaign to date is working with Carli Communications, I believe CDB truly transformed her brand. In a matter of weeks she was able to stand out, get noticed and booking interviews and guest posts ever since her brand overhaul. Not just that, she fully trusted me with her brand and I was able to work on her brand without a head over shoulder syndrome many clients seem to battle with.
CH: Lol, funny you mention that as I just mentioned that in the previous question but another thing they struggle with is making sense of branding and how to brand their business, structure all their offerings and brand it in a way that makes sense. RB: How do you stay updated with trends to ensure your clients are receiving your best service?
CH: I stay updated by always learning, observing and digesting information from different platforms and mediums, I think I do that with a lot of platforms. For eg. YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Podcasts, Pinterest (this is a holy grail for my niche, so the content I get is very focused). To be quite honest though I have always been a researcher on a quest to answer any question that arrived, I jump on Google and do research.
RB: Do you believe Caribbean brands have the potential to go global?
CH: Most definitely! I think our greatest keep back where this is concerned is mindset and the right visual branding. While its great to proud of being Caribbean, we have to produce a brand identity that can stand next to the shelves of international brands in a modern and clean way, else we run the risk of being too cliche. Some brands this is fine, eg, a Carnival Band, a Food Brand etc, other things a different approach need to be considered.
RB: What are some of the benefits of joining a branding community such as yours?
CH: The benefit of joining a brand community such as mine is that in my community you get access to 1:1 specific answers to give you a little bit of clarity on branding, you learn a lot about banding that most small business owners do not consider and you get the opportunity to look larger than you business actually is because that is what branding can do for your business.
RB: What is in the future for CDB Design studio?
CH: The future for CDB design studio simply put is EXPERIENCE growing our offering to be a one stop creative brand agency where you get a total brand website experience, through photography, process, and higher level of service as well ability to reach a wider audience through courses, speaking engagements not just locally but abroad. All of this to service a global audience over all.