The year was 2003, the time before Facebook took over the internet, before tapping bank cards against little machines was the done thing, back when toll booths required launching coins from your car window and praying they all landed in the big silver bucket! I'd packed up my rusty blue Ford Fiesta with life's essentials; a stack of old photos, a shops worth of colour coded stationery, a weekends worth of vodka, and headed off over the bridge leaving my fucks well and truly behind!
Hi, I’m Dee, Brand Designer and Strategic Cheerleader for the fiercely ambitious business owner with the guts to change their world.
One day, many years ago, I decided I no longer wanted to be the quiet person who didn’t have an opinion worth sharing, so I packed up my Ford Fiesta and started two journeys.
The first was across the bridge to University.
The second was completely redefining the way I saw myself.
Click the photos to learn about my daily must-haves.
My essentials
I love tech, but when it comes to getting those fresh ideas out of my mind it's got to be pen on paper!
My Notebook
I have a thing for magazine design. There's something about finding creative ways to cram all the things onto a double page spread that gets my ideas firing!
Creative Mags!
Life is too short for shit coffee. Keep it simple. Great coffee. Nothing added. And if it's hot thats a bonus!
Coffee!
An unhealthy obsession or just a brilliant way to run my business and life while waiting for great coffee to brew!
My Phone!
It's old. SO old. But it works. And the one arm glasses and my designers best friend.
My Laptop
If I can run it from my phone it's a keeper!
Simple Systems
Growing up, I struggled to find ‘my’ voice, and I sure as vodka didn’t know what I stood for. But what I did know was that was not how I wanted to be seen. So as I left on that sunny September morning 20 years ago I made the decision to redefine the way the world saw me.
Of course, what happened was I redefined the way I saw myself.
I rediscovered confidence. A relentless confidence inside me, one that had always been there but had buried under the “shoulds” and “coulds” of listening to what I thought other people expected of me.
You should have an opinion but not a strong one.
You should have big dreams but be happy staying small.
You should speak up for yourself but be quiet.
And you should definitely become an accountant. That’s a good solid job.
CONFUSED? So was I. But I couldn’t ignore that burning itch inside calling at me to ‘do design’. Against all good sense, design, to me, was the only thing that made sense.
So I found myself at the toll booth on the bridge that fateful day in 2003 with a decision to make. Be the person I had always been. The one that stayed quiet and did what she thought was expected. Or set fire to that itch and discover what it actually felt like to be myself.
I walked into a new life that day a blank page. Knowing I was in the right place. Doing something I was good at. Something that made more sense to me than anything before. Design became my thing. A tool I’d master over and over again.
Using visuals to communicate suddenly made way more sense than using my voice.
And there in all its irony is where I found my voice!
There is where I found what makes me so good at what I do. Interpreting the world through visuals gave me the confidence to show up and the opportunity to explore how the way we use visuals helps us connect.
The rest, well the rest is a fun and winding story that started with a book made of jelly, saw me quit my ‘perfect’ job, and brought me to this page with you and my relentless confidence that you can, no matter where you are in your own journey, redefine your story and show up how you want to be seen.
You can turn what you love into what they love you for, and get paid for it. And if anyone ever tries to tell you differently, send them my way, I’ve got your back.
No more late-night blank page snarl-ups wondering how the hell you’re going to get your offer into such a small space, let alone in a way that someone might want to actually buy anything from you. No matter which way you look at it you’ll be 100% backed by Dee! Whether we’re working together just the two of us, or as team in The Design Studio, you’ll be supported with my 100% you-infused. 100% deesign-backed guarantee; all the deesign support you need to manage your brand with ease.
100% you-infused.
100% deesign-backed
It's not that clients won't be madly obsessed with you once they know how great you are; it's that right now, your brand isn't supporting that story.
Good news: we're going to fix that.
Subscribe now and design a brand so gutsy it does the sales talk for you
You didn’t make it this far
to only go this far.
If you don’t decide what you want to be known for, someone else will.
You need a brand that tells the world you’ve got the guts to do it.
I believe:
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Design a brand so Gutsy it does the sales talk for you
It's not that clients won't be madly obsessed with you once they know how great you are; it's that right now, your brand isn't supporting that story. Good news: we're going to fix that.