Hi Reader,
When I was ten, one of my paintings hung in the Maryland State House.
I got to meet the lieutenant governor. Wear a nice dress. Feel very important for approximately three hours.
And then I spent the next eight years convinced that art wasn't a real career path.
By high school, art felt like a childhood hobby I'd outgrown. I was going to be an attorney or a journalist—something practical. I loved government class, loved the logic of debate, loved building arguments that made sense on paper.
The only art class I took was the one the school required me to take to graduate. I checked the box and moved on.
But here's the thing: when I joined the school newspaper, I kept volunteering to do layout. Not because I wanted to write hard-hitting investigative pieces about cafeteria food (though I probably did). But because I loved arranging text and images on a page. I loved making things look intentional.
I loved the creative part I'd convinced myself didn't matter.
Turns out, I didn't actually want to stop making art. I just needed someone to tell me you didn't have to choose between creative and practical.
That you could sketch freely and still deliver professional, scalable work. That hand-drawn doesn't mean unprofessional. That creative and strategic aren't opposites—they're better together.
It took me years to figure that out. But now I've found a workflow that actually lets me have both—and I use it almost every time I design a logo.
It's my iPad-to-Illustrator process for creative logo design. Simple, fast, and it combines the best of both worlds.
I start by sketching on my iPad with an Apple Pencil in Procreate, then bring it into Illustrator and turn it into a clean vector file. It gives me the freedom to draw naturally without fighting anchor points, but I still end up with something completely scalable and professional.
Creative and practical. Finally in the same place.
I just published From iPad to Illustrator: My Simple Workflow for Designing Logos Fast, walking through the exact workflow I use:
→ How to sketch logos in Procreate with an Apple Pencil
→ The exact steps to vectorize your sketch in Illustrator
→ How to clean up and refine your design for any use case
→ When this workflow works best (and when to skip it)
→ Why hand-drawn logos don't have to sacrifice scalability
You get the organic feel of sketching without giving up the professional precision you need for client work.
Want to go deeper? Brand Design Academy walks through the full full brand identity process—from getting your first clients to delivering polished brand systems — so you can stop winging it, stop undercharging, and build a real design business.
I gave Claude a single prompt asking for an entire course launch campaign—messaging strategy, sales page copy, webinar plan, email sequences, paid ads, organic content, and a full timeline. It came back with a 47-page document. Not fluff. Actual usable content that collapsed what used to take me days of back-and-forth into one session.
This Friday I'm sharing the exact prompts I use with Claude Cowork (a desktop app that can actually see your screen and access your files) to generate complete marketing campaigns in one shot. This is the kind of workflow shift that changes how you work.
Join DesignEdit.ai here → before Friday.
We're Hiring — and Maybe It’s You
We’re looking for a part-time integrator to join the Davey & Krista team.
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If you’re the kind of person who reads a launch plan and immediately starts building the checklist — this might be for you. We need someone who loves turning big ideas into moving parts, keeps projects on track without being asked twice, and genuinely enjoys the behind-the-scenes work of making a creative business run well.
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The role is part-time and contractor. You’d be working closely with me and our small team on project management, launch execution, and keeping all the pieces talking to each other. We’re looking for someone available Monday through Friday, 8am–2pm — so if you’re a morning person who loves wrapping up before the afternoon school run, that’s not a coincidence.
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We’re not looking for someone who needs a lot of hand-holding — we’re looking for someone who sees the gap and fills it.
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If that sounds like you, click to apply.
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