From the Studio

Close-up of blooming pink and white flowers with reddish-brown leaves on a tree branch, blurred background.

Thoughts on design, process, and the work in between.

A running log of ideas, experiments, and lessons learned — from freelance life and code deep dives to design thinking and the occasional creative block. Written in real time, mostly for myself, but maybe useful to you too.

Featured Posts
The Best 404 Page I've Ever Built Involved a Cat Named Dr. Pete and Zero Regrets
6/16/2026
Notes from the Studio Design Techniques Web
The Best 404 Page I've Ever Built Involved a Cat Named Dr. Pete and Zero Regrets
A five-minute task, a medium sized and confident brown tabby, and one reused component later — here's how a utility closet became one of my favorite things on my portfolio site.
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From Interview High to Blinking Question Mark — The Day My iMac Died
6/11/2026
Notes from the Studio Tools Workflow
From Interview High to Blinking Question Mark — The Day My iMac Died
A good interview, a cup of coffee, and then a blinking folder with a question mark. How a Tuesday turned into a Mac Studio M4 Max order.
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Two Years Without Vinz Clortho
5/29/2026
Life Notes from the Studio
Two Years Without Vinz Clortho
Two years ago today, I said goodbye to my soul/heart cat, Vinz Clortho. This is for him.
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2026 Posts
Print Is a Craft — And It's Rarer Than You Think
6/26/2026
Design Techniques Notes from the Studio
Print Is a Craft — And It's Rarer Than You Think
Six years of prepress work taught me something most designers never learn. Print isn't just a deliverable — it's a discipline, and it's disappearing.
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The Best 404 Page I've Ever Built Involved a Cat Named Dr. Pete and Zero Regrets
6/16/2026
Notes from the Studio Design Techniques Web
The Best 404 Page I've Ever Built Involved a Cat Named Dr. Pete and Zero Regrets
A five-minute task, a medium-sized confident brown tabby, and one reused component later — here's how a utility closet became one of my favorite things on my portfolio site.
Read more →
How I Use AI as a Design Tool (Without Losing My Voice)
6/12/2026
Tools Workflow Design Techniques
How I Use AI as a Design Tool (Without Losing My Voice)
Where AI fits into my process, where it doesn't, and how I've kept my own voice intact while using it as a tool rather than a crutch.
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From Interview High to Blinking Question Mark
6/11/2026
Notes from the Studio Tools Workflow
From Interview High to Blinking Question Mark — The Day My iMac Died
A good interview, a cup of coffee, and then a blinking folder with a question mark. How a Tuesday turned into a Mac Studio M4 Max order.
Read more →
Why My Best Ideas Happen at the Gym
6/5/2026
Notes from the Studio Design Techniques
Why My Best Ideas Happen at the Gym
It's not coincidence — it's chemistry. On BDNF, the Default Mode Network, and why stepping away from the screen is sometimes the most productive thing you can do.
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The Ball Is Smaller Now
6/1/2026
Life Notes from the Studio Design Techniques
The Ball Is Smaller Now: Grief, the Brain, and the Work That Comes After
Grief doesn't shrink. The world just grows around it. On loss, the brain, and finding your way back to the work.
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Two Years Without Vinz Clortho
5/29/2026
Life Notes from the Studio
Two Years Without Vinz Clortho
Two years ago today, I said goodbye to my soul/heart cat, Vinz Clortho. This is for him.
Read more →
I found my 1990s Design Portfolio on discs!
5/27/2026
Notes from the Studio Tools
I Found My 1990s Design Portfolio on a Zip Disc
Getting 25-year-old files off vintage Zip discs — a hardware adventure and the start of a time capsule series.
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The PDXWIT rebrand & website refresh: what it's like designing for a community you're already part of
5/21/2026
BrandIdentityWebCode
The PDXWIT Website Rebrand & Website Refresh
Some projects find you. Others you find yourself coming back to — not because you have to, but because the work mattered enough the first time that walking away from the second chapter wasn't really an option.
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What I Learned Rebuilding My Portfolio from a Logo Grid to Case Studies
4/27/2026
PortfolioCareer
What I Learned Rebuilding My Portfolio from a Logo Grid to Case Studies
A logo grid wasn't telling the right story. What happened when I rebuilt from scratch. For years, my portfolio homepage was a clean grid of client logos. No context. No story. Just names — and the assumption that visitors would connect the dots between a recognizable brand and what I actually did for them.
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