First of all, tell us a bit about yourself and your studio.
I’m a multi-disciplinary designer, creative, and photographer living and working in Brooklyn, NY.
Originally from Oklahoma, I moved to the New York just two days after receiving my Bachelor’s degree from Northeastern State University, majoring in Visual Communication with Photography and minoring in Graphic Design. Not only, did I move for something different, but there was so much more work in my field in existence there. Oklahoma is pretty stale for design and photography work.
I’ve lived in the New York for a while, almost eight years now, working with clients of all kinds. I work on all kinds of projects. Too many to list actually lol. I work on mostly fashion, fitness, residential, and non-profit brands.
And when I’m not working on my own projects, I’m a part-time lecturer at Shillington School on Madison Avenue where I teach graphic design.
How do the majority of your clients come to find you?
Over the past few years, I’ve gained quite a few followers on Behance, so a lot of clients and new work come from there. If not by Behance, they usually find my website and send me an email through there.
Can you give us an insight into what your design process looks like?
Planning and research:
I give the client a preliminary timeline and begin researching the brand’s history and goals.
Brand Questionnaire:
I give the client a list of questions which helps them (and me) with the design process.
Demographic and relevant brand research:
Researching the demographic and other relevant brands for the product or service.
Presentation of brand positioning to the client:
A presentation that helps place the brand in the market, so we know how to design for it.
Defining design direction:
Pull together inspiration images to show the client to establish a design direction.
Brand design presentation:
Then I start designing and present it to the client.
Refining brand identity:
I make revisions of all the design until everything is approved.
Asset export:
Once everything is approved, I export everything.
What are some common challenges you face as a creative?
I think we all face different challenges during our projects. My biggest challenge is when the clients get their personal taste involved. It’s important for a designer and founder to look at what the brand needs and wants, not what we need and want it to have. The brand has its own voice.
What do you enjoy most about the creative process?
I’m a sucker for beautiful typefaces. So I would say choosing the typeface and pairing it with it with another.
Whose work is inspiring you right now?
Anagrama is one of my favorite studios and they continue to impress me over and over again.
You clearly put a lot of effort into presenting your projects. Do you have any advice for other hoping to up-level their own portfolio presentation?
Spend as much time on your presentations as you can. With all the work that is being published every hour, every day, each person just needs to stand out in its own way to be noticed.
