Design mentorship for creative folk: Let me help elevate your work and business impact
When it comes to working in the outdoor and adventure sports industry, design is far more than aesthetics. It’s about creating a visual narrative that embodies the spirit of adventure while driving business success. As someone who’s been fortunate to lead design projects with world-class outdoor brands, mountain guides, and athletes, I’ve seen first-hand how good design has the power to elevate not just a brand but an entire business.
That’s where my design mentorship services come in.
Whether you're a designer starting out or already experienced and looking to refine your work, my mentorship offers a blend of creative guidance and business strategy that will help you take your skills, and your impact, further.
What does this mentorship look like?
In simple terms, we’ll work together to improve your creative process, sharpen your technical skills, and help you find your unique design voice. But the real power of this process goes deeper than that. Design in the outdoor space isn’t just about making something look good; it’s about pushing creative boundaries while solving real-world design challenges that brands face. It's about making work that is not only visually compelling but strategically aligned with business goals.
I’ll guide you through everything, from the early ideation phase right through to project execution, offering feedback, tools, and strategies tailored to your unique style. This mentorship is built to help you create better work, but just as importantly, to help you grow into a design leader who can make informed decisions for the brands or businesses you're working with.
Strategic value of design
It’s crucial to understand that, in this industry, design doesn’t exist in isolation. It plays a significant role in the overall business strategy. As a designer, you have the power to influence everything from customer engagement to how a product or service is perceived in the market. I’m here to help you harness that influence.
Ask yourself these questions:
How does my design work align with the business's core goals?
Am I effectively communicating a brand's value propositions through my design?
How do I measure the impact of my design decisions on business performance?
If you're not thinking about these questions, you're missing a huge part of the equation. According to a study by McKinsey, companies that prioritise design outperformed industry benchmarks by 2:1 in revenue growth report by Adobe shows that design-driven companies are 69% more likely to see rapid revenue growth compared to their peers . Design… it's a business advantage! That’s why my mentorship balances both the creative and business sides of design.
Developing business-savvy designers
Beyond just enhancing your technical skills, we’ll focus on areas that will help you become a business-savvy designer. Understanding things like ROI, budgeting, and effective research methods is crucial if you want your designs to truly make an impact.
Here are some key areas we’ll dive into:
Design and ROI: How do you measure the value your design work is bringing to the business? Whether you’re developing packaging for outdoor gear or crafting a brand identity for a mountaineering company, I’ll help you map out how design decisions can lead to measurable business growth.
Value propositions: Design plays a huge role in communicating what a brand or product stands for. We’ll work on ensuring your designs resonate with your audience and clearly communicate the benefits that set a brand apart from its competitors.
Budgeting for design: Learning to work within a budget while still producing top-tier creative work is an essential skill for any designer. Whether you're freelancing or working in-house, knowing how to balance cost with creativity is a game changer.
Research and strategy: Great design doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s rooted in deep research and understanding of both the market and the target audience. I’ll teach you how to conduct strategic research that informs your creative decisions and strengthens your design solutions.
The business of design decisions
Working in the outdoor industry, where authenticity and functionality are so important, you’ve got to create designs that not only look good but also stand up to real-world scrutiny. Your designs need to resonate with a highly engaged audience that values performance, sustainability, and reliability. That means the stakes are high, and so is the potential for success.
By learning to connect design decisions to business outcomes, you'll set yourself apart. You won’t just be the person creating visuals; you’ll become a strategic partner within the organisation, influencing decisions that affect product success, brand positioning, and customer loyalty.
A report from Design Management Institute showed that design-led companies outperformed the S&P 500 by 228% over a ten-year period . That’s the kindnce and strategic value that I aim to help you unlock through mentorship.
Building confidence in your design leadership
The outdoor industry is unique in its demands, and you’ll need to develop a design voice that can stand up to those challenges. Whether you’re working with an established adventure brand or creating work for niche mountaineering companies, I’ll help you build the confidence to lead design discussions and contribute to bigger strategic conversations.
The goal of my mentorship is not just to help you become a better designer, but to help you become a more influential one. You’ll walk away with a stronger design portfolio, but also the confidence and skills to pitch your ideas, advocate for your design choices, and make decisions that drive both creative and business success.
Ready to progress?
If you’re ready to push your creative limits while gaining the business skills that will set you apart, let’s talk about how my design mentorship can help you grow. It’s time to not only create work that speaks to the outdoor spirit but also work that contributes to business growth, product success, and long-term brand loyalty.
