Summary:

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

When I was a kid, the answer hands-down was a Kratt brother. The third Kratt brother. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Kratts’ Creatures was a 90's show that aired on PBS wherein Chris and Martin Kratt would go adventuring to far-off places around the world and learn about various wild animals. I was 100% sold on the idea of hitching my wagon to those stars.

As the naïve single-mindedness of childhood faded, the complexity and nuance of possible things to do with one’s life perplexed me. I worried that I hadn’t divined my bliss – apparently a mark of successful adulting. Not ready to go all-in on any on career, I did the liberal arts thing to cover all my bases.

Flash forward to having experienced a bit more and logged a grounding catalogue of times when I truly felt invigorated and alive, I discovered the pervasive threads of exploration and a fierce curiosity emerging as the key driving motivations behind my actions. Viz. lo and behold, I am the third Kratt brother.

...er, metaphorically speaking. Allow me to explain:

Notwithstanding my paralyzing fear of failing to have a bulleted list of passions at 21, I stumblingly progressed forward out of college with the help of supportive family, generous mentors, and more than a journaling session or two into the field of design. Whether or not it’s what I’ll be doing 10 years from now I don’t know, but I do know now that I love design because it gives me a great excuse to live an engaging and fulfilled life – both within and outside the context of my work. Design weaves together a spectrum of domains I find fascinating – creativity, psychology, communication – and does so in such an ever-evolving, multifaceted way that it necessitates embracing my inherently curious ‘beginner’s’ mind and that Kratt-esque spirit of exploration.

A mentor of mine once told me that his career goal was to, “Live an interesting story,” and since I can’t think of a better way to encapsulate my MO, I’m stealing that as my mantra.

‘Interesting story’ as a guiding principle to me means far-flung road-tripping around Tasmania as much as it does a good wrestle with my nephews: a multidisciplinary and motley pursuit of what me c. 1997 identified exclusively as chasing warthogs in the Serengeti. 'Excited to see where it takes me 🦁

Long-form About sections FTW.