Growing up with a mother who was a designer, I have loved the industry for as long as I can remember. When I got older, I was excited to attend O'More College of Design to study Visual Communications. For the past ten years, I have been honing my skills as a full-time Senior Creative and Director.
Witty girly girl, adventurous spirit, over-organizer, and a very extroverted-introvert are a few of the ways my friends would describe me. I am currently living in the great city of Austin, TX, and am looking for remote design opportunities.
As a design leader, I take a humble approach — I always put myself in the shoes of the team and believe in inspiring teammates by example. Therefore, I make sure to deliver high-level work on a consistent basis so the team knows the level of work expected from them. I truly am passionate about helping my team achieve both personal and professional success.
Each project is different, but the process I take is pretty much the same each and every time. Here is an outline of each of the steps I take:
When meeting any new client or being presented with a new design challenge, I think identifying the problem should always be step one. As a designer, we are responsible for solving problems with the unique blend of form and function that only we can provide. In this phase, I like to dig into the details of everything I can learn about my client and my client's clients.
After I meet with a client or am presented with a design problem, I love to dig into my research. Depending on what's available, I love to look at things like the current market, visual brands that may be similar, establish who their competitors are, define their unique position, and nail down their demographics.
The first thing I like to do after I have gathered my research is look outwards for inspiration. On most projects I like to create a moodboard and then move into sketching or wireframes/sitemap, depending on the project. The final part of this process starts with rough concepting and mind mapping to get any ideas on paper.
When executing on any project, I find it important to work in design sprints. This way I am able to do reviews with my team and implement feedback on the fly. This is also where my signature attention-to-detail comes into play and I comb over projects to make sure everything is client ready.
Finally, we reach the design pitch or client presentation. After all my years of experience, there’s one thing I find most often to be true: The art of being able to sell my work is vital. Being able to speak in a clear, concise, and educated manner about each and every part of my project is a core pillar of who I am as a designer.