Origin Stories

Growing up, I often felt polarized; torn between my passion for art and my love for writing. When I was a sophomore in college, that tension finally dissolved as I sat in the opening lecture of a "Computer Arts" elective course and was first introduced to the concept of graphic design. As my soon-to-be-favorite professor described my future trade, my ears and eyes opened and a weight lifted from my chest. I had finally found my calling.

As he so artfully put it, graphic design is the intentional arrangement of images, words, and symbols to convey a given message. And as his lecture imparted, few forms of communication have shaped human civilization so profoundly. From ancient hieroglyphs to vintage propaganda posters to marketing campaigns, brand insignias, and multimedia messages that surround us today, these layered messages work to satiate a desire that's uniquely human — the desire to be understood.

Being a designer lets me satisfy my endless curiosity about the human condition: to remain a perpetual student while becoming a temporary expert in an extraordinary range of subjects. Every project is a chance to immerse myself in an unfamiliar world, understand more about the people each deliverable is intended to reach, and translate complex ideas into clear and compelling communications.

While my undergraduate and graduate studies in design thinking would plant the seeds of a successful creative career, I couldn't have predicted how far and wide those early aspirations would grow.

Career Highlights

Since then, I've seen my name roll with the credits of six of Pixar's feature films. Of the thousands of graphics I produced during my five years with the animation powerhouse, many have made their way onto merchandise, apparel, billboards, Disneyland rides, art books, and international gallery walls.

My time as a Pixarian also refined my leadership skills. I transitioned from mentee to intern mentor, leading several introduction-to-graphic-design workshops through Pixar University, the studio's in-house education program. In my final year, I was elected to be a peer liaison for my art department coworkers — part of a studio-wide group tasked with collecting feedback from various teams and reporting findings to studio leads and executives.

Next, during my time as a lead designer at an award-winning branding and packaging agency, I served Fortune 500 companies including Coca-Cola, Visa, Johnson's Baby, Amazon, Samsung, and Leo Burnett. While there, I became well versed in the agency's signature strengths — employing a ruthless and refined sense of minimalism to build scalable design systems that distilled each brand, packaging panel, and deliverable into its most essential parts.

Outside the studio setting, I've enjoyed sharing my work and design philosophies with others. In 2015, I returned to both of my alma maters as keynote speaker and received the Distinguished Alumni of the Year award from each. I was likewise invited to UC Berkeley as a visiting lecturer and a design competition judge, made two trips to Shanghai to lecture at the China Academy of Art, and accepted an invitation from IDEO as a visiting speaker.

The Work I Do Today

After serving globally recognized filmmakers and behemoth brands who speak to some of the broadest audiences on the planet, I now bring that same level of expertise to ventures of every size, from early-stage founders to established companies. I bring a multifaceted and ever-expanding toolkit — from brand identity and strategy, packaging, copywriting and storytelling, to motion graphics, product design, and UI — to the clients I collaborate with.

More recently, I've woven a range of AI applications, assistants, and image generators into my process, though they certainly don't run the show. While AI may still lack the refined instincts of a seasoned creative, these emerging technologies present exciting new ways to advance and accelerate the work of any designer. I've found them especially useful for speeding up research, ideation, and conceptual iterations, and believe these technologies can help us maintain lean project budgets while producing deliverables on more rapid timelines than ever before.

Bringing all the tools and skills I have at my disposal to the table, I genuinely enjoy the problem-solving challenges that each new project brings, and the opportunity to strengthen and expand my skills that the industry demands. As the global marketplace becomes increasingly complex and unpredictable, I pride myself on my capacity to deliver the kind of design equity, confidence, and quality typically reserved for the world's most recognizable brands. I'd love to bring this same caliber of meticulous creative support to the team, project, or idea you're greenlighting next.