As a designer, I’ve managed the creative design + illustration of gamification work for Microsoft, executed branding + identity visualization design for Facebook, Reddit + Amazon, as well as layout + web design for corporations small + large. As a marketer, I’ve worked on projects that include landing pages, email campaigns, newsletters, branding, collateral, SEO, advertising + video. I’ve been thrown into the lion’s den a few times + I happily make it out with a few new skills in my back pocket. I’m always eager to learn more about the changing landscape of digital design + empowered to learn something new each day.
My skill set
UI + Viual Design
Identity + Branding
Prototyping
Illustration
Typography
Iconography
Web Design
Product
Interaction + Animation
HTML + CSS
Image Editing
My process
Every aspect of my design is driven by the impact on the consumer. I strive to create for the human experience. I tend to utilize captivating photography to consciously and subconsciously emote through design. The power of typography and clean space also drives my style of work. As a creative, my style is similar to my process: simple but efficient. It can be broken down into these steps: research, develop, iterate, execute, celebrate.
RESEARCH
Because my career as a creative began as a digital marketer, strategy is always involved in everything that I work on. Research is key to any initiative I present to my team or client. To accurately present unique and innovative design solutions, I do my best to research trends that are emerging every day. Additionally, to help the brands that I work with stand out I research their past, competitors and possible new ways for their brand to evolve and grow.
DEVELOP
After heavily researching the creative solutions that could be applied to the project or brief, I'll go ahead and flush out a main style or approach to present to the client. I'll back up my creative decision with market research and trends for the clients consumer base. In some cases, the consumers can be actually real life customers of the business or internal executive stakeholders within the client organization. The stage of my process is also where I begin to decide the kind of style or art direction I'll want to take a project.
ITERATE
After working on revision after revision, I've learned the hard way that providing clients with iterations is the best way to streamline processes and efficiently bring projects to completion. Project iterations that fall within the developed and agreed upon design style simultaneously further the brief and eliminate ideas that the client may have in the future. By doing a little more work at this stage, I've successfully avoided having to do a lot more work for a lot longer further into a brief. For UX/UI projects the prototyping and review part of the project is embedded into this step.
EXECUTE + CELEBRATE
I combine these two steps into one since the celebration of the project is less about actually work and more about acknowledge a much-deserved win. Execution of projects can mean launching sites or applications, moving forward with revisions and full design of the decided-upon iteration or sending the logo or business card for final approval. This step wraps up any loose ends or speed bumps that have occurred throughout a project. This is where I dot my I's and cross my T's. With the completion of every project I like to indulge in a celebration of some sort. Sometimes that means getting the tater tots with dinner or buying myself that extra latte WITH flavoring. I think its important to see every completed brief as a win even if its the 40th Powerpoint deck that I've created for the same company. If you're not enjoying what you're doing why do it.
