I left that world for a pretty simple reason because I couldn’t imagine spending my life inside a building with clinical white walls. To be honest, I just wanted to spend my days making things.

Here’s my take on design, and not everyone agrees. If it only looks good, it’s useless. A beautiful piece that doesn’t move people is just decor. Everything I create has a specific job to do, and if I can’t explain exactly what that job is, I know I don’t understand the project yet. Looking good still matters, but it isn't the point. It's how you earn the three seconds someone spends deciding whether to keep reading.

That perspective comes from working in public health. When a layout is confusing here, it means someone might miss out on benefits they actually qualify for. In my world, there’s no room for "pretty" if it doesn’t perform.

A few things I’ve built recently:

• Welcome to WIC, a video campaign rebuilt in 11 language versions and distributed to 83 local agencies and more than 500 service sites across California

• A Farmers' Market nutrition video now past 100,000 views

• A 14-page impact report and design system for re:WORK Training, a Chicago nonprofit

• A sponsorship presentation used to secure $8,000 for a national convention

Outside of my 9-to-5, I’m building ODUMAGU, a brand dedicated to bringing Igbo culture to the diaspora and creating a world that truly reflects the people in it. As an Igbo-Nigerian, I want our culture to be everywhere, and specifically authentic, vibrant, and well-designed. That’s also why I love partnering with businesses across the African diaspora.

The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that the growth never really stops. I’ll look at work I did a year ago and see exactly what I’d change today, and I fully expect to feel that same way about this year’s work a year from now.