artist statement

My work explores how the digital frontier, growing ever more omnipresent, can be used to challengeisolation, exclusion, and nihilism. My designs aren't just about making the most polished final product. I use my personal stance of humanism and pro community thinking as a basis to help people connect, and even liberate. Through centering collaboration and networks of support in my work, I put the needs of people first. In my graphic design work that includes collaboration with clients, I start by extracting highly specific details from the client or situation. From there, I center their stories and unique identities in both form and meaning. I proceed to finality only if the design expresses some unique meaning through the form itself, or through a clear connection to details that matter to the scenario.

Through personal connection and an understanding of who or what I'm designing for, I highlight our individual stories as well as our larger macro stories, because they reflect back to us parts of our humanity. I design for my own values and for others because it is my responsibility. I share my design perspective as a queer Black man to help people share their unique perspective, too. I choose to take on design projects that involve connection and community because those are central tenets in my human centered design philosophy. This translates to personal projects as well.

In an app I designed called Gearhub, users find ways to connect to each other via their love for cars and car culture. Additionally, I've designed a website called Autobond for automotive designers to share their work and connect with each other for collaboration and networking purposes. Without human connection, the real magic of design cannot happen. Because of that, it's my life's work to facilitate, in any way that I can, more ways for us to connect in meaningful ways.