Without a doubt, one of the hardest creative challenges I ever face is redesigning my personal brand. Every piece of my day-to-day is dedicated to making brands around the world look epic. Whether its written content, graphic designs, video, marketing materials or beyond – I invest my time and talents in building up those amazing brands. My own, though, is typically …
Wedding planning from a marketer’s perspective
Let me begin by saying that I am absolutely over the moon to be marrying my fiancé. Aaron is an awesome human and I’ve been insanely fortunate to spend this fast and wild piece of my life with him thus far. Where we go from here is going to be ridiculous and it’s an adventure I couldn’t be more pumped …
Holiday DIY product photos for small business makers
The holidays present huge opportunities for small businesses to show of their wares and boost sales. However, it’s perfectly reasonable that not all makers have a photography budget that allows for seasonal photography of the product. Worry not! I have a few quick tips for capturing DIY product photos that will inspire orders without breaking the bank. While I do …
The process of process
Development of a new process is rarely straightforward. On the surface, you can simply change what you’re doing. Do it differently. Continue doing it differently and the process has, effectively, changed. Sure enough, at a small scale, this application of change works. Especially where rapid iteration is necessary without clear measurement or next step. However, a key component of the …
3 vintage words you need to use more often
Today, we’re road tripping. Inevitably, Aaron and I find random tangents for conversation – typically spurred by something weird I said and then promptly started Googling for more information. In the present moment, it’s caddywompus. Use it in a sentence? I-35 runs caddywompus from Kansas City to Wichita. For real. It’s a thing. Of course, my search also revealed that it can be …
Laundry, and then what?
The weird nature of the career I’ve found myself in constantly challenges the “and then what?” As a society, we push each day to automate and optimize. We make the mundane, repetitive and tedious move faster. We are the creators of the metaphorical machine that churns data, algorithms and commands into actions. We fill in the blanks “if this happens, …
Hiring and negotiation from a user experience perspective
A theory. Consider employment from the perspective of investment instead of the necessity of a job. The mental shift is severe. The change in point of view shines a user experience light on the heavy flaws of traditional hiring and negotiation among new generations of employees. The resources for investing in a business are finite. Many are not financially prepared …
An Aunt Day at the symphony
I solemnly swear that we’re up to no good. Over the past few years, Aunt Day has become a spontaneous day of magic in which the nieces and I discover something incredible. I do believe it began on a family trip when their parents had no choice but to trust me to chase the wildest one down a mountain. She …
Boarding the most dangerous flight in the world
The conscious decision to avoid nearly all Everest Base Camp-related research was strategic. I didn’t want to be talked out of it. Brief searches around the idea in years prior made the challenge sound epic and the experience sound amazingly rewarding. Beyond a gear list and the trek itinerary, the promise of a challenge and experience was all I knew …
Exploring Kathmandu, Nepal
Waking up in Kathmandu was surreal. The trip planning had taken months. The flights had been long and tedious. Our arrival felt more like a hazy dream than a monument marking the start of the journey. Surreal, indeed. Taking my first glimpses out of the hotel window in the daylight, I snapped a photo. I had no idea what I …