Growing up, I had a great appreciation for math. It was safe; it was fair. In my mind it was the antithesis of English, which was full of subjectivity. My English teacher might not like an essay I wrote, but my Math teacher couldn't argue with the right answer. Interestingly, I also had a deep appreciation for art. Not because there was one right answer but because there was no right answer, the beauty of a piece was in the eye of the beholder. This dual appreciation shaped much of my future. 

I explored advertising, business, project management and system dynamics in school and am still learning all the time; formally and informally. I started my career as a project manager within a digital marketing firm. Back then I was sure it was my calling. My need to use my logical mind was satisfied with all the budget, timeline, and detail-focused work. My artistic mind was satisfied by offering feedback through the design process; ensuring designs were intuitive. 

Eventually I pivoted my career when UX emerged as a legitimate area of practice. This is where I thrived. In fact I thrived so much I wound up becoming a practitioner-for-hire. I worked on all the projects I felt could help people. In my off time, I mused about what a design firm could look like if all the stuff I hated about the industry was fixed. If I could build an environment to do the best possible work, what would it look like. This was the thought experiment that led to Hostile Sheep.

One of the most foundational ideas that led to the success of Hostile Sheep was rooted in the trades; the idea of hand-in-hand learning and the passing-down of practice. This was in stark comparison with the professional service model most shops used. I got the most value of my career by working hand-in-hand with experienced practitioners. It wasn't the "creative director" kind of oversight that was particularly valuable, it was learning the nuance and thinking styles that made my mentors successful. 

I took this principle into the heart of Hostile Sheep. It guides the team structure from our inception to our rebirth today. Each principal gets to work with a couple apprentices to support their work. The apprentices get real-world experience and the opportunity to learn directly from a highly experienced practitioner. The principal gets to focus on the juiciest parts of the project while guiding the apprentice through the production-level tasks.