What West Texas Taught Me About Design

Inspiration can strike in the middle of nowhere—somewhere between Marfa and nothing at all. Just light, space, silence, and time.

Design isn’t about decoration. It’s about removal.

West Texas strips everything down. The sky goes on forever. The land stays still. And every line—a fence post, a wire, a mesa—means something because there’s so little else competing for your attention.

It’s refreshing to get out of the clutter of town. Anyone can make a mess, but clarity of message and vision is what has always won in my career in advertising. I had a person in the industry tell me several tricks over time, but one stood out. He said, “If you want your shit to win, make it big.” Not exactly genius-level advice, but his point was to make sure people can receive your message. AKA, your signal. Not always the easiest thing to remember though when you are running down the trail of making.