Mikey was a creative director at Nextiva during my time at the company. His passion for the work and capacity to handle completely chaotic situations was a strong anchor for my team, allowing us to navigate the shifting landscape without sacrificing our design ideals. His efforts genuinely encouraged me and I can’t say enough about his leadership.
Dogs or Cats?
I’ve always been more of a dog person. My dog Kiko is my best friend and usually sits in on meetings with me and follows me around the house all day. SO FLUFFY AND CUTE 😳
How did you get into design?
Back in the day when teenagers used online forums to talk about their interests, I kept seeing these really cool graphics in the footers of posts. I decided I wanted to make one for myself so I downloaded a cracked copy of Photoshop from a sketchy website (anyone remember Deamon Tools?) and started learning how to use it through whatever free tutorials I could find online.
Soon I was creating “sigs” for people on multiple different forums — from there I kept going. With a bit more research, I learned that I could do this thing called “graphic design” for a career. So from that point forward I continued to practice on my own and eventually went to college for graphic design and started my own little design agency after graduating.
What’s one thing you learned over the last year?
Soon I was creating “sigs” for people on multiple different forums — from there I kept going. With a bit more research, I learned that I could do this thing called “graphic design” for a career. So from that point forward I continued to practice on my own and eventually went to college for graphic design and started my own little design agency after graduating.
What’s a typical day in your role at Nextiva look like?
Each day typically starts with a fresh cup of iced coffee and a glass of water from the kitchen. After that, I like to sit down and sip the coffee while I review any emails, asana updates, or meetings scheduled for the day. If that goes quickly, I’ll read a blog post or watch a video about art, design, or design software.
The daily design team meeting starts about an hour after I get up, so I prep a few things I want to talk about during it (hopefully I can think of something interesting), then I pop in and say hello, give feedback, and help out with anything I can.
After the team meeting ends I take a small break to stretch and then start my tasks for the day by writing down a list in my notebook and deciding which things I should tackle first.
I like to work for 1 hour and then take a 10 minute break every hour. Occasionally, I will do 2–3 hour long focus sessions when tight deadlines are looming or I’m really enjoying a project and get into the zone.
I usually reserve the end of the day to look through and address any feedback requests, emails, or messages I may have missed while focusing on my work.
What’s been the largest challenge of your career?
Learning how to digest feedback, listen, and push-back on stakeholders at the appropriate time. It’s a delicate balance.
Clients and stakeholders are not always comfortable taking risks with design — it’s always easier to take a familiar and “safe” route. I believe it’s my job to push those boundaries and back those ideas up with stellar well-researched design concepts. Sure, it’d be easier to just roll over and let someone tell me to take the beaten path of “safe ideas”…but then what’s the point of my passion and skill set?
Trust is key. Stakeholders must develop a real relationship (friendship even) with their designer and learn to trust their thinking over time. Patience, lack of ego, a strong desire to help, and an inclusive design process are essential pieces for any designer working with high-level leaders and stakeholders.
What’s been the most rewarding part of being a designer?
I’m always most excited to see how an audience reacts to the work. Do they hate it? Do we get conversions? Did the bounce rate drop? Making a real difference for someone’s business is always the most rewarding part. I can make the world more beautiful, all while helping someone build their dream. And if the work fails, there’s always some juicy details to learn and grow from.
What’s one piece of work you’re exceptionally proud of?
I’m more proud of the body of work that has brought me to the position I’m in today. Everything culminated in growing my own small business and then eventually taking on a lead role at Nextiva. There were many strong pieces along the way, but I’m most proud of my initiative and commitment to making opportunities happen in my career. Even when I was terrified of what was coming my way — I took action in the best way that I could at the time.
What’s one tip you’d give to someone starting out?
Make time for learning everyday. Watch YouTube, MasterClass, SkillShare. Read blogs and magazines. Don’t always focus on design — explore music, business, film making, painting, history, video games, whatever you’re excited about…all of these things contribute to you becoming an even better artist in the long run.
Where can people find you? Anything you’d like to shoutout or promote?
I keep a very low profile online. So no socials. I do have a few alter egos I publish work under out on the internet…🤐…shout out to crypto and NFTs. Let’s get this money fam.
