We were lucky to catch up with Rodolpho Henrique recently and have shared our conversation below.

Rodolpho, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?

I’m fortunate to have met and worked with stellar human beings throughout my career. Over the past 10+ years, I had the opportunity to sit together and learn from different types of people with diverse backgrounds and different perspectives about design, so this helped me to create a statement that nothing matters more than people.

Relationships are worth more than everything. Brands, companies, and the creative work we do is just something minor. The people involved are the most crucial part. Everything out there that we consider excellent and well-designed was built by a group of people with the same mindset and similar direction to achieve that goal. Humans are always the real creators at the end of the story.

Remember that you work with people, not clients.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a digital designer who focuses on designing and shipping digital experiences for a variety of industries and markets around the world. Over the past 10+ years, I’ve been focusing all my energy on solving complex problems through design, combining user experience and visual design throughout the process, designing new products from scratch, or optimizing existing ones so they perform better from both a user and business perspective.

Currently, as a Design Lead at McKinsey & Company, my work is right at the intersection between technology and design. At McKinsey, I have the opportunity to work and serve worldwide clients solving the most complex problems with the best individuals.

The way I got into design was very eclectic: I was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, so it all started with the opportunity I found to help the local music scene in my hometown. Back then, none of us had any money to hire a design/communication company to produce our graphic materials. So I felt a sense of pride in helping my friends to have an identity and better communication with their fans.

After high school, I went straight to study Graphic Design because I was sure I wanted to do something related to arts or design. I had no idea what that meant at that time. But then I started to get into this discipline and understand the basics and rules of design.

It’s crazy to look back on this and see how far the design has taken me. I worked in 10+ different countries, on 20+ product launches, and met great people who became a family to me.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being creative is definitely the ability to solve complex problems to help real people using a creative lens. I used to say that my brain is an infinite library of images, texts, and references I’m constantly consulting. Everything I see, every book I read, and every detail I like is documented in a way I can easily access and remember when I’m designing digital products for my clients. This is the most potential advice I give to young designers. Marcus Aurelius once said, “The things you think about and see determine the quality of your mind. Your soul takes on the color of your thoughts.”

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Working hard. In the digital world, hard work usually pays off. The amount of time you spend on something taking care of the details will give you a great result that will stand out from others. Don’t be lazy. I know very few people that became successful by working very little.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.rodolphohenrique.com
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/rodhzz
• Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/rodolpho-henrique
• Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/rodhzz