I design solutions that help people. And kettlebell workouts. Functional designs and functional fitness.
It’s nice to meet you. How can I help you solve your problems?
Zipari
Branding, logo design, Marketing, and Product Design Manager.
Fate of the Spectre
Branding, print design, visual identity, typography, trading card design.
Ria Health
Branding, Messaging, Logo design, Web Design & Development.
Hungie?
Branding, Messaging, Logo design, Web Design & Development.
Greenbelt Conservancy
Branding, logo design, visual identity, and design system.
I often write words.
Halo Season 2 is good if you treat it like fan fiction
Halo Season 2 is maybe half way done and I think I am finally understanding what their whole vision for the series is.
Design products for the end user, not the stakeholders
A message to Designers and employers alike. Always remember to design products for the end-users, not the stakeholders.
Teen Titans Go! Zimdings is a love letter to typography nerds
Teen Titans Go! Zimdings turns terrible fonts into superheroes. Talk about a love letter to designers and typographers. I felt seen.
The Pod Hotel
The Pod Hotel, formerly the Pickwick Arms Hotel, needed a brand refresh. We delivered a new name and target audience for the small hotel. Today, there are multiple locations of the Pod across the US thanks to our brand executions.
Digital Healthcare Products
A large focus for me the past 10+ years has been improving the ease-of-use in healthcare and other difficult-to-understand business verticals. Reducing compleity for someone shopping for crucial health insurance, or making it faster and easier to find a doctor has been a rewarding pursuit.
Super. Black.
Representation in pop culture is important. "You can't be what you can't see." I started Super. Black. to celebrate and highlight positive representation in comics, video games, movies, TV, and other pop culture media.
Stak Mobility
I defined user flows for their inaugural parking app. Today, Stak is a rapidly growing leader in electric mobility space on their mission to help reduce greenhouse gases caused by transportation.
Blue Mountain
As Head of Creative for Blue Mountain, I aim to introduce consistency into their brand and product design. A comprehensive Brand Guide and Design System is needed to create visual consistency and brand cohesiveness across the organization.
Experience
For over two decades, I’ve honed my expertise in design and development, consistently delivering innovative solutions to design challenges. My journey has taken me through various roles within design agencies and as an in-house design leader, where I’ve demonstrated creative leadership and a player-coach mentality. Each project presents an exciting opportunity to apply my robust creative and design management skills, ensuring an efficient, creative production pipeline.
My passion for growth and innovation defines my career. I’ve adopted the mantra “Get pulled back, not pushed forward” to remind myself to always lean towards bold, innovative, creative direction.
I excel in fostering collaboration within my creative teams and managing fruitful relationships with external vendors and agencies, seamlessly blending creativity with strategic thinking to tackle complex challenges.
Through empathetic storytelling, human-centered UX/UI design, and thoughtful brand strategy, I continuously strive to elevate companies and connect with their target audience on a profound level.
Blue Mountain: 2023 – 2024
Head of Creative Services
Zipari: 2014 – 2023
Creative Director
Ria Health: 2021 – 2022
Creative Direction / Development
Freelancers Union: 2010 – 2014
Senior Creative Developer
321 Worldwide: 2006 – 2009
Design Director
Bachelor’s Degree in Graphic Design
School of Visual Arts
Insights
Here is a brief breakdown of how I approach design and development.
Product Design
Build your products for the end user, not the stakeholder. Always remember who will use the product and tailor your research, UX, and UI to that audience. Back up your decisions with data and avoid “I don’t like” traps. Challenge likes with user data and develop your best possible product. Always remember it will never be perfect, but it can be great.
Branding Design
Your logo is your handshake, not your elevator pitch. Please keep it simple and let your messaging, content, and values do the heavy lifting. Your logo reminds people that you walk the walk. Stay brand consistent by following your style guide, and be bold, never regular.
Web Design & Development
Your codebase is like a house. Without a solid foundation, it will crumble. Avoid restarting dev procedures and establish a scalable workflow to which your team can follow and contribute. Keep your tech stack strict and pay back as much, if not all, of your tech debt as soon as possible.
Leadership
Always remember there is more to learn; your team is the perfect teacher. Never dictate. Always collaborate. Protect and insulate your team from unnecessary headaches and provide them the tools, room, and opportunity to grow. Earn their respect, and never give your team a reason to lose it. Also, hot sauce challenges are fun.
B2B / B2C Marketing Design
There is no better way to market to your audience than with empathy-driven storytelling. You can appeal to your audience with human-centered stories and designs that drive insight and affinity. If they can relate personally to your message, they are more likely to engage positively with your campaign.
Around The Web
Writing was a hobby that became a passion. That passion became a legitimate job. I Freelance write about things I love, like pop culture or professional wrestling. I’ve been lucky enough to create a number of pieces for various publications like Popverse and DC.com.
In need of some content creation? Contact me, I'd love to work on some new stuff.