Amy Lamp

I pretty much live and breathe design in all areas of my life, including my role as Design Director of Forty. As James once put it, I like to craft my world to fit me the way I want.

I’m all about asking thought-provoking questions and focusing on the “why” behind design decisions. I love the diversity of our clients, and my goals are to find powerful ways to set them apart from their competitors and keep us focused on the big picture. It’s also a thrill to work with such a talented team, and I’m excited to continue showing the world what we’re made of.

Outside of Forty, I’ve gotten involved with the design community by volunteering and advising for industry initiatives for many years. Balance is huge for me, so when I’m not attacking design problems you can find me cooking new recipes, burying my nose in my Kindle, or road-tripping with my husband.

The components of experience design that I’m most passionate about:

• How company culture influences the brand experience
• Responsive web design
• Typography
• Illustration
• Brand identity systems
• The “why” behind design decisions

Some tips that help me out in this business:

Sketching is good. You don’t have to be good at drawing to get a point across by sketching out an idea. Also, sketch out several ideas before implementing any of them — you can save yourself from spending a bunch of time refining your first idea and then discovering it wasn’t so hot.

Prioritizing is a must. There’s not enough time in the day to do everything you want. Your website visitors don’t have time to give your website the attention it deserves. You can’t be an expert at everything. Choosing how you spend your time, and acknowledging that your customers have to do the same, is the key.

This business is as much about communication as it is talent. The relentless pursuit of great communication is baked into the Forty way of life.

It’s OK to give up on a goal. If trying to achieve a goal gets you all stressed out, or you realize you just don’t care anymore, the goal police will not come to your house. Just let it go.