The only way to dig beneath the surface and truly understand a client’s needs or the goal of a project is to ask smart questions and, then, shut up and listen – with both your eyes and your ears. Observing body language and comprehending tone is just as important as listening for content.
For me, design is not work. It’s my way of interacting with the world. I take combinations of words and pictures, numbers and charts, photographs and illustrations and use them to create something distinctive – or useful, or playful, or surprising, or subversive. But always something memorable.
Marketing is smart storytelling. Every brand – whether it’s a product, a company, an institution, a person, an industry, an issue or belief – has a story to tell. My job is to tell that story in a way that educates and engages my target audience, eliciting a desired emotional response.
Chris Payne
Ph. 703.517.1942