Values
CREATIVITY
While many projects share similarities and fundamental standards, every business is unique. So why would you trust your design and strategic approach to some cookie cutter solution, or canned template?
Templates and frameworks can give us tremendous leverage, but they do not have the creative problem solving skills to overcome those unique problems or roadblocks that your business may be trying to solve.
EFFICIENCY
My rates are not cheap, but I can guarantee that I will save you a lot of time and energy that you would otherwise spend researching and qualifying candidates or tinkering around with half baked, or “cheaper” solutions.
I’ve been involved in this industry since 1998, and I can offer very valuable insights without jumping through hoops.
LOYALTY
Have you ever dealt with those types of agencies and business people that seem to be your best bud until they deposit the check and then suddenly become a lot less motivated?
I’m not that type of designer. I may come off as being a bit serious or quiet, you will have me as a loyal and supportive business partner who cares about the mutual long-term outcome of our projects.
What do you stand for?
Work with integrity.
Believe in a win/win outlook in all that we do.
Value the contributions, communication, and hard work of all my clients and show gratitude for each person on the teams I collaborate with.
Be creative and energetic. Encourage a fun but professional environment.
Be efficient, but also stand for excellence including pixels and lines of code. Done right is better than done fast, and being objective is better than being busy.
Prioritize being present to our families and taking care of our health over all else.
Respect each other
Working together should be comfortable and uncomplicated. Much like family when everyone pulls their weight and live up to their responsibilities and commitments, it makes our experience an enjoyable one. Celebrate our wins and give each other space to work and grow, but don’t be afraid to call each other out for poor behavior when it exists.
Be dedicated
This does not mean putting in 10-16 hours a day, but it does mean having a goal of staying focused, being effective, doing our work correctly, meeting standards, and being complete. If we run into a challenge, try our best to figure it out. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or clarification. Don’t accept shortcuts or hacks that will backfire on us in the longterm.
Own it
If we disagree with each other, take time to figure out a solution. Logical arguments never hurt anyone even if our egos may take a small hit. Going dark and silent only make matters and assumptions worse.
Understand value
Don’t just design new features because we think it looks cool, or a competitor has it, or because we feel like it. Every element of design should have some value whether it directly affects sales, or because it helps others save time.
Fail forward!
It’s important to learn from both our success and failures.
If you experience success with something, take time to document how it worked so you can share with others and repeat it again. You will forget.
If you make a mistake, don’t dwell on it. Use it as an opportunity to reflect on what went wrong, keep practicing, and make your best effort to not fail at the same thing twice.
Care
Care for our, health, and be present to our families.
If we allow it, work never ends, so turn off the notifications, learn to say no, and get out and exercise, have fun, and spend as much time as we can with our kids, spouses, and families because we don’t get back lost time.