Lee “Mr. Move it One-Tenth of a Pixel to the Left” Selsick is the Director of Strategy and Design at Next Brand, and the secret to his client success lies in his powerful value proposition. “We never sell; we always discuss,” he says. If we have something of value to offer, it soon makes its way into the discussion, and if we offer something that adds value, the trust automatically builds from there.”

He also encourages aspiring designers to put down their screens and step outside. “It’s too easy to derive your influences from the internet,” Selsick says. “Get off Pinterest, Behance, and Instagram for a while and go see the world.” 

One of Selsick’s primary design influences comes from his South African heritage, but his time as an early designer in New York City was transformational. “The outpouring of culture and creativity upon the release of Nelson Mandela in 1990 was very instrumental in galvanizing my career and the creative industry as a whole,” he says. “However, it was my time living in New York in the late 1980s that was most important in inspiring my work.”

Today, Selsick’s design approach hinges upon strategy. “There is no balance between strategy and design,” he says. “Strategy always leads to design.” Although the foundation of solid strategy is consistent across all of his teams' projects, there are variations depending on what the design calls for. “Sometimes the solution is so self-evident from the strategy that we simply execute,” Selsick says. “Sometimes we spread the net wide and explore before narrowing down options and making key decisions.”