The Origins of Handler Design Group

Our founder, Bruce Handler, was introduced to the branding and package design business after accepting a job at Doyle, Dane, Bernbach as a package designer. Although he was originally interested in an advertising art director position, package designer was the only position available at the time and Bruce wanted to get his foot in the door. However, he soon discovered a passion and talent for package design and has remained in the field since.

After working in some of the best New York City design firms, Bruce accepted as position as the design director for Nestle®. Before the company moved to Glendale, he was responsible for package design, new product development, working with the Nestle parent company on global products, branding, and corporate communication. After Nestle’s move, he spent a few years freelancing until TDK ™ became Handler Design Group's first account, followed shortly by Sony® and Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield®. These accounts were soon joined by Burger King® (for King-Casey) and the company grew.

About Our Founder, Bruce Handler

Bruce’s tenacity and forward-thinking habits were honed by his childhood in Bronx, where he spent many years drawing history books and comics. He was interested in art for a young and made many weekend trips with his parents to the New York City museums. These experiences gave him the confidence to try out for the High School of Art and Design. He was accepted and soon began to take on everything his instructors had to offer, including summer internships at their art studios. Bruce was also interested in comic art and used to “drop in” at Marvel, DC comics and Mad Magazine on a regular basis to pick the artists’ brains and see how they worked.

In his last year at the High School of Art and Design, he was accepted to the Parsons School of Design. There he excelled in communication design and turned his bedroom into an “office” for his first forays into professional work. His first paying job was actually in high school. It was for his Uncle Ben, who owned a small Bronx furniture company. Uncle Ben wanted an ad for the Daily News to promote plastic slip covers. Bruce designed the ad with press type, submitted the ad to the paper, and collected his commission—which he gave back to his uncle.

During my last semester at Parsons, Bruce found out through a long-time friend and classmate that there was a job opening at Doyle, Dane, Bernbach. After meeting with a vice president in the new packaging division, he was hired at the end of graduation, with my degree in one hand and a great opportunity in the other.

The Origin of Bruce Handler’s Design Philosophy

At our firm, we believe that our job is to sell your products or your company with strategic thinking and great design. We understand that the right kind of design makes a massive difference in how you are received by potential customers, which is why we make every effort to communicate your company’s message correctly.

Bruce developed this philosophy over many years of working on brands. The small influence his designs had ultimately resulted in billions of dollars of sales. While a package design may not seem like a game-changing factor in sales, it can have a long-reaching influence in your company’s success.

Bruce learned this lesson first-hand in a meeting with Sony. He had spent two years designing the Maximum TV product line, so the vice president of marketing was in attendance, along with the product manager, Susan Miller. Before reviewing a new project, he told Bruce that Sony now owned a majority of the Maximum TV market thanks to Bruce’s work. Bruce thanked him, but admitted that he believed the Sony name on the product and advertised played a bigger hand in the sales. He interrupted Bruce and pointed out that the eye-catching box panel and the excellent copy gave customers everything they needed to know to make a purchase, without a salesman’s help. Since then, Bruce has never underestimated the influence design can have on sales.

Learn more about the background of our design agency by contacting us. We are based in White Plains, New York, and proudly service clients throughout Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York.