Alicia
Lockard
Hello, I'm Alicia Lockard, a multidisciplinary writer and designer obsessed with turning complex ideas into simple, beautiful, and intuitive solutions. With a background in both print and digital media, I craft brand experiences that feel human. Whether I’m branding, illustrating, or creating designs, my focus is on core values, which are the fundamental beliefs that guide behaviors, decisions, and interactions. While lists can include a plethora of values, they are often grouped into categories like personal growth, integrity, or community. Core values are personal ethics or ideals that guide us when making decisions, building relationships, and solving problems. Identifying the values that are most meaningful to you can help you develop and achieve personal and professional goals with greater clarity and purpose.
When you understand what truly matters to you, you can make more intentional choices about your career path, work relationships, and professional development. This self-awareness can also help you find jobs and companies that align with your ideals, leading to greater job satisfaction and a sense of fulfillment. By articulating your core values, you create a framework for evaluating opportunities and making choices that reflect your authentic self.
These core values are the fundamental beliefs that guide actions, decisions, and behavior, serving as a foundation for personal fulfillment or organizational culture. Key examples include integrity, compassion, accountability, innovation, and authenticity. Selecting core values helps individuals align daily actions with long-term goals. Core values are the guiding principles that shape our decisions and behaviors, serving as a moral compass. They help us navigate life's challenges and make choices that align with our true selves. Core beliefs are the unshakeable convictions that influence our understanding of ourselves and the world around us, often driving our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, shaping our worldview.
Understanding Core Values
Methodology
I believe that a portfolio should be more than a gallery; it should be a testament to a specific way of moving through the world. My process is rooted in the intentional practice of harmonizing every creative decision with core truths. In my professional practice, this alignment is operationalized through specific ethical filters.
Core Values List
Integrity & Ethics: Integrity, Honesty, Authenticity, Transparency, Fairness, and Accountability.
Performance & Growth: Excellence, Innovation, Creativity, Competence, Determination, Learning, and Ambition.
Relationships & Community: Compassion, Empathy, Collaboration, Respect, Loyalty, Kindness, and Service.
Personal Well-being: Balance, Freedom, Health, Autonomy, Joy, Adventure, and Peace.
Organizational/Work: Adaptability, Leadership, Diversity, Efficiency, Quality, and Professionalism.
How to Use Core Values
Definition: Define what each value means to you (e.g., "Integrity" = "Doing the right thing even when no one is watching").
Alignment: Evaluate if your current job or personal habits match these values.
Decision Making: Use them as a framework for making tough choices.
Experts suggest narrowing a personal list down to just a few core values to ensure they truly serve as a focused North Star for your life. Core values are the fundamental principles and intrinsic non-negotiables that define your identity and serve your life's journey. Unlike goals, which are external achievements, values are internal governing concepts that shape your perception of reality and dictate your behavior even when no one is watching.
Prohairesis: A Central Stoic Concept
Prohairesis (Ancient Greek) is a central Stoic concept, most prominently developed by Epictetus, referring to the "faculty of choice," "moral purpose," or "volition". It represents the capacity to rationally choose, assent to impressions, and manage one's internal responses, making it the only thing truly within human control and the seat of virtue. Prohairesis is the "faculty of choice" that enables individuals to determine their own reactions to events, distinguishing humans from other creatures, and it constitutes the essence of personal morality and freedom in Stoic thought. Prohairesis is therefore not just a fleeting decision, but the ongoing, rational process of shaping one's moral character.
Key Aspects of Prohairesis:
The Seat of Moral Character: Epictetus considered prohairesis to be the "true self" or the core of a person's moral character. It defines an individual's humanity and is the source of all moral value.
Volition and Control: It is the internal power of judgment that handles external impressions (events, situations). While external things aprohaireta are not in our control, the prohairesis is, allowing
individuals to maintain their internal, rational state, regardless of external circumstances.
Rational Choice: Prohairesis is understood to be essentially rational. It is not just a decision, but a deliberate choice that moves one toward their goals, and it is crucial for navigating life in accordance with nature.
Development and Accountability: This capacity for choice can be trained and improved, meaning individuals are responsible for their actions and character.
Origin: While central to Stoicism, the term was first introduced by Aristotle in the Nicomachean Ethics, where it refers to deliberate, intentional, and rational choice.
Definition & Origin: Introduced by Aristotle, it translates to "a choosing before" or "preferential choice". It is distinct from simple desire or appetite because it requires deliberation about the means to an end.
Aristotelian View: Prohairesis is "deliberative desire" or "rational appetite," connecting reason with action. It is essential for moral virtue, as actions are deemed virtuous or vicious based on the intentional choice behind them.
Stoic View (Epictetus): In Stoicism, prohairesis is the core of the self, often translated as "moral purpose" or "will". Epictetus argues that while external events are not in our control, our prohairesis—how we judge, assent to, or react to those events—is entirely in our power.
Unassailable Freedom: Epictetus highlights that our prohairesis is free from external, physical, or social constraints. Even if the body is imprisoned or harmed, the ability to choose one's inner response remains intact.
