1994 PART TIME GROUNDSKEEPER, NEPOTISM HIRE BY MOTHER TO MOW LAWNS. 1996 MAINTENANCE BOY FOR PLATTE RIVER STATE PARK, ALMOST DIED TWICE. 1999 TELEMARKING RELIEF FOR THE FEN-PHEN DIET DRUG SCANDAL. SOLD PET INSURANCE. 2000 BAFFLINGLY HIRED AT ERVIN & SMITH ADVERTISING. DEEPLY OUT OF MY ELEMENT. MERCIFUL ART DIRECTOR TAKES ME UNDER HIS WING, CAREER BEGINS IN EARNEST. 2001 BEGIN WORK AT SNITILYCARR ADVERTISING. HIRED TO REPLACE INTERN. BURNT FISH IN COMPANY MICROWAVE. WORK UP TO DESIGN LEAD. 2005 GET MARRIED, FREELANCE FOR AGENCIES ACROSS THE NATION. LEARN LIFE LESSONS ABOUT BUSINESS. 2011 DESIGNER FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO. HIRE MY FIRST INTERN. PRIVATE OFFICE HAS COFFEE MAKER. 2014 RECRUITED TO WORK IN GAME PUBLISHING. SELL HOUSE, MOVE TO SEATTLE. MAKE NEW FRIENDS. EMBRACE CLOUDY WEATHER WITH APLOMB. 2015 JOIN SMARTSHEET. BUILD THEIR FIRST CREATIVE DEPARTMENT, ENJOY IPO. STARTED HAVING KIDS. 2018 FORM RIOT HAUS WITH TWO PARTNERS. OFFICES SMELL LIKE RED VINES. 2020 WORK FOR THE US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DURING GLOBAL PANDEMIC. GRANTED TS/SCI SECURITY CLEARANCE, INTERVIEW LOOP INVOLVES AN FBI AGENT. 2021 BUILD DESIGN DEPARTMENT FOR CYBERSECURITY STARTUP SHIFT5.  2023 LED UX AND CREATIVE DESIGN ORG AT SOUTH CAROLINA AGENCY BLUE ACORN ICI.  2024 HEADING UP CREATIVE AT ICG, NEVER GOING TO STOP USING GRADIENTS.

Worth Mentioning -- All of the design in the work studies below were designed by me personally. Nowhere do I claim credit for the work of any co-workers or former direct reports. That would just be gross.

WORK STUDY
No.1
// CREATIVE DIRECTION // DEFENSE // BRANDING
Yup, that one. I worked for the DoD during the pandemic. Finally closer to wearing a black turtleneck every day.
WORK STUDY
No.2
// CREATIVE DIRECTION // IPO // LEADERSHIP
From startup to IPO and growing from 100 employees to over 1000, I built the team that set the creative vision.
WORK STUDY
No.3
// PRODUCT // START-UP // HEAD OF DESIGN
Where I built the team that designed products, brand, and sometimes swag with pithy attempts at clever writing.
WORK STUDY
No.4
// BRANDING // WEB // CLIENT SERVICES // ADVERTISING
Designing good works with an avoidance of process paralysis. Wielding the power of both colors AND shapes.
WORK STUDY
No.5
// PRODUCT // WEB // STORYTELLING // SALES
UX revamps and product spec work that helped close a few deals. Masking out photos is probably my new religion.
WORK STUDY
No.6
// PRODUCTS // LEADERSHIP // CLIENT SERVICES
Where I oversaw the agency's design department, managed the UX team, and found new love for blue gradients.
WORK STUDY
No.7
// CREATIVE DIRECTION // WEB // CLIENT SERVICES
A churro enthusiast, a sugar addict, and a man who’ll kiss your dog on the jowels. Also, Lagavulin and Red Vines.
WORK STUDY
No.8
// PUBLISHING // VIDEO GAMES // HIGHER-ED
Miscellaneous design given a warm yet pejorative decade-old nickname from my wife. Bonus: many blood splatters.
WORK STUDY
No.9
// WRITING // PUBLISHING // AUDIO PRODUCTION
“Grave robbing requires a corpse, so at most, this was all just simple thievery.” TINCTURE, a weird-west audio drama.

IN A NUTSHELL: 


Father of two, married to a woefully patient human woman, and I will probably kiss your dog on the mouth.

I've been a designer for over two decades now, leading design teams for half of that, and something clearly broke in my brain a long while back because I still love it. I write books for fun, play video games, and collect vintage tobacco tins because I'm a Creative Director and I have weird hobbies, don't look so shocked.

  1. Defend work without being defensive.

  2. Design is a trade, like everything else. It’s not magic.

  3. Don’t design anything until you understand the problem.

  4. Iterations and variations, not options.

  5. You’re the designer. Everyone is creative.

  6. Define the kind of feedback you want to receive.

  7. Question everything, except someone’s aptitude.

  8. If someone will “know it when they see it,” teach them Photoshop.

  9. Never ask a stakeholder “Well, what do you think?”

  10. Trust the data, but remember, the data won’t design anything.

GOOD LEADERS AREN’T GATEKEEPERS

As a design leader, I pride myself on both managing each designer’s preference, personality, and growth on a personal level - and when setting art direction, being clear with intent and stepping out of the way of good work. As an individual contributor, my best work comes from good collaboration and an interest in all parties to solve a problem - not just decorate it.

PROTOTYPICALITY REIGNS

Design is and should always be a core business unit, not hidden somewhere in Marketing, Product, or Sales - and its goals should be company-wide. This means that in all works you do, in every design project you should “look like yourself.” Over-indexing on “unique” more often translates to an introduction of friction, making product difficult to use and adopt and collateral hard to understand. It’s more than just colors and shapes - it’s business.

YOU ACTUALLY HAVE TO DO THE WORK

Craft time, sticky note exercises, and trust falls are all fun designer-adjacent things to do with a team, but eventually you need to sit down in front of Figma, Photoshop, or on your neighbor’s garage door - and actually start designing. Do your research, learn from the discovery sprints, and get moving. I believe in a bias toward action, and have seen first hand how the political machinery of the “design exercise” can be cover fire for a lack of actual production. Just make something.

Hit me up via electronic mail by clicking right here, or when trouble brews over Gotham, shine the Matt-Signal high into the clouds. Or just email me that's cool too.