It all begins with an idea.

Visual storytelling has played a central role in human tradition, evolving from ancient cave paintings to the powerful medium of photography. Visuals have always transcended linguistic and cultural barriers, preserving history, sharing experiences, and connecting people across generations. The invention of photography revolutionized storytelling by capturing reality with unmatched precision, providing a direct and emotional lens into moments of human struggle, triumph, and transformation.

It all begins with an idea.

On December 14, 2012, tragedy struck where nobody thought it ever would. 20 students – no older than 7-years-old – and 6 faculty members were shot and killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. It was the type of town that everyone considered totally safe; nothing bad ever happened. However, what was previously considered a quiet and unassuming town had now been permanently rattled by an unimaginable, inhumane evil.

It all begins with an idea.

We’ve all seen them before. Our favorite film characters going through an epic series of events to train for the big moment. Or maybe it’s a comedic collection of funny antics that they have gone through. It can even be a nostalgic look into the past.

Traditional theories would argue that people make decisions based on rational thinking and in their own self-interest. Behavioral economics tells us that this is not true. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

“My pleasure.”

There’s no better feeling than hearing these words after ordering a 12-count chicken nugget meal with a lemonade from Chick-fil-A. It’s the thing that differentiates them from every other fast-food restaurant on the planet: the experience.

When working on any sort of creative project, it is crucial to spend as much time as possible in the planning phase. Depending on the project, you may even spend more time planning than creating.

Mental health related issues have swept across the nation at an alarming rate. 63% of students have reported to have feelings of overwhelming anxiety, and one in every five students have considered suicide.

Podcasts are awesome!

This has not necessarily always been my opinion, but I have found myself listening to podcasts more and more in the past few years. This change is a result of working multiple jobs in the past two years that have had an hour or two commute.

“A picture is worth a thousand words”

It’s one of those statements that you grow up hearing but never really put much thought into. After a few seconds of contemplation, the meaning seems obvious. That being said, I think there is an inherit flaw with its’ specific language.

Content strategy is the process of creating a plan for planning, creating, publishing, and managing content for a business or organization. It ensures that when you go onto a website, you don’t have to think about everything that came before, it just makes sense.

It’s easy to think of user experience as simply a start and a finish. For example, you want to buy a camera, then you buy one. On a surface level this may be true, however the user’s journey has far more steps and is much more individual than that.

When it comes to understanding your audience and creating for the user experience, it’s to simply listen to user feedback and implement it. However, feedback alone does not tell designers anything about what the user needs or what will actually make their experience better beyond what they think will.

Taking time to analyze and audit the content of a brand and its competitors is a great first step in any good content strategy process. However, what should we do once it is time to start creating recommendations for the brand to adapt?

It feels like marketing and advertising tends to get a bad rap in the public eye. But I get it! When it comes to targeting audiences and trying to persuade them to buy your product or service, there are a lot of ethical lines that need to be drawn.

As content creators, it can be hard to truly connect and empathize with our target audience. We may think we know the problems they are dealing with and what they need to have them alleviated, but this is easier said than done. Luckily, there are a number of strategies and methods we can use to gain a better understanding of the people we create for.

A crucial part of coming up with a solid content strategy is comparing and contrasting what you have been doing with your competitors.

When people think of empathy, they typically think of it from the perspective of being a nice and moral person. So how can empathy possibly relate to designers and content creators? Well, it’s actually more related than you may initially think.