I feel very lucky to have started my career as a designer. Even though being a Creative Director took me through copy, strategy, marketing plans, and analytics, design gave me a foundation of finding creative solutions for any problem.
Through design, I developed a system of breaking down and analyzing problems to find ways to iterate through the solutions that are deeper and more meaningful than what might be spit out in a light brainstorming session. Even when I’m writing scripts or site copy, I’m using the tools I’ve developed as a designer to mine what is special in this ore.
Through my freelance days into my time as a senior designer, I’ve maintained my technical prowess because it’s important to me to maintain expertise in solving these problems. It also primes me to rapidly iterate and prototype and produce ideas that are closer to a final product with speed and ease. As a byproduct, I am adept at forecasting and budgeting because I have that experience under my fingers.
I take design cues from the client instead of churning out the same look each time. The brand, vision, emotions of the user experience are all unique and need to be accounted for. And I know when to call in a guest designer to perfectly suit the brand rather than miss the mark.
So as I continue to bring a design frame of mind to visual storytelling, interactive work, brand creation, and advertising campaigns, there’s a built-in bent on innovation and avoidance of clichรฉ. The unknown, combined with a solid creative framework and a collaborative client, is exciting. At this point in my experience, the process is certain in the background and dreams of the brand guide me to new fascinating places.
