"Approach your work with an open mind, a forgiving heart, and don't forget to play."

Craig Hansen

Visual Designer at Studio Principle

Last updated on 22 Aug, 2025

What apps do you use to help you design?

Adobe After Effects

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe InDesign

Adobe Photoshop

ChatGPT

Figma

LottieFiles

What books do you recommend?

Don't Make Me Think

How to be a Graphic Designer, Without Losing Your Soul

Making and Breaking the Grid

The Elements of Typographic Style

The End of Print: The Grafik Design of David Carson

Thinking with Type

How did you get started in your role as a designer?

My path to design began unconventionally after I left college to pursue snowboarding. While sponsored by a small company, I observed a designer creating their board graphics. It was a revelation: the album covers, skateboard art and snowboard graphics I cherished were all intentionally designed by someone.

What are the responsibilities of your role as a designer?

Studio Principle—a title that's mostly a fancy URL for my one-person operation—I single-handedly manage the entire process from client meetings and creative brainstorming to design, animation, and final file hand-off. I left the "comfort" of corporate life in 2015 to ensure my real job is actually designing, and it's the best career decision I've ever made.

What difficulties do you encounter in your role as a designer?

Inspiration, motivation and finding new work.

How do you incorporate the apps in your design process?

I maintain a tool-agnostic approach. While I use Adobe Suite for client compatibility and Figma for its sheer dominance, I hold no particular allegiance to any platform after 23 years in the field. They're simply tools, like a carpenter's saw, and will inevitably be replaced. The real focus should be on critical thinking and creative problem-solving—skills that can't be mastered through YouTube tutorials alone. True expertise is in the craft, not the software.

What advice would you give to your younger self trying to get into the field of design?

Prioritize negotiating for promotions that offer better pay and greater creative freedom over a lofty title. Titles often come with a hidden cost: a calendar choked with meetings. And operate with clarity: the individuals you work with may genuinely care, but never mistake a company's structure for anything other than a machine built for capitalism. Protect your time and your craft accordingly.

Do you have any regrets in your journey in becoming a designer?

Early in my career at a large Chicago ad agency, my curiosity about the emerging field of UI/UX was misinterpreted as disloyalty to my role as a Senior Animator. Rather than being seen as an asset to our "rich media" team's approach, my interest was met with skepticism, resulting in a punitive transfer to a mind numbingly dull account. This failure to articulate the value of cross-disciplinary skills led to several years of professional stagnation. I deeply regret that I didn't know how to champion my curiosity. I failed to articulate that a animator who understands user experience isn't leaving their craft behind—they're making it more impactful. That lesson, learned the hard way, is now the first thing I teach others.