Purpose: The goal is to keep this faculty in "harmony with nature," ensuring actions are guided by reason and virtue rather than impulsive passions.
Prohairesis is the "faculty of choice" that enables individuals to determine their own reactions to events, distinguishing humans from other creatures, and it constitutes the essence of personal morality and freedom in Stoic thought. Prohairesis is therefore not just a fleeting decision, but the ongoing, rational process of shaping one's moral character. It represents the capacity to rationally choose, assent to impressions, and manage one's internal responses, making it the only thing truly within human control and the seat of virtue.
Intentional Choice
Connection Between Choice and Purpose
Alignment: Intentionality bridges the gap between your values and your daily actions. When your choices align with your moral purpose, you experience greater psychological coherence and reduced stress.
Agency: Making intentional choices is a way of reclaiming personal agency. Instead of being "swept along" by societal norms, you actively steer your life toward a future you value.
Character Building: Repeated intentional choices act as building blocks for your character. Choosing growth and integrity today trains your brain to respond that way in the future.
Intentional, Purpose-Driven Action
Moving from "autopilot" to intentional living, several factors are key:
Self-Awareness: Noticing your automatic habits (like "mindless scrolling" or "impulse buying") is the first step toward change.
Value-Driven Goals: Defining a clear "Why" or moral purpose provides the direction needed to set meaningful goals.
Overcoming Bias: Intentionality requires a "conscious override" of cognitive biases, such as the status quo bias (resistance to change) and present bias (favoring immediate comfort over long-term benefits).
Impact Consideration: Understanding that every choice—from the products you buy to your career path—has a "ripple effect" on others and the planet.
Applications in Daily Life
Sustainability: Opting for locally sourced produce or repairing items instead of replacing them.
Career: Choosing a job that aligns with your values, even if it means a lower salary.
Well-Being: Proactively designing your environment to make healthy choices the default.
Technology: Shaping your online life with purpose rather than passively consuming content.
Intentional choice is the conscious, deliberate process of aligning daily actions with deeply held values and moral purpose, moving beyond autopilot reactions to create a life of integrity, resilience, and positive impact. Intentional choice is the process of making deliberate decisions based on awareness and purpose, rather than acting on habit or external pressure. It involves mindful decision-making, considering the consequences of actions, and choosing a path that reflects one’s core principles.
Definition of Intentional Choice: Purposeful, mindful decisions made with conscious awareness, rather than impulsive, reactive, or habitual actions.
The Role of Moral Purpose: Moral purpose provides the "why" behind decisions, focusing on deeper, ethical reasons—such as sustainability, service, or integrity—rather than short-term gain.
Application in Daily Life: Intentionality bridges the gap between personal values and behavior, such as in conscious consumption (environmental ethics), career choices, or personal development.
Benefits: It builds resilience, fosters a "moral brain," promotes well-being, and allows individuals to act as architects of their own destiny.
Moral Decision-Making: True moral acts, as defined by philosophical pillars, are done on purpose, driven by a sense of duty, and are not accidental.
Key Takeaway: Intentional choice transforms life from a series of accidental events into a purposeful, values-driven, and ethical journey.
Intentional choice involves consciously aligning actions with personal values and moral purpose, fostering a life of integrity and positive impact through mindful decision-making and considering consequences. Ultimately, embracing intentional choice is about more than just making "good" decisions; it is the practice of consciously aligning our daily actions with our deepest personal values and moral purpose. By shifting away from impulsive reactions and toward mindful decision-making, we bridge the gap between who we are and who we aspire to be. This commitment to evaluating consequences through an ethical lens fosters a life of profound integrity, ensuring that a consistent, positive impact defines our presence in the world. In the end, a life lived by design rather than by default becomes a powerful testament to the transformative power of the human will.
Achieve Design Excellence
Leverage Social Media Analytics
Focus Groups to Gather Data
Brainstorming for Limitless Creativity
Prototyping Your Design Ideas
Feedback Integration
Refine & Enhance Your Design Concepts
Design Launch and Impact Evaluation
Achieving design excellence requires integrating beauty, functionality, and sustainability through an iterative and user-focused process that prioritizes high-quality, sustainable, and inclusive solutions. Key frameworks emphasize a 10-point approach focusing on equity, health, and resilience while ensuring, for example, that structural design enhances user experience and environmental health. I believe that impactful design doesn't exist in a vacuum; it is rooted in the principles we hold most dear. To truly solve a problem or build a brand, we must first understand the fundamental beliefs that drive our decisions and interactions. Below, I explore the framework of core values that informs my creative process and professional philosophy. Understanding these "North Stars" is the first step toward building a digital presence that is truly authentic and resilient.
The design process begins with the internal disposition of the creator. By aligning our actions with our core values, we can live a more purposeful and fulfilling life, while our core beliefs provide the foundation for our identity and self-worth. Choosing solutions that prioritize long-term integrity and functional clarity over "technical wins" or passing trends. