Insights

Insights / Values / Rants

Humor, Wit, and Empathy

There is this one scene from an episode of The Simpsons that I can’t remember the context of, but in the scene Nelson (the bully with the iconic ‘ha ha!’) says “Ha Ha! I touched your heart.” That pretty much sums up my approach to my work. I think some of the best communications draw you in and help you let your guard down and then hits you with something you may not have listened to or felt otherwise. Sometimes an emotional punch in the gut. That’s one of the many reasons why I like using the medium of collage – it incites curiosity and intrigue in a way that also kind of forces you to suspend your disbelief. It is a powerful way to help something meaningful to be well received. The same thing applies with using humor and wit. If you can make someone laugh then you have opened them up. If you can make someone feel smart then you can make them feel curious. You can’t force someone to practice empathy, but you can create the conditions in which they will want to for themselves. If you look at some of the great pieces of graphic design history, you will see this at it’s core. Something so simple that makes you think for a moment, and the next thing you know you are feeling something you hadn’t felt before or wondering about something you’ve never cared to give a second thought before. That’s good design.

Insights / Values / Rants

Connection, Community, and Impact

Say it 3 times backwards.
If you want to make an impact within a community you have to make a connection. Simple, right? All you have to do is make a connection on LinkedIn or spam people with ads on social media, and then you’re off to making a difference! Of course not. You and I both know you need a deep visceral connection with a community/audience to make any kind of significant impact. You want to be a leader, you have found the path and you want to show the way, no one is going to hear you unless they are listening. They aren’t going to listen if they don’t give a shit, and the only way they will care is if they feel that connection in their bones to what you stand for. That is not easy. People don’t want another ad, collection of buzzwords, or flat platitudes. They want stories that they resonate with. They want things that will make them stop and go “hold on a minute.” They want to be reminded that it’s OK to say “YES” to life. They want to be reminded they are a part of a community (physical, online, or metaphorical), or that they could be. Most of this is up to you. You have to have something they want to be a part of. My job is to help facilitate that initial connection. To stop the scrolling, turn heads, and help them know who you are.

Insights / Values / Rants

Design for the Common Good

Using design to help create meaningful change in the world is the kind of work that truly lights me up. Do I always get to work on these kinds of projects? Of course not. Even still, as mentioned above, I do want to help create a world that is more sustainable and equitable for everyone. “Yeah, OK, well what does that mean?” To me, that means making sure that our future HAS a future by making sure we are taking care of our planet and not introducing more products or services that make that difficult to achieve. It also means making sure that everyone has the same access to be able to be a contributing member to their communities, regardless of how much money they have, where they were born, who their parents are, or how they identify. I don’t think a good piece of design is going to solve all of our problems, but it can get the conversations started. So, yes, I do believe art and design can change the world.

Insights / Values / Rants

Lessons from UX

My creative career path is not a traditional one and spans several disciplines, including UX, motion design, and website design, among others. While much of my career was focused on UX and website design, I’ve spent the past few years following my real passion and making motion design and animation my primary focus. Regardless, I’ve always been passionate about creating work that not only grab attention but also connects with an audience on a deeper level.
Empathy has always been at the core of my design approach and my time in UX really helped me sharpen my ability to empathize with an audience in more intentional, focused way. I apply that same approach to motion design—whether I’m working to tell a story or convey a message, it’s all about creating an experience that resonates with an audience.

Insights / Values / Rants

Lessons from the Kitchen

I used to cook professionally before shifting to the design industry. Many lessons have been learned from my time in back room kitchens, and just as many of those lessons were about life, design, and art, as there were about how to make a good meal and provide a good experience. Some of the best human beings I’ve ever met I worked side by side with feeding people. I learned a lot about things like the importance of negative space from learning about plating and presentation, sometimes it’s about what isn’t on the plate, and being prepared and having my station ready for service – “mise en place.” I also learned a lot about subjective creativity vs objective goals – you can create the most amazing looking dish, but in the end it doesn’t matter if it’s hard to eat or it tastes like cardboard. Most importantly, I learned what it really means to be a part of a team, a crew. To have each other’s back, and that no one station was more important than another. I took those lessons with me and I apply them to everything I do now.