You Can't Make This Stuff Up
Why I spend 90 minutes with every potential client before I design anything
Senior year of college, final BFA project season.
I'm sitting in the library in the wee hours (probably strung out on my signature—large iced Dunkin D), trying desperately to create this cut-paper texture effect in Photoshop. The vision in my head is so clear—NYC Fashion Week campaign branding, layered fabric, magazine cutouts, that perfectly imperfect collage aesthetic.
But no matter what filter I tried or what layer effect I experimented with... it looked fake. Like it was trying WAY too hard.
Ten hours. TEN HOURS I spent trying to make a texture digitally.
Until it hit me... why am I trying to fake texture when I could just... make actual texture? It makes me LOL writing it out now.
The next day, I went to Joann's. Bought a bunch of fabric. Cut things out. Scanned them in. Cut up actual magazines. Created the whole campaign by hand—logo, event badges, a magazine spread, huge poster. There was a fabric Statue of Liberty. It was so fun.
I fell completely in love with it. It turned out better than anything I could have photoshopped, and it took a fraction of the time because I wasn't working against reality—I was working WITH what was already there.
That aha moment still influences how I approach design today.
Found some old pics from that gallery show. Still one of my faves.
Why discovery matters more than design skills
Here's what I see all the time... Service-based business owners trying to find their brand from templates, AI generators, or by copying what they see other successful businesses doing.
It's the same kind of pattern. They're spending a lot of time, money, and resources trying to make something feel right that never quite does. They focus on the visuals—the colors, the fonts, the aesthetic—but never think to go deeper. And that's EXACTLY why it's not working. You can't make this stuff up.
What they actually need is to understand their own lane and what makes them different. Who they're really for. Why those people should care (and let's be real... hire them). How to build a profitable business they're not shy about promoting.
A business isn't a template. It can't be generated. It has its own texture (if you will), its own story, its own way of connecting with the right people. And those people can feel what's authentic and what isn't.
I believe this is more important now than ever. We’re living in a world where everything feels AI-generated and mass-produced. People are craving that real, tangible feeling.
(Is this why we're all longing for the feeling of a '90s Christmas?? This can't just be me, right? I want to decorate every inch of our home for Christmas this year. Like down to embroidered hand towels in our bathroom. I'll table this feeling/rant... moodboard (?!!) for another day.) * adds '90s Christmas aesthetic moodboard to aspirational to-do's *
If someone already has a client base of loyal followers who love and support them? That's GOLD. They should talk to them. Send them a survey (my personal fave for research!) They're the greatest resource for understanding what makes their business work.
And that's exactly why I start every single project with a 90-minute deep dive conversation—strategic, intentional, not just random—before I design a single thing.
What actually happens in those 90 minutes
I'm not asking about favorite colors or whether someone likes serif or sans-serif fonts.
I'm asking about the moments when their work really connects with clients. The things that nobody else delivers quite the same way. The story of how they ended up doing this specific thing for these specific people. The language that makes their ideal clients say "YES, I need exactly that!"
I could totally send a list of questions ahead of time and call it a day. But the real magic happens in the conversation itself.
When we're actually talking, they'll say something that sparks a follow-up question I never would've thought to ask. They'll tell a story that reveals exactly what makes them different. They'll get excited about something and I'll catch it—that's the stuff we need to build their brand around.
Those raw, unfiltered answers? They don't happen on a form. They have to be discovered.
Just like I couldn't fake that texture in Photoshop no matter how hard I tried, a business can't build genuine positioning from someone else's blueprint. They have to go to the "Joann's"—dig into what makes their business uniquely theirs.
(Joann's figuratively, of course. Because I'm pretty sure they all shut down.)
This approach helps business owners attract the right clients, position themselves as premium, and feel confident enough to charge what they're worth. 90 minutes of conversation builds a foundation that actually feels right from day one—the kind of brand that attracts better clients and justifies higher rates.
If you're a service-based business owner...
If this resonates with you—if you've been struggling to make your brand feel right, attract premium clients, or feel confident about your pricing—maybe you're trying too many new things when you should be discovering what's already there.
If you're ready to dig into what actually makes your business special and position yourself as the premium choice, let's talk. Book a 15-minute fit call.
PS: If you're local to NC, the Brand Vision session comes with snacks and is genuinely really fun. Virtual sessions are also fun (and snacks can also still happen.) ✨