A reflection on twelve years of creative work, building a business, and the experiences that have shaped how I work.
I hadn’t planned for the first thing I shared in this space to be an interview with ProductionHUB. But as I finished sharing it on LinkedIn, editing and posting it on Instagram, and giving it another edit for Threads, I found myself thinking about a familiar question: how do I describe everything I do?
Today I emailed back and forth with a recruiter about a contract fractional creative director position I’m excited about. I also spoke to a creative director in NYC who knows me as a Florida producer / location scout / fixer. Both conversations felt right at home.
My homepage copy has changed a few times this year as I work to capture the full scope of what I do. Creative director, producer, 1st AD (that’s assistant director, like on a film set). Different projects call on different parts of my experience, and I want the way I introduce myself to reflect that. There’s a lot to fit into a few words.
First and foremost, I am a graphic designer. I studied graphic design at Flagler College with minors in advertising and business. (I was the only graphic design student who also had statistics classes and microeconomics…) I worked as a graphic designer at an agency out of school that exclusively served resort and tourism clients. I grew into an art director position managing 10+ designers, both in-office and at our South American office. I had three big resort accounts and also managed onboarding for new hotels.
Each week we’d onboard new hotels with a conference call where I’d ask all the questions needed to pull together a creative brief and vision. I’d then pass it off to a graphic designer who would run with two website homepage design options and present them to me. After they were client-ready, I’d pitch them via conference call. The designer would work with the developer to pull the entire website together, and I’d QA the final result before presenting the finished website to the client. It was an amazing job. I traveled to beautiful places and worked with an amazingly talented team.
I’d grown as far as I could in that role, and I was ready to see what else I could do. Here’s the thing about me at that time: I grew up knowing I wanted to be an art director. By the age of 24, I had gotten there. Reaching that goal opened up a whole new question: what could I build next?
My father, a commercial photographer (which explains why I knew I wanted to be an art director as a kid, eh), had a client who was looking for design work but also needed a ton of ongoing photo/video work done. So it began: 8+ years operating an agency and production company with my old man.
For the most part, our clients have been large nationwide accounts in the manufacturing industry, from boats to lawn mowers to household consumer goods. We also landed big production projects for brands like TruGreen and Briggs & Stratton. It has been an incredible ride and extremely fulfilling.
With SPLASH, I have had my hands in every facet of the business. From finding clients, setting expectations, managing projects, designing new brands and packaging, running social channels and managing email campaigns, to concepting and producing big-budget productions. I even managed seasonal Google Ads and connected TV campaigns because a client asked if we could. I jumped in feet first, figured things out, and learned something new with every project (and let me tell you, this was before I could ask AI how to do it).
The future is looking a bit different, and it has me thinking about the next chapter. I’ve noticed a shift in the last year that brings me back to something Raffael Cardozo, the president at my first job, Tambourine, said 10 years ago. “I see in the future a time where art directors take the photos.” We were discussing a photoshoot at Lotte New York Palace that I was coordinating. And here we are. With AI, the tools and expectations are changing, and I’m interested in how we can use them alongside the experience and collaboration that make creative work good.
With this shift, I’ve seen a need to work more leanly, stepping in as a freelancer on teams that are figuring out their own way forward. That has meant working as a producer, 1st assistant director, and creative director, depending on what a project needs. I’ve acted as location scout and local producer for two Vineyard Vines shoots, 1st assistant director on a Target short, and 1st assistant director on a Tiger Woods commercial.
I’m drawn to the idea of bringing it together with an in-house team: knowing a brand deeply, building strong working relationships, and carrying ideas from the first conversation through the finished work. After twelve years working across design, marketing, and production, that feels like a natural next step.
So here I am. It’s nearing the end of 2026. I am a graphic designer, art director, creative director, producer, location scout, assistant director, employee, employer, founder, freelancer, mom, wife. Every one of those roles informs how I work.
Where did I start this thing? Oh yes, how do I describe everything I do?
I’m a graphic designer who kept saying yes to the next challenge. Along the way, I’ve helped build brands, campaigns, productions, and a business with my father. I’ve worked with people who have taught me a lot, and I’ve had the chance to help others do their best work, too.
I’m ready to lead, keep learning, and bring that experience to a team that’s excited about what comes next. There’s a lot we can make together.
Let’s jump on a call and get to know each other.