VP OF DESIGN, ARTEMIS WARD, WASHINGTON DC
I attended the VCU Brandcenter after undergrad, and was fortunate enough to cross over with some true industry giants on their staff. That education set the foundation for my career and my belief in the importance of craft and creative thinking.
From there, I was able to pass through the halls of some of LA’s finest creative shops like 72andSunny and Chiat LA, and work with amazing brands like Google, Disney, and Gatorade. I won some awards. I took some swings on the national and global level. I spent time with a giraffe named Gerald.
All along the way, I collided with creative geniuses and was shaped by their insane drive for great work and lack of tolerance for mediocrity. I am the product of those experiences, mixed with my own obsession for design brought to life in unique ways, through the constant pursuit of boundary pushing. In 2024 I joined the like minded team at Artemis Ward to help like minded brands in that same endeavor.
LOOKING FORWARD TO 2025, ARE YOU OPTIMISTIC ABOUT YOUR DESIGN PRACTICE/BUSINESS? ARE YOU OPTIMISTIC IN GENERAL THAT GRAPHIC DESIGN WILL CONTINUE TO BE RECOGNIZED AS BRINGING VALUE TO THE TABLE IN COMMERCE AND CULTURE?
Design is a tool for effective communication. I think as long as people have messages they want the world to see in ways that get noticed, design will have a place. Good design is fundamentally about capturing the uniqueness of a brand and the specificity of its message — something that template or off-the-shelf solutions simply can’t achieve.
HOW DO YOU SEE AI AND OTHER EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES IMPACTING THE FUTURE OF GRAPHIC DESIGN? ON CREATIVITY? PRODUCTIVITY? EMPLOYMENT?
I know that a lot of people believe that AI is killing design, but I’m not one of them. Design isn’t about the technical skill needed to bring something to life — it’s about the idea. AI is democratizing the technical requirements to execute a vision.
You don’t need to be trained in 3D to design in 3D anymore. You don’t need to be a coding expert to build something with Processing or Three.js. I’m sure we’re going to see a lot of AI slop, but I also think we’re going to see designers of all levels pushing boundaries in new ways.
