I've learned something about myself after years of working with clients: give me allllll the details. Seriously. Tell me what you're trying to build, what's not working, where you want the business to go, what you tried three years ago and hated, the weird idea you've been sitting on that you're not even sure makes sense. I want to know it all.

The more I understand, the better I can show up for you. Because I'm not really interested in just making the thing you asked me to make. I want to understand why you need it in the first place. And usually, somewhere in all of those details, that's where I start to see what we actually need to do.

Apparently, I was built this way.

Now, if you know anything about Human Design, you'll probably get a kick out of this. I'm a Projector. If you have absolutely no idea what that means, that's okay too. The very simplified version is that Projectors are supposedly built to see other people. We observe, notice patterns, offer perspective and tend to see what could be working better.

When I first learned that about myself, I basically thought...well, yeah. That tracks.

Because that's exactly how I work. I want depth. I want context. I want to understand you. I'm constantly noticing what's missing, what could be stronger, what doesn't quite fit, or what you're actually trying to say versus what you think you're supposed to say. Whether you believe in Human Design or think it's complete BS, it honestly doesn't matter — this is how my brain works either way!

I need to understand the person before I can design for them.

You can tell me you want your brand to feel “elevated,” but what does elevated mean to you? Is it quiet? Editorial? Expensive? Warm? Minimal? Old-world? Modern? Does it remind you of a hotel you love, a restaurant, a magazine, your grandmother's house, or some random piece of packaging you saved six years ago and have no idea why?

Tell me. I genuinely want to know.

Two people can give me the exact same five adjectives and need two completely different brands. That's why I'm never trying to plug someone into a predetermined style or give them the version of “elevated” that I personally like. I need to understand what you're seeing, even if you don't quite know how to articulate it yet.

Honestly, that's usually where I'm most useful.

Sometimes what you ask me for isn't what you actually need.

Sometimes a client comes to me asking for one thing, and once I understand more about the business, we realize that's not actually the thing that's going to solve the problem. Maybe you think you need a new website, but after talking through it, we realize your business has evolved and the branding never caught up. Maybe the offers aren't clear. Maybe you're speaking to a completely different audience now. Maybe everything technically works, but none of it feels like you anymore.

Or maybe you really do just need a new website. That's fine too, lol.

I'm not trying to find more things to sell you. I just want to understand enough that I can tell the difference. You know your business better than I ever will, but sometimes being close to something makes it hard to see what's missing. I get to come in from the outside, ask a million questions, listen to what you're saying (and sometimes what you're not saying), and start connecting the dots.

It's why I love working with clients long-term.

Something changes when I've been in your business for a while. You don't have to explain everything from the beginning every single time you need something. I already know the brand. I know your audience. I know what we've tried. I probably know what you're going to hate before I show it to you. I know which rules we can break and which ones actually matter.

And because I understand the bigger picture, I can see how all the pieces connect. Your website isn't one completely separate thing from your social media, and your social media isn't separate from a campaign, presentation, event, sales deck or whatever else we're creating. It's all the same business. The longer I'm involved, the easier it becomes to make sure all of it feels that way.

That's when I feel like I do my best work. Not because you handed me complete creative control and disappeared, but because I have context and then I can run with it from there. You won't have to explain much to me once I have been brought in.

Bring me the messy thoughts.

You definitely do not need to have everything figured out before you come to me. Actually, please don't pretend you do. Bring me the messy thoughts. Send me the screenshots. Show me the Pinterest board that makes absolutely no sense. Tell me the idea you've been trying to explain for six months. Tell me what's bothering you even if you can't explain why.

I can work with that.

My job is to listen to all of it, figure out what matters, and then translate it into something that makes sense visually. The longer I've done this, the more I've realized that's probably the part I'm best at. Not just designing something pretty, but really seeing the person behind the business and understanding what they're trying to build.

So yes, give me allllll the details; the more you let me in, the more I can deliver.