You may already know the jackalope as an Americana folklore favorite: the elusive jackrabbit-antelope hybrid who sings with cowboys. Why would I use it as my logo? A whimsical critter doesn’t seem too professional, and I can't sing at all—even with backup cowboy vocals. The answer requires a little storytelling, with heavy-lifting from symbolism. (Surprise! Copywriter!)

I’ve always been drawn equally to science and art—always. Even as a kid, I was an innovative terror with “art experiments” and “imaginary science." I never did see them as opposites, though. They were connected. Each was perfectly interesting on its own, but to combine them was to create a separate, fascinating thing—maybe even something that had never existed before. A hybrid.

This unity of opposites is the foundation of my work. When I receive an assignment, for example, my first step is to think. Basic, yes, but experience has taught me that things we dismiss as obvious are often the most overlooked. So, first, I think: I consider the client goal (which is not always the same thing they ask for); I research, compare, and analyze. I learn all I can until I truly understand exactly what problem needs to be solved in order to reach the goal, and then I explore creative ways to do it. This way, by the time I start creative development, my ideas are not guesses that hopefully stick to a wall: they're precise, data-driven solutions that hit a target.

There are more reasons I’m partial to the jackalope, of course. Two of my favorite animals happen to be the bunny and the deer, and here they are, all in one. I love the irony of its inception being a marketing ploy by two imaginative yet industrious kids in Wyoming (allegedly), and I love that the word itself is a portmanteau. I also love folklore, and stories of all kinds; I like how the jackalope legend likely grew with the flames of campfire as cowboys could swear they heard someone singing back in the pitch black around them, like sailors inventing mermaids in the dark waves. I am fascinated by the way we use stories to understand the world when logic fails us, and awed by its power to bond us together.

Finally, though, an important and sentimental detail: a jackalope doesn’t have to try to be a jackalope; it is inherently unique, all on its own. You could say we're all jackalopes, of course… but I do have the logo.