Process
Empathy
All my designs start with people. I try to not just design from the inside out, but from the story and experience of individual people out. I start each project by considering not only the brief of the project or the space itself, but also the story that space can tell to and about the people who inhabit it.
Inclusivity, accessibility, and universal design are key components of all my work. These philosophies can be opportunities for innovation when approached from a place of empathy. That’s what I always strive to do, from big things like a gender-neutral locker room to less visible things like a legal office where homeless LGBTQIA youth can get their identity paperwork back. I try to be thoughtful in every detail, no matter how mundane.
Alchemy
Making, the act of taking a story or idea and giving it a concrete three-dimensional form, is not only essential to my creative process but to who I am. There is something magical about making something where nothing was before, in taking an idea from concept through completion. Mixing ideas with reality has a transformative power. I’m interested in almost everything and I tie very different ideas together. Even very simple models let me see and think about how forms, materials, or even ideas connect.
This connection to materiality means I’m always thinking about the reality and cost of fabrication. You can not be a maker without understanding the cost in time as well as materials that go into every project. Likewise, the importance and cost of the tiniest detail can make or break a design. After all, an alchemist with the wrong ingredients never turns lead into gold.
Poetry
I want to create more wonder in the world. This makes me sound very serious, but I think that it requires humor and whimsy. Laughter is also a universal truth and as ephemeral as awe or grace. There is a story behind each of my designs, in both the larger scale and the small moments, but who wants a story with all the fun bits taken out? A whole meal shouldn’t be dessert, but that’s the part everyone gets excited about.
Make it stand out
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more or maybe you have a creative project.
