How I Work: My Approach, My Values & Everything In Between
The best client relationships start with clarity. Every graphic designer is different, so here's a little window into how I personally work, what I value, and how we can make the most of working together.
Why I Chose Graphic Design
I can truly say I love my job, and I always have. When I was a kid I used to obsess over the design of surf magazines, and a good font was enough to get me genuinely excited. But graphic design has never just been about making things look good. I love that it's rooted in strategy and problem-solving, and the challenge of figuring out the why before ever touching the how.
There’s nothing better than getting to work with people who are passionate about what they do, and being able to help make their ideas legible to the world.
Who I Work With
I love working with brands in the realms of life I personally enjoy: surf, travel, wellbeing, hospitality, and events. It comes very naturally designing for brands when you yourself are in the target market.
But who I work with doesn't only come down to industry or type of project — people matter just as much. I do my best work when there's mutual respect, good communication, and a shared excitement about what we're creating. If you value the same things, you’ve found the right designer!
The Work I Do
Graphic design can be quite broad and may overlap with other areas such as marketing, photography, and UI design, and different designers may have different specialties.
Alongside branding, most of my work is designing for print (posters, packaging, magazines, flyers, signage, business cards, etc) and digital (social media assets, web and email banners, digital ads, etc). I also do things like design websites, retouch photography, and create video edits.
I especially love layout design — I've designed everything from catalogues over 150 pages long to large-scale signage (which still catches me off guard when I spot it on the street).
My Design Process
Before I open a single design file, I want to fully understand the project. A thorough brief is the foundation of good design — the more you tell me about your goals, your audience, and the context around the work from the start, the more purposeful and effective the outcome. Skipping this stage is where projects lose direction and take longer (costing you more money), so it's an important one to get right.
From here I move into the work itself — researching, thinking, and building out initial concepts for you to review. I work primarily in the Adobe Suite, using professional programs like Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. Occasionally I'll set up assets in Canva on request — handy if you need to edit something yourself, like a business letter template — but given its limitations compared to Adobe, it's not something I take on often.
Based on your input at various stages of the project, I'll refine and revise until we get to something you're really happy with. Once we're at the finish line, I make sure everything is properly signed off before preparing the final deliverables to handover — organised, clearly labelled, and in the formats you need.
What I Need to Do My Best Work
A clear written brief — Great design can only come from a great brief. The more context about the project you can give me, the better. I have a briefing template I send all my clients with the key questions needed to set the project up right from the start.
Good communication — This is a big one. Working with multiple different clients can be a lot to manage, so I need good communication from everyone involved. I understand things change, so if a brief, feedback or payment is going to be late, just communicate as soon as possible so I can stay organised and on top of everything.
Timely feedback — When I book projects in, I’m planning for them to take a certain amount of time. If it takes more than a few days to get back to me following review points, this can really push a project out, and there’s no guarantee I’ll be able to squeeze the work in if I’ve got other projects booked in after yours. Keeping on track with the timeline is important!
One main point of contact — I know from working in large teams myself that there can often be many people involved in a project. Everyone has different opinions (and sometimes there can be too many cooks in the kitchen), which can make it confusing for me if I’m receiving varying feedback. Discussions should happen internally to collate everyone’s thoughts, but there needs to be one person who is the final decision-maker.
Trust the process. Early concepts you see during review checkpoints are direction, not finished work. It can be hard to picture the end result, but keep an open mind and you’ll see the project take form along the way.
And honestly? Kindness. I’ll try to go out of my way for my clients wherever I can, and value a positive working environment for everyone involved.
What You Can Expect From Me
My main goal in any project is for you to walk away with a result that you are happy with, and proud of! I won’t take your feedback personally if you want something changed — just always keep it kind and strategic (see my tips here on how to give great feedback to get exactly what you want).
I’m a very organised person with clear processes, and aim to meet all deadlines (or otherwise communicate early if anything changes). I aim to be contactable and responsive throughout the project. Email is the best way to reach me — if I’m working on a project I’ll be locked in with my phone on do not disturb. If you want to organise a call or catch up, I’m always happy to schedule one in!
I’ll also give you my honest professional opinion, because that's what gets you the best outcome. I’ll let you know if I don’t think something is working, and can suggest other ways to approach it to run by you. I care about the work I put my name to, and that means I'm invested in your project beyond just ticking off deliverables.
If you've made it this far, you hopefully have a pretty good sense of who I am and how I work. I'm a designer who cares — about the craft, the outcome, and the people I work with.
The best projects I've been part of have always come down to the same things: a clear brief, open communication, and a shared excitement about what we're making together. When those ingredients are there, the work speaks for itself.
If I sound like the kind of designer you're after, I'd love to hear your ideas and help you with your next project.
