Hi, I’m Troy.

Happiest between strategy and making

For more than a decade, I’ve worked across brand strategy, creative direction, campaigns, web, motion, presentations, events, and just about everything between. I’m happiest somewhere in the middle of strategy and making: working with leadership to understand where a company needs to go, building the creative system that can get it there, and staying close enough to the work to make sure the idea survives contact with reality.

Career Journey

My professional design career started in a typical place: the courtroom. In a job I didn’t even know existed before I started doing it, I designed the demonstrative exhibits, presentation, and other courtroom graphics attorneys used in high stakes trials. It was good for stories, not for stress levels, but I came out of it with the ability to work under pressure and design persuasively but with legal level discipline.

I worked for myself after that, running a personal design business as well as doing contract work, lending my craft and my strategy to small brands and big ones (I’ve worked with Microsoft, Amazon, Adobe, Bluetooth, and Regence, to name a few).

Then 6 years at Moz, eventually moving from Senior IC into a management role, working as a player-coach as I kept my hands busy in production work but also got to lead and mentor my own team of talented designers and orchestrated a stable of freelancers and creative partners for major campaigns, product launches, web experiences, videos, and events such as MozCon.

Most recently, I led the transformation of Canvas into Twindo. I worked with company leaders and C-suite executives on research, workshops, positioning, naming, and brand direction, then built the visual identity and brought it to life. That meant everything from typography, color, illustration, and motion to websites, sales materials, launch videos, events, campaigns, and more than 100 assets supporting the rollout. I also directed freelancers, vendors, developers, and other creative partners so the brand stayed coherent across a lot of moving pieces.

AI, with judgment still in charge

AI played a meaningful role in that work, but not as an instant “make it good” button. I used it for research, exploration, prototyping, generative image and video work, and production systems that helped people create on-brand materials more efficiently. I’m interested in AI as a way to expand what a thoughtful creative team can accomplish, while keeping human judgment, taste, and storytelling firmly in charge.

How I work

That experience still shapes how I work. I listen carefully. I ask questions before deciding what something should look like. I care about the people doing the work as much as the work itself, and I try to give designers enough trust, context, and thoughtful feedback to do things they’re proud of. I’m dependable, adaptable, low-drama, and usually calm when the pressure ramps up. A former client once said, “Troy just gets it.” A CEO I worked with called me the most drama-free designer she had worked with.

Away from work

Away from work, life revolves around my wife, my daughter, and an amazing Labrador who can launch herself about four feet into the air when she spots a neighbor known to carry treats. My wife and I spend many evenings watching a good show or movie, and have teamed up to write and illustrate a children’s book about acupuncture. I love to read to my kid, pulling out a repertoire of voices that I can proudly say she enjoys more than the audiobook versions. I listen to my own audio-books (I love a good sci-fi novel) while taking walks, and try to make it to rec volleyball when I can.