I’ve been creative since a young child. Painting, drawing, legos, playing music, sewing cooking, writing, making model cars—if it was creative, I was into it! It wasn’t until my junior year of high school that I discovered graphic design in an introductory class.

I fell in love with it and went on to attend a special trade school in 12th grade learning things like screen printing, Adobe programs, and how to operate an offset press.

I then went on to study visual communication design at The Ohio State University and later, interactive design at SCAD Atlanta. I landed my first full-time graphic design job in Atlanta in 2006.

I have had many responsibilities over the years as a designer in different spaces (corporations, nonprofits, startups, freelance, etc.) Currently, I work for myself full-time as not only a graphic designer but also as a creative director, instructor, co-creator of other unique initiatives, and business owner.

My various responsibilities include:

• creation of visual identities, event design, and various marketing collateral

• lead, manage, and execute brand refresh or rebrand projects from start to finish

• collaborating and communicating with different leaders, teams, and individuals

• brand strategy sessions and workshops for larger brand projects

• digital content creation for design and branding educational content

• occasional copywriting

The biggest difficulties usually occur within the gaps of the questions not asked. They are within the scope curveballs or unforeseen technical challenges that may come at various times. That's why it's so important to ask the right questions before the project officially starts, at the beginning, and throughout the duration of a project. I continuously work to improve my discovery process and ask more meaningful and insightful questions.

Another difficulty is sometimes aligning with the right people. I've learned that the quality of people you work with makes a huge impact on the quality of the work. Again, asking the right questions in the beginning gives great insight into who is the right fit for the way you work and if you are the right fit for them.

I design with Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign as my go-to for most projects. I use them daily. I recently started using Figma to collaborate with clients who prioritize it in their org.

I use Canva mostly for client templates. I transfer my designs created in Adobe over to Canva so that clients can easily update the copy themselves (in scenarios where self-management of their assets makes the most sense). I also use it for social media content creation.

I even use PowerPoint and Google Slides often for decks (certainly not because they are my favorite by any means!), but because a lot of clients use these tools in their company.

I consider all of these apps as just tools. Since tools will evolve, I believe it's most important to build a solid foundation in understanding design principles and processes and then adapt to the right tools that work best for each scenario.

Remain curious and hungry to learn! Celebrate your wins and don't downplay them. Keep creating, because action builds confidence—and being confident in yourself and your work makes a huge difference. Do not let anyone put you in a box; there's much more opportunity out there than you think!

Not at all! Everything I've learned and done has contributed to my unique journey and perspective. The successes and failures were all necessary to develop the character, wisdom, and skills I have today.

I am inspired by the impact my work has on others. It's great to create for yourself, but it's even more meaningful when what you create helps others reach their goals. Having a greater purpose in my work beyond fonts and color palettes is inspiring.

Community is also important. I have always had a community of designers (online or in real life) that I could talk to, collaborate with, or get feedback from. Being around other designers can be a great motivation.

I am also inspired by books (design and non-design), nature, great conversations, and random things in everyday life. Design is all around us, so there's always something to be inspired by if you keep your eyes open.