When I first started designing, I think I was a lot more interested in making things look designed.

Big type. Bold colors. Graphics. Whatever was trending at the time. More was more, and if something felt a little in your face, even better.

And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that kind of design. There are brands where that is exactly what I would still create.

But the longer I've done this, the more I've realized that's not actually the part of design I'm best at.

I'm better at the depth.

I'm better when I really understand the person I'm working with. When I understand their business, who they're trying to reach, what they want someone to feel when they interact with their brand, and even the things they can't quite explain but know when they see them.

The more you let me in, the more I can deliver.

And somewhere along the way, that changed the way I design.

I stopped looking for the reaction.

I used to want the immediate Oh my God!!!

I wanted something bold enough that you noticed it. Something different enough that it stood out. Something that felt current and exciting.

Now, I'm much more interested in whether you remember it.

And those aren't necessarily the same thing.

Sometimes what you remember about a brand isn't the giant typography or the crazy graphic. Sometimes it's one color. A line. The way the photography felt. The softness of something. The way everything worked together.

I'm really big on how things feel.

I want you to look at your brand and feel represented by it. I want the people you're trying to reach to feel like it's for them. I want the way it looks to match the way you want someone to feel when they work with you.

And yes, I want it to convert. It still has a job to do.

But I don't think something has to scream to be powerful.

I've learned to love restraint.

This is probably one of the biggest changes I've noticed in myself as a designer.

Some of the work I created early on, I got tired of quickly.

There was so much happening. Big letters, colors, graphics, another idea, another element. And at the time, I loved it. But eventually I started noticing that the designs I wanted to keep looking at were usually the ones where I had done less.

Not boring, not safe. Just…enough.

When I stopped looking so much at what was trending or what other designers were doing and started asking what actually makes sense here?, I liked my work more.

And more importantly, I liked it longer.

That's probably the best way I can explain where I am now.

• Distinctive without being trendy.

• Elevated without being sterile.

• Interesting without being loud.

• Designed to last rather than designed to impress for six months.

That doesn't mean every brand I create is going to be simple, neutral or editorial. My job isn't to make your brand look like mine.

If your brand needs to be loud, let's make it loud. If it needs neon, give me the neon. If it needs to be weird, let's get weird….But I want there to be a reason for it.

My own brand is probably the best example.

Mega Artwork has gotten simpler as I've gotten more confident in what I actually like.

My logo is simple. My website is pretty sleek and editorial. There's a lot of black and white. And then there are these little hits of red and blue, unusual details, things that give it some personality and keep it from feeling too serious.

That's me.

I don't feel like I need fifteen different things happening on the page to prove that I can design anymore.

I'd rather make something easy to move through. Easy to understand. Cohesive. Give things room to breathe and then put the personality where it actually matters.

Because I've realized I'm not just thinking about whether something looks good.

I'm thinking about whether it makes sense.

• Does it flow?

• Does everything feel connected?

• Can someone understand it?

• Does it feel like the business?

• Will the right person remember it?

• Will you still love it after you've looked at it a thousand times?

That's what interests me now. Not designing something because it's having a moment. Not adding something because I can. Not trying to make every single piece the thing that gets your attention.

I want the whole thing to work together……I want it to feel like you!

And I want it to still feel like you years from now. Hence…I'm more interested in what lasts.