Braia began his working career in the graphic design space. He spent a short time designing ads at a small subsidiary of the Bristol-Myers Corporation, a year in the advertising department at a regional furniture outlet, and then took on an Art Director role at a small local newspaper. “One of the traits that made me different from many other designers at that time was that I could draw and paint. I developed strong typographical and design skills during the burgeoning period of the Apple Mac.” This led to Braia’s hiring by the Syracuse Newspapers as a staff artist and information graphic specialist. During this period he assisted in redesigning The Post-Standard with media consultant Mario Garcia. Additionally, Braia won national and international awards in areas of design, illustration, and breaking news graphics, through the Associated Press and the Society for News Design.

The Newhouse School of Public Communications, at Syracuse University, took notice and asked Michael to visit the school to share experiences with communications students. This led to Michael developing a syllabus for and teaching a graduate visual communications class, “GRA518 / Theory of Printed Communication” through the early and mid-90s.

After a short time in Atlanta as the Graphics Editor for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he spent a number of years within the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. Although his focus became education, sales, and training for medical professionals, there were opportunities for him to continue to immerse himself creatively. “I occasionally took on a freelance design, illustration, or portrait job here and there. Sometimes I was asked to generate study guides or various communication materials within the industry as well.”