Matthew David
Q What do you do?
“I work as an Art Director for Fortune 500 companies to tell their story through advertising, packaging, brand identity and motion design.”
Q What steps did you take to get to where you are now?
I ran my own design company with my partner for 17 years and then worked for startups and agencies. I was an instructor for student designers, an illustrator of children's books and helped run paid advertising in a mobile game company before my current job.
Q How do you stand out in your field?
Design requires passion and empathy. Empathy for the end user and passion to deliver something beyond what they were expecting. I bring a world of experience and skills to each project in illustration, ux, ui, branding and advertising to enrich each project.
Q What are you working on right now?
I was recently working on creating assets for the Salesforce public sector site. These were abstractions of the software they helped explain the value and power of their software. They look like simplified depictions of something complex.
Q What’s your style?
I never start by thinking of what style I want to impose upon a client or project. But I do like the power and simplicity of well crafted headlines and powerful or subtle imagery to complement it.
Q Out of all your slashies, which one do you wish you could do more often?
More chances to work on brand identity would be my preference. That could be in almost any industry but perhaps something outside of tech.
Q What is frustrating you right now?
Leadership and poor alignment. People want to be productive and dealing with competing goals and a lack of clarity and focus make success impossible and downright frustrating.
Q If you could hire someone for $20/hour, what would you have them do to make your day easier?
Build my social media presence for personal illustration so that I could just work on making the art.
Q What do you wish you could have told yourself, when, and why?
Design can be anything. Don't listen to experts because they only know what they have experienced themselves.
Q If you could talk to an expert to gain more insight on something, what would it be about?
Building a network of clients.
Q What kind of opportunities/projects are you looking for?
Art Director roles in creative teams that either are close to my location or allow me to work hybrid or remote.
Q Describe your ideal job/client/collaboration.
I get a lot of joy in building ideas together with other creatives that take projects beyond my own abilities. I love it when my ideas aren't bound by the gravity of my own skills.
Q What is your rate?
$200 /hr
Q How should someone approach you about working together?
I would be interested in longer term commitments that could lead to full time positions.
Q Who is a creative you admire?
Sean Turner. Very talented motion designer I have worked with in the past.
Q Oh! and… how do you stay creative?
Exercise and Books a gentle breeze
This member profile was originally published in April 2024