So what’s your deal?
I’m a conceptual creative who builds ideas across storytelling, strategy, and systems. Words are my foundation, but I’m most interested in how an idea moves - across platforms, into experiences, and into culture.
I like working across the full lifecycle of an idea - from early ambiguity to building out how it scales across platforms and experiences.
I lead by listening widely, finding the strongest signals in the room, and shaping them into a clear, compelling creative direction. I believe better ideas come from broader input, not hierarchy, and I actively create space for the most interesting thinking to surface - regardless of where it comes from. I enjoy the process of curating and elevating ideas. I’m drawn to smart, emotionally generous people who make the work better just by being in the room.
With 8+ years in agency environments, I’ve led and mentored lean teams through high-impact digital and integrated work. I focus on building clear, ambitious concepts that can hold their shape across channels while still feeling alive in execution - from immersive brand ecosystems to digital storytelling designed for real-world connection and cultural impact.
I’m drawn to work that refuses to stay in one format. The best ideas expand - they become environments, interactions, behaviors, and experiences people can step into and engage with.
I’m also an award-winning short fiction writer, represented by Chris Bucci at Aevitas Creative Management. That discipline of narrative craft - precision, structure, emotional truth - informs how I think about every brief, no matter the medium
When I’m not writing, I’m usually applying sunscreen like it’s an art form, kicking heavy bags or negotiating with my cat like she’s a tiny CEO.
Sounds pretty good.
But, um… is that it?
Nope. There’s more.
My academic background was in moral cognition research and I had a whole career before this one. I was a doctoral researcher who specialized in how the brain makes decisions about right and wrong, and what happens in those split seconds when emotion and reason collide. It taught me how emotion actually drives most decisions long before logic catches up - which is the same thing we try to do in advertising: move people first.
If you’re interested in how I bring this lens to my work and how it translates to campaign outcomes, let’s talk.
And if you’re interested in the neuroscience-driven creative performance program I founded that helps teams unlock an optimal state of deep focus, check out: gldnhour.org.
Either way, I’m at d.aylett.stewart@gmail.com.
TL:DR: My work sits at the intersection of storytelling and neuroscience - helping brands and teams find the psychological edge where bold ideas become inevitable.