On Labels & Creative Freedom
I’ve never found it easy to label myself. The word designer has always felt a little too narrow, a little too sharp-edged for what I do. It suggests something finished and clearly defined; a discipline that starts with a brief and ends with a deliverable. But creativity rarely moves in straight lines.
When I sit down to design, I’m not only arranging type and form. I’m listening, to tone, to emotion, to rhythm. There’s strategy, yes, but also intuition; a sense of shaping something that lives between artistry and understanding. Designer doesn’t quite hold all of that.
I’ve always felt more at ease with the phrase Creative Designer. It feels truer to me and my background, softer at the edges, more fluid, more alive. It allows for the in-between spaces: art direction, storytelling, colour psychology, intuition, composition, emotion. It acknowledges that design is not just visual problem-solving, but also feeling, atmosphere, and connection.
Perhaps it’s less about titles and more about permission; the freedom to stay curious, to move between mediums, to follow threads of inspiration wherever they lead. Creative Designer leaves room for that exploration. It reminds me that the work I do isn’t only about creating beautiful things, but about creating meaning; thoughtfully, slowly, and with care.
And maybe, in the end, that’s all any of us are trying to do: to create something that reflects how we see the world, without reducing ourselves to a single word.
Thank you for reading,
