Below are a handful of writing samples for clients in a variety of industries including design, branding, tech, hospitality, editorial, and more.
Photo of Rich Good by the talented Sheva Kafai.
Love His Way
If Rich Good ever held aspirations of becoming a rock star, he certainly took the road less traveled. Way less traveled. The young Brit moved thousands of miles away from the fertile rock star breeding ground of 1990s London—at his prime rock-star age of 24 no less—to tranquil and remote Nevada City.
Good and his then-partner were both graphic designers looking to escape the big city. When she brought him to visit her tiny Northern California hometown, “I was absolutely smitten by the Sierra Mountains and Lake Tahoe,” he says. “The minute I saw Nevada City, I fell in love with it, and I realized I was born in the wrong country.”
Capturing the Unique Voice and Creative Process of Goods & Services
Atlanta based Goods & Services is a brand and digital experience design firm that exists “to make things better by making better things.” For the company’s recent web relaunch I collaborated with their leadership and creative teams to write more than a dozen long form “case stories” for a handful of their latest projects with clients such as Zeiss, IEX stock exchange, High Desert vodka, KEH Camera, ABC Carpet, Cart.com, Rheem, and more. The goal was to inject a unique voice and discernible point of view into these feature-length pieces, one that matched the quality and intelligence of the creative work itself.
Minding your business in China.
WireScreen Makes it Easy to Navigate the Business of China
We developed the overall editorial strategy, (including mission and vision, tag line, and positioning) to accompany Pentagram partner, Luke Hayman’s logo and web design for WireScreen. This powerful new digital tool, launched by Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist, David Barboza, analyzes and maps complex data about Chinese companies and their stakeholders to help people interested in doing business in China better understand and vet the fastest-growing economy in the world. Deliverables included taglines, marketing copy, mission/vision statement, and brand positioning.
Meet Boombang’s Powerful Creative Combustion Engine
For this award-winning LA-based innovation, design, and venture firm, I partnered with their leadership group to write more than 30 case studies for their recent web relaunch. Over the past 20 years, Boombang has collaborated with a who’s who of cutting edge tech, lifestyle, product, and startup brands on a dizzying array of pioneering and industry disrupting projects. Included are case studies for MLB, Skullcandy, JBL, Zygo, Armstar, Disney, Nickleodeon, Under Armour, SmartImage, Audeze, and many more.
Marvell Web Copy
For tech giant Marvell I was asked to write website copy for a number of the company’s vertical groups, including Careers, Inclusion and Diversity (I&D), and Environment, Social and Governance (ESG). The goal was to update and outline Marvell’s brand language and personality, tone of voice, and general storytelling parameters for all content delivery moving forward.
Image courtesy of Houstonia magazine.
The Houston Independent School District (HISD) Takeover Explained
In March of 2023 the Texas Education Agency (TEA) moved forward with plans to take control of the Houston Independent School District (HISD), the largest district in the state and one of the largest in the country. For Houstonia magazine, I wrote about the controversial decision, which sparked a series of accusations and finger pointing from just about everyone: local and state politicians, school board members, teachers, administrators, parents, even students.
The situation is complex, to say the least. Here’s how we got here, and what this could all mean for the future of education in Houston.
Meet the Green Lama!
America’s Forgotten Buddhist Superhero
Sunday afternoons in New York can lead to all sorts of odd discoveries. This most recent one brought me to the Rubin Museum of Art on 17th Street and into an arts mashup the likes of which I have never seen and probably would not have believed if someone were to tell me about it.
Things (including food) organized neatly.
Getting in Touch With Your Inner Neat Freak
For people with OCD, or even just your garden-variety anal retentives, Austin Radcliffe is somewhat of a savior, shaman and cult leader all rolled into one. Almost exactly a year ago, the Indianapolis-based designer created the website Thingsorganizedneatly.com.
Designing in blood.
Meet the Man Who Designs In His Own Blood
A while back Steven Heller wrote a piece for Imprint about a designer so committed to his craft that he used his own blood as ink. Recently I happened to meet that man in person, one Jean-Emmanuel "Valnoir" Simoulin, and after chatting with him for a while, it struck me that working with his own blood might be the tamest thing about him.
One of many iconic Esquire covers George Lois art directed in the 1960s and 1970s.
George Lois Can Still Kick Your Ass
When George Lois wants something, he usually gets it. Whether it’s Maypo, Matzo, or MTV, the advertising and design legend has won many more battles than he’s lost. And at 81 years old, Lois still approaches life like it’s something to be fought over and enjoyed and laughed about later. He has lived a rich life, one of fame (and infamy!), “Big Ideas,” and accolades. And like Frank Sinatra, Paul Newman, and Ernest Hemingway, Lois has always been the coolest guy in the room. He transcends his industry and stands out even among the other stars in it.
A stage for the eclectic Mikser festival.
The Most Excellent Mikser Festival
A little more than a week ago, at almost exactly the same time that Ratko Mladic was being arrested for heinous war crimes and rioting was breaking out in the streets of Belgrade, one of the more impressive arts festivals was taking place right down the road at a sprawling industrial complex where the Sava and Danube rivers meet.
The controversial and groundbreaking Chase logo.
Marks Men: A Conversation With Chermayeff, Geismar, and Haviv
This month Print will release its first book under the newly established Print Publications line. Identify: Basic Principles of Identity Design in the Iconic Trademarks of Chermayeff & Geismar looks back at the last half century of work by Chermayeff & Geismar, the design studio behind many of the world’s most recognizable trademarks: Chase Bank, the Library of Congress, NBC, National Geographic, PBS, Showtime, and many others.
TED’s Christopher Anderson.
Trying to Get Invited to TED with Chris Anderson
TED has grown exponentially from its start as a stand-alone tech conference. Today, along with the main event, there are independently organized TEDx conferences, an initiative on advertising, the annual TED prize, and more. Print’s editor in chief, Aaron Kenedi, sat down with TED’s chief curator, Chris Anderson, to ask him about his favorite presentations, the importance of storytelling, and how a certain design-mag editor might get that coveted invite to speak.
Artwork by Brooklyn based design team FAILE.
A Collection of Design Rants and Raves
Being a longtime comics nerd, it’s a real treat living next to the Faile studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. In an age of mixed media, mixed martial arts, fusion foods, and sampled music, perhaps no one is combining influences more creatively or more dramatically than these guys.