Cosmic Website Banner - Cosmic About Banner

Meet your designer

If you’ve worked with me before, then you probably already know my quirks and idiosyncrasies.
If you’re new here, this is probably going to be where you’ll decide whether you want to work with me or not. Let’s start with the formal stuff …

Design background and skills

I don’t have any formal design qualifications but got started on this path as an apprentice in a printing firm in the early 1990s. As an old school designer, I know how to do a lot of things that newer designers have never been taught, and often have never even heard of. I know how to design properly for print, so you can be confident your files won’t be thrown back at you by the printer.

As a South African designer I am very familiar with the local business landscape and know how to design for South African small businesses. Our amazing country has a business climate quite unlike anywhere else, and full of unique challenges, incredible diversity, and a massive spirit of self-employment. Because of this, I don’t blindly follow international trends; I focus on what actually works for local brands.

WTF is functional design?

‘Function’ means the way something works, right? Most designers focus primarily on aesthetics so the end product looks ‘nice.’ They don’t always consider the user experience or how to actually get a viewer to take a specific action.

That’s not how I work. I believe in function over form. I plan every design with a specific end goal in mind, utilizing neuromarketing tactics to guide the viewer’s eye and mind. Once the strategic structure is solid, then I make it look amazing. Pretty design is pointless if it doesn’t work.

Preferred design programs

Here comes a shocker: I don’t use Adobe products to design and never have. I work in Corel Draw because that’s the program I was trained in and it does everything I need to do to deliver a quality end product to clients. Adobe is also not the most ethical company and I have standards. lol. Also, everyone knows no program guarantees great design if the designer is shit.

I know you’re going to ask me about Canva and whether I use it. I’m actually a Canvassador and sell design assets in Canva’s library, as well as run a second business where I create and sell Canva mockups, so I know the program well. But I don’t use it for professional design because that’s not really what it’s for. Any templates I supply you with in Canva contain my own custom designed assets, not elements from Canva’s library.

The burning question: Do I use A.I. to design? The short answer is no, never for design. However, I do use it as a thought partner for strategy and ideas generation. Please don’t send me your A.I. created logo and ask me to redesign it. And please don’t use A.I. to give you feedback on designs I make for you, or to answer any questions I ask you about your business (yes, it happens). There are things I know about South African small businesses that A.I. doesn’t know because that info isn’t on the inter webs.

Working habits

I have a very specific work process because it works. I prioritise clarity before creation. I need to know exactly what needs to be done for your design to get the results you’re after. I believe that if I deliver a project to you that doesn’t work then I’ve wasted both my time and your money. This is how functional design works. We start with research and I will bombard you with questions before a project starts, but this is the reason.

I also invite you to take an active interest in the design process, especially in logo development because it’s an important opportunity for you to learn things about your business you may not know, and that will benefit you going forward.

My body clock runs on a divergent schedule. My peak creative hours are 1pm to 10pm, which means I’m likely recalibrating my brain and doing admin while the rest of the world is on their third coffee. If you email me at 8am, expect a reply a bit later, once my engines are fully engaged.

Weekends are reserved for focusing on my other company so no Cosmic design work is never scheduled over those days.

The more interesting stuff

My maternal gran was an amazing creator, baker, seamstress, and teacher. My mum was a designer too. My dad was a printer. My sister is also a designer and an artist. My brother works in construction but also used to work in print. So it’s in the blood.

Yes, I’m married (since 2006) to a very patient and tolerant financial planner. We have 7 cats and no dogs. My daughter lives in London and works in hospitality. My in-laws stay with us in a cute cottage on our property. My daughter, brother and sister have all emigrated to different countries.