I’ve always been drawn to how design exists in different mediums, from scribbling with crayons (as 6-year-olds do) to learning how to paint a portrait. I love the process of it all, the steps and the intricate details that come together to form the bigger picture. And I’ll say there’s no better feeling that spending the day in a print studio watching smudgy variations of riso posters coming out of the printer, stepping back and thinking ‘wow, I made that.’ Design is a space of discovery, where every detail can transform how something feels, communicates or connects.  

Curiosity has kept me here and pushed me to explore new mediums and platforms, eventually leading me to Graphic and Web Design, where I started to view design communication as a strategic voice.  

At Element, I get to explore that curiosity, with a great team by my side and a portfolio of clients that value design and our different creative approaches.  

We’re always proud of our work at Element Creative, but one particular stand-out moment for me was an award entry that we designed. This project was for a new client of ours, so the pressure was on to show them what we were made of. 

The brief was to design a supporting two-page document to accompany the main submission entry. The first step was to dive into their brand guidelines, understand how the brand lived and breathed, how it communicated both internally and externally. As this was an award entry and needed to stand out, we also had to take a step back and consider what we might do differently? How could we elevate what they already have, all while remaining consistent with their guidelines. We know we can design, that’s what we’ve studied for, but where we show real impact is thinking about the next steps for our clients’ brands. Viewing their brands as living, tangible assets rather than mere display pieces. 

The proudest moment was watching it all come together, both content and design working hard to transform what, to some, was just a supporting document into a strategic asset for the award entry.  

If you’re struggling for creativity, where do you look for inspiration?

As a designer, you often struggle with “creative block” (well at least I do) and the most common advice you’ll hear is to do something completely unrelated, like going for a walk and looking at the design with a fresh pair of eyes. Sometimes that works. For me, I find looking back at my previous projects just as useful, revisiting work I’ve already conquered and retracing the process, following an almost quiet guide of what worked well and what didn’t.  

I believe the key here is being able to view your work with critical eyes, looking at it from the perspective of different stakeholders, re-examining the bigger picture and sometimes recreating the picture all together. Often, that’s enough to jog the creativity! 

Looking at references always helps but we never copy what we see; we give ourselves the time to admire other designers’ work, investigate what’s going on in the current design trend scene, but we always produce original ideas, adding our own creative spark. 

I find that personal opinions on design is subjective, and everyone sees things differently so ‘misunderstand’ feels like a strong word to use. That being said, I do find one thing that creeps up quite often and I feel like this is the moment to set the record straight. 

“Just keep it really minimal and simple, should be really quick to do.” 

There is still strategy in simplicity, we never just design something for the sake of it. A good design’s job is to communicate and we make sure that happens effortlessly. A simple design might only take about an hour of what we call pure design time, but what most people don’t see is the longer decision-making process. Without it, you’ll have lots of assets that look ‘okay’ but won’t close you that new business deal. 

Good design takes time. 

Don’t gatekeep your skills! I got my first design agency job through someone finding my scruffy website post on LinkedIn. It seems cringey now, but I was so proud of making my first website from scratch and thought why not share it on socials. And a couple of weeks later, I had someone reach out (they know who they are) and offer me an opportunity to present my work. It came when I least expected it, and from a post that I shared thinking no one would care, but clearly, they did!  

Take this as a sign to share your achievements, the projects you’re proud of (and the ones that came with a steep learning curve) and don’t hesitate to brag a little – you never know how far it might get you. 

What are you known for in the team? 

I’d like to think for my work ethic and ability to meet deadlines, but some might say my near to accurate impression of Tina Turner… Long story short I wore a party wig at our Christmas party and, “allegedly”, the resemblance was uncanny (though those photos shall forever stay locked in the chat!).