"Though it had to eventually come, the news of Steve Jobs passing washed over me painfully. Not only had Mr. Jobs, Steve, been a mentor, hero and predominantly my inspiration for life and career, but his passing meant that my mainstream was about to be altered. And, not in a good way. An IT Director for predominantly Apple Products for the better part of the last 25 years, I found myself confident, proficient and familiar with excellence. I am proud of it and its all because of Steve Jobs.

It's been awhile since I picked up a brush, a piece of charcoal or looked closely at the surface texture of a canvas and water color paper, wondering, anticipating how paint and gesso will react to it. How it will transform it. How if I applied a bit more water to the medium, it will have a certain desired outcome or affect. Conversely, if the brush is too dry or does not carry enough paint, the stroke will not be fluid and I will not be able to finish a continuous thought without having to double back; and by doing so, the affect will seem labored, not spontaneous, if not less pure.

As a design agency, we think of ourselves as keen visual strategists coming to the aid of brands in telling their story and viscerally communicating their magnetism. That is more or less the romantic part but, fundamentally, brands need to survive and thrive in hostile, competitive environments and weather through turbulent economic climates.

As I contemplate this, I cannot help but be inspired and draw from Nature's stunning visual strategy in design. Everything that exists in the natural world is a case study in the brilliant use of design to overcome a need in order to survive. It's a world were there's no written language, how things look and appear is key to life, death and procreation. It is indeed the ultimate form of visual strategy. In concept, it seems primally simple; but how this strategy plays out and how it's executed, can be very rich and complex. Most certainly this can be attributed to a design exploratory that spans millions of years providing results that are dazzling/elegant as well as effective in meeting the "design brief."