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Design isn’t just planning and arranging.
It’s the slight oddity that creates the extra buzz.
Good or bad — nothing is certain.
It’s the process that makes the experience worth enjoying.
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It’s about Communication, Not Just Decoration
At its core, every design you create has a job to do. Whether it’s a wedding invitation, a classroom poster, or a social media banner, your role is to guide the viewer’s eye and communicate a specific message or feeling quickly. When you describe your work, try to focus on the goal (e.g., "Designing a wedding invitation that captures a romantic, minimalist aesthetic") rather than just the process.
A great reminder that good design is about more than just delivering what’s asked. It’s about listening closely, challenging thoughtfully, exploring possibilities, and turning feedback into better outcomes.
Really appreciate this kind feedback from Colin Brown at Anita. Grateful for the trust, the collaboration, and the opportunity to create meaningful work together. 🙌
Yeah, the part about challenging thoughtfully really hits. Good design usually gets better when there’s that back and forth with the client.
I don't start with design.
I start with questions.
Every project I take on begins the same way, and it's not in Framer.
Before I open a design tool, I want to know:
Who's actually going to land on this site? What are they unsure about before they contact you? What do you want them to do once they're there?
Sounds obvious. But most sites I look at skip it. They tell you what the company does, and never get around to why you'd pick them over the other five tabs you have open.
So the order I work in is:
Figure out who we're talking to and what they need to hear
Decide what goes first on the page, what goes second, and what gets cut
Map out the sections and pages, still no visuals
Then design it, type, colour, spacing, the whole feel
Then build it in Framer and get it fast and findable
Design comes fourth on purpose. If the thinking behind it is solid, design makes it feel trustworthy and easy to act on. If it isn't, you just end up with a nice-looking site that doesn't do anything.
The upside is the build goes quick. By the time I'm designing, there's nothing left to argue about.
If you're planning a site and haven't worked out the first two steps yet, that's the bit I'd want to start with.
