Hi there, I’m Ryan
I am a self-taught designer, a quick learner, and a big believer in the power of utilizing good processes to yield good results. I have a business degree and 7 years of professional design experience working with world-renown brands.
My design philosophy – WWTD
I am perpetually humbled, astonished, and delighted by the natural world. And I think there are few things in the universe more beautiful than trees. They seem to exude a patient, idle, effortless sense of style that resonates with something very deep inside me.
And the more you learn about them, the more you realize that all of the tree’s “style” is purely functional. The fibrous bark of the redwood is a very effective flame retardant. The tree’s lush, feathery, and densely clustered pine needles are adept at coaxing condensation out of the humid air. And their method of sexual reproduction by pine cone is a time tested strategy with a rich and ancient lineage.
There is nothing superfluous about any of the elements of a tree. Like everything in nature, they are the ultimate pragmatists. And when you take pragmatism far enough, you end up with breathtaking functional beauty. The inevitable byproduct of deep-time arboreal “user testing.”
I strive to emulate this perspective in my own design process and ethos. Understand the problem diligently. Define the needs thoroughly. Solve the need precisely. Test contextually. Iterate humbly.
And if I ever get really stuck, I try to make time to go for a walk and think about WWTD (What would a tree do?)
Some of my personal creative projects
And OBVIOUSLY I have to show you some of my favorite backpacking photos…
And if you’re still here, I guess I could even tell you a few fun facts about myself:
I like to invent words. Ask me about a few of my favorites: ziracity, pretosha, ennoskia.
I once read 62 books in a year.
I am the unofficial world-record holder for most amount of baby teeth lost while watching “A Series of Unfortunate Events” in theaters. (3)
I once held my breath for 4 minutes.
I was in the top 0.05% of listeners on Spotify for the song “17” by Youth Lagoon.
I took a solo road trip to Alaska and spent 6 months living out of my Mazda hatchback.
I once tried to run a marathon with no prior training whatsoever. (I did not finish but I got up the next morning and finished walking the remainder of the 26 miles.)
I played the drums for a short lived rock band whose only gig was a zombie themed wedding.
I once ate bird poop as a kid because I thought it was chocolate.
One of my life goals is to camp overnight 100+ feet off the ground in a giant redwood tree. (So far, I’ve slept 20 feet up in some beautiful bristlecone pines.
Oh gosh…you’re stilllllllll here?
Maybe this would be a good place to put in an ***official disclaimer*** that I do occasionally wildly overuse the party parrot emoji on Slack after a project is shipped. Be forewarned. I can’t help myself.
