What I love most about this job isn't just making great work — it's the moment a team catches the same spark I did and runs with it. That's what I'm chasing every time I lead a project: not just a strong outcome, but a team that felt inspired enough to do the best work of the project themselves.
How I Lead
I try to lead the way I'd want to be led: set a clear direction, give people real ownership inside it, and stay close enough to jump in when it matters.
On the Fidelity Brand Refresh, that meant directing both our in-house team and outside agency partners across color, typography, photography, even a custom typeface — and then standing in front of Fidelity's executives myself to bring it home. On Cyber Mission for the Department of Defense, it meant setting the direction and staying close to both design and strategy so nobody drifted off in their own direction.
I also don't lead from a distance. On Triple Zero, I developed the illustration style myself and ended up hand-drawing the Fidelity Go mascot on camera for TikTok. On Teeing Off, I worked side by side with an outside illustrator to shape the look for a national NYT/Athletic placement, then art directed and edited the video myself. I've found people trust direction more when you've clearly done the work yourself, not just pointed at it.
Selling the work matters as much as making it. A campaign isn't done when it's designed — it's done when the client says yes. I've pitched ideas internally at Fidelity to get them greenlit, and presented a full brand refresh to executives to get it across the line. Knowing how to make the case in the room is part of the craft, not separate from it.
I also try to design for the people who aren't paying close attention yet. On Today's Military, I led a team through a huge, multi-branch information architecture — content strategy, UX, motion, SEO — built for people just starting to gather information, not only the ones already halfway to a decision. Good direction accounts for that whole range of people, not just the easy ones.
And honestly, the team is as much the work as the campaigns are. Building people up — mentoring, giving them room to grow — is part of the job I care about most. The designers I've worked with are the reason the work still holds up after I've moved on to the next thing.