I had the pleasure of attending the 10th Annual 99U Conference this past month. There were so many inspiring speakers and events that really reinvigorated me as a designer. The common theme from speaker to speaker and from workshop to workshop was collectively asking, “how can we as creative leaders challenge ourselves and the world around us?” I'm not sure design is going to actually change the world. However, I do feel it can greatly influence it and "Challenge the World" and it's norms—a  theme of Adobe's conference. Whether it is being more empathetic, making inclusivity a priority or simply just leading with your heart, we can all do a little better. A better WE should probably start with a better ME. #99UConf #AdobePartner #Wecandobetter #carpentercollectivework

Each project I create I start by developing really fast thumbnail pencil sketch concepts. Above are some of those quick thumbnail concepts. These ideas were developed in my sketchbook while attending Adobe's 99U Conference. Following those quick thumbnails, I began drawing a few ideas a little tighter to try and help me decide which concept was the best fit and ready to go to final. See these tighter pencil sketches below, also from my sketchbook at the 99U Conference. 

Prior to creating the final design, I created a few little icon studies to play with style, color and overall look and feel. See these studies below.

Below, "We Can Do Better", my final piece I developed after attending 99U. All lettering was drafted with shapes and the pen tool using my pencil sketch as a guide in Adobe Illustrator.