Hi. Hello. I’m a strategist. Which means I’m a thinker writer researcher designer inventor creator dreamer.
(That’s the idea)
Customer insights, vision, mission, positioning and messaging, briefing, concept development, brand voice, product content design, copywriting, design systems, and AI experiences.
Oh, and words. How are we going to say it all?
I’ve worked for agencies, in-house creative shops, and client-side. Often, I work as part of a creative team, seeking to express a brand in all kinds of ways, across all kinds of platforms.
Amazon
It’s on Prime. Prime Video Experience Design includes product design, research, and creative teams for Amazon Prime Video, defining the future of streaming, at scale, in an ever-changing world. I’m part of the small, but perfectly formed, Creative Expressions team, a collective of product designers focused on delivering the brand inside the product in ways that make a measurable difference to our customers’ experience. Ask me how.
Microsoft
More heart, less head. Co-led new company-wide voice direction and style, One Voice. Headed up Microsoft Office Voice and O365 Voice, across products and apps, leading teams of writers and designers in studios around the world to use language in ways that ordinary humans can understand. And part of a design strategy team that supports leadership and product teams think about the future. Can you say AI?
As a strategist at Microsoft, the objective is to “be the customer” in a company that is always inventing at a wild pace. What’s the idea? What does it mean to real people? How is it articulated? And expressed? And what value can we deliver?
Xbox
Working with the Xbox visual creative director and producer, contributed to the development of the design language for the launch of Xbox One. Working with a global team of visual and motion designers, built on the heritage of Xbox to create a visual system for the worldwide launch of Xbox One that expanded across UX, product design and brand.
Nokia
Brand research, development and creative expression. Brand mission and vision for North America and the UK. Customer insight brand research in Latin America, China, India, Western Europe and North America.
Apple
Brand research, development and creative expression in North America. Co-led customer insights research and creative expression around “what it means to be creative”, reporting to the Director of Global Brand Strategy. Co-led ethnographic research across the US and around the world - from China to South America, Europe and the UK.
Starbucks
Copy chief! Directed the in-house writing group, developing the voice of Starbucks. Wrote, directed and implemented concepts for packaging, corporate identity, retail environments, and global advertising. Worked with our national and international agencies, managing a team of creatives on a day to day basis, freelancers, and creative teams in markets around the world.
Creative direction, copywriting, integrated campaigns (retail, advertising, marketing across national and global markets), creative planning, and brand development.
Nike
Brand research, development and creative expression. Naming, research and creative development on super secret squirrel projects.
friends and family
Have been known to write - for hire - love letters, Dear John emails, speeches, and eulogies. I believe in language that is crisp, warm, and charming. Whatever the message.
etc, etc
Will talk books, essays, poetry, flying planes, cooking, New Zealand, beaches, New Zealand beaches, my love for my dog, clothes, shoes, living the dolce vita etc etc.
About
I started as a writer in daily news journalism, then moved into advertising and design.
First and foremost, I’m driven by customer insights - what people want, love, and hold dear - and how an idea - through its vision and execution - can meet the human desire for meaning.
Most of my professional work has been on the west coast of the United States (Los Angeles, Portland, and Seattle), as well as in London. And I’ve partnered with, among others, CPB, Fallon, Weiden Kennedy, and DDB. In 2017, I took a sabbatical to work as a commercial pilot in the San Juan Islands, north of Seattle. I still fly. And work. The best of both worlds.
That’s the idea.