Designs that demand attention.
ABOUT ME
Hey, I'm Martick. I'm a designer, creative leader, and someone who genuinely loves building things. I've spent over a decade working in the magical realms of design, technology, and business, and I've learned that some of the best work happens when you stop treating those as separate disciplines.
My career actually started in engineering. I spent over seven years at Lockheed Martin working on complex technical systems and digital interfaces, where precision, usability, and thoughtful problem-solving weren't optional. That experience fundamentally shaped how I approach design. I'm naturally curious about how things work, why they work, and whether there's a better way to do them.
Eventually, that curiosity led me into product design, branding, and entrepreneurship. I co-founded No Rivals, a collegiate hat and lifestyle brand that grew to over $8 million in sales in three years. Building a company from the ground up taught me more about the relationship between creativity and business than any textbook ever could. I wasn't just designing things. I was figuring out how to manufacture them, market them, sell them, and build something people actually wanted.
Since then, I've led creative teams, helped brands find their identities, designed digital products, and built ecommerce experiences for businesses of all sizes. At Prismfly, I managed designers working across UX/UI, branding, and conversion optimization for consumer brands. I've worked with founders, developers, executives, marketers, and just about everyone in between.
What I enjoy most is connecting the dots. I love taking something complicated and making it understandable, taking something ordinary and making it memorable, or taking an ambitious idea and figuring out how to actually bring it to life. I care about the visual details, but I care just as much about what those details accomplish.
I love being hands-on. I'll happily lead the strategy, present the work, and manage the team, but I'm also the person opening Figma afterward to make sure the details are right. Lately, I've been spending more time writing code and building interactive prototypes because I like being able to bring my own ideas to life.
I've never felt the need to choose between being creative and being technical, or between making something beautiful and making something profitable. I think the best work does all of those things.
But over the years, I've also learned that what you make is only part of the equation.
Who you make it with matters just as much.
I want to work with people who are curious, ambitious, opinionated, and willing to challenge each other without making everything a competition. People who care about doing great work but can still laugh when something goes completely sideways. You can have the most interesting project in the world, but if nobody enjoys working together, what's the point?
I try to bring that same balance to the work itself. I care deeply about what I make, and I'm particular about the details. I'll spend an unreasonable amount of time finding the right font, adjusting an interaction, or figuring out why something just doesn't feel right. But I also know when to call it done. Perfection is great until it starts getting in the way of progress, and even the most beautiful design doesn't accomplish much sitting in a Figma file.
I have strong opinions, but I'm not particularly attached to being right. I'd much rather somebody challenge an idea and make it better than agree with me because I'm the one presenting it. I've found that the best ideas usually come from conversations where everyone feels comfortable contributing, even when the suggestion starts with "this might be stupid, but..."
Outside of work, I try to live with that same curiosity. I'm a photographer, a gamer, a sports fan, an aspiring better cook, and a collector of hobbies that I tend to take a little too seriously. I love Magic: The Gathering, getting outdoors, experimenting with new technology, and learning things that have absolutely nothing to do with my career. My wife and I also share our home with a small army of animals who are convinced everything we own belongs to them.
I think there's an enormous amount of value in having interests outside your profession. Some of my favorite ideas have come from completely unrelated experiences. Photography has changed how I look at composition. Engineering changed how I solve problems. Building a business changed how I think about risk. And sometimes spending an afternoon doing absolutely nothing productive is exactly what I need.
I want to keep making great work, learning new things, and surrounding myself with people who make me better. I want to build things that matter, have a positive impact on the people around me, and enjoy the process along the way.
I'm ambitious, and I take my work seriously. But I don't think success should come at the expense of having a life worth living.
At the end of the day, I want to make things I'm proud of, work with people I genuinely like, and have some pretty good stories to tell afterward.
And if we can have a little fun while doing it, even better.