Tell us a little bit about your creative background. How did your path lead you to ECD & Partner at Sullivan?
My path started with the theft of a TGI Fridays menu in 1982. That was the first moment I remember being completely drawn in by a design experience, the stitched spine, speckled edge paper, its faux leather-binding, the gilded titled “The Unabridged Dictionary of Food & Drink.” I was overcome with the urge to just take it. I waited until my dad went to the bathroom and hid it in my jacket. The menu heist ignited a lifelong love for design and branding that continues to this day.
That original experience eventually led me to a career working at some great studios where I honed my craft and learned how to be a professional. When I got my first branding job, I experienced first-hand the power of design, and how it can transform experiences, viscerally pulling people in without them even realizing it. But I also immediately noticed a problem. We’d create these beautiful systems that were thoughtfully and meticulously packaged into guidelines, and then we’d hand it off to an internal communications department or another agency that was tasked with executing it. It almost always ended the same way. The client would come back asking for more templates and more rules that only resulted in frustration for everyone and ultimately less effective communications. In essence, the story was getting lost in translation.
So then here comes Sullivan. At the time I came on, Sullivan was doing communications strategy and design. The approach was deeply rooted in a UX mindset, which gave me and my work a chance to truly bridge the gap between brand ideas and the work that actually lives in the real world.