Fasten Your Seatbelts

It was a bumpy road. Unpaved. So bumpy, in fact, that we could not go any faster than 30-40km/h. Our family was on the way to my grandmother’s cottage located about 1 hour north of the city. I was 8 at the time and very intrigued by the large circular disk that my uncle used to steer our car. “Do you want to try?” he asked. Before I knew it, he whisked me from the passenger seat and placed me on his lap all while the car was in motion. The wheel felt heavy, but it felt right. At the time, I did not know that my interest in driving and in cars would follow me all through my life. I also did not know what seatbelts were for. I do now.

Specialize In…Everything

Over my 15-year creative career, I have had the privilege of working with over a dozen different employers and countless clients where I practiced every discipline under the creative umbrella. I also worked in many environments and with all sorts of people. As words that are almost as long as my full name, versatility and adaptability define me.

Here’s what I can help my clients with:

• Branding and visual identity design
• Marketing campaigns and social media
• Team leadership and project management
• RFPs, RFQs, whitepapers, and reports
• Website development and e-commerce
• Video editing, photography, headshots, and photo retouching
• Packaging design and everything print
• Copywriting and proofreading

Lead With Empathy

Starting a family has introduced me to what leadership is, and seeing my wife’s career trajectory inspired me to hone my skills. I became a mentor at the RGD and soon discovered that I get great fulfillment from helping people succeed, seeing growth, and understanding what people feel and why. I practice this empathetic, quiet leadership style in my current role at NCI and ask, “What is it like to be you?”

Here are the principles that I follow:

• Treat team mates as people, not as employees
• Focus on the bigger picture and let go of the details
• Teach non-designers the value of design
• Establish quality benchmarks for the team
• Take courses, stay current, and bring energy back to the team
• Know my place and manage up

Research. Solve. Evolve.

Every problem that I face gets broken down into three components. “Research” and “Solve” are self explanatory, but “Evolve” will need some clarification. As a systematic and methodical person, I’m constantly scanning the processes that I develop to see if there is anything that can be improved. Same goes for me as a person: I always change and morph into a better version of myself, and believe that evolution and reinvention are critical components of success.

I evolved from viewing my colleagues as rivals, to seeing them as teammates who I work with towards a collective goal, teaching one another and filling each other’s skill gaps. Together, we conduct research to become experts in the subject matter, see the bigger picture, and devise visual solutions using the latest tools to deliver results that we can measure. It’s not just about making things look pretty, but more about asking why instead of how and aligning with the client’s vision.

Career Highlights

---