Queer Design Club

I’m a proud generalist with 15+ years experience and a gay man who’s been out for twice that. Working with the queer community is a highlight of my career, and I co-founded QDC to continue that. I write and speak about queering design systems.

As part of the cofounding of Queer Design club in 2019, I created the core visual design for the brand and website. This year, I performed an encore, working to refresh the brand and site with major functionality overhauls.

I give talks on the intersection of design thinking and queer theory, like my Clarity 2024 talk, ”Queer Systems,” and a talk I gave for the design agency Instrument, ”Queer Creativity.” Get in touch if you’d like to plan a talk for your event or organization.

As the founding designer on Mode Design System at Stitch Fix, I built our systems for building product from a single Sketch file designers Slacked back and forth to each other to a robust, multi-platform design system with engineering support across web, iOS, and android.

How does being queer inform your work?

The act of design is always shaped by the identity of the designer and their experiences. For me, being queer has given me the ability to bring an outsider’s perspective to any situation. Even when I’m a member of the ”in group” at any given moment, my queerness is a constant reminder that even when you’re included, someone is always excluded. And it’s a reminder to always look for those people, as a designer, and try to bring them into whatever I’m creating.

What are your favorite pieces of queer visual culture?

Queer visual culture is so rich, it’s hard to pick one piece. But for me, the two broad themes that I have the most visceral connection to are protest and smut. I think the creativity that happens at the edge of acceptability is where queerness is its most powerful. ACTUP and the poster designs of the AIDS crisis are an obvious example. But I also love the gay beefcake mags of the 50s and 60s. They’re just as subversive in their own right, and the vintage typography, black and white photography, and maybe a single neon spot color are total eye candy.

Which other queer people inspire you?

Honestly, our members at QDC. This community represents such amazing diversity within both queer and creative communities. Our members create work that I look to for inspiration; but more importantly, knowing that they’re out there, working in design, inspires me to do what I can to create a better field for them.