Why I Do This

Several years into by journey, I realized it was never about great design, logos, ad slogans.  I was curious about people.

Why do we trust one brand but hesitate with another? Why do some experiences stay with us for years? Why does one idea spark action while another quietly fades away? I've spent more than three decades chasing those questions.

That curiosity has taken me to some unexpected places: running a printing press, helping launch two Silicon Valley startups, designing billboards, doing some work in the Caribbean, coaching sport, and eventually building creative organizations from the ground up at Stanford and Yale. Looking back, those experiences seem wildly unrelated. They're not.

Every one of them taught me something about people. Often asking “why” uncovers the real barriers hiding underneath the one everyone has been trying to solve. That's the work I enjoy most.

I've never believed creativity begins with software, trends, or even the brief itself. It begins with understanding people: what they value, what they fear, how the connect, and what helps them feel like they belong. Everything else – the branding, identity, storytelling, environments, campaigns, even AI—is simply how we bring those insights to life.

Today, the tools are changing faster than ever, and I genuinely enjoy that. AI makes us faster. Curiosity offers meaning. The technology will keep evolving. Human nature won't.

A better answer is always waiting to be discovered. Sometimes it's found in research, sometimes in conversation. Sometimes by asking one more question after everyone else thinks they're finished.

That's probably why I still love this work. Because creative work is never just about the work, It's about the people on the other side of it.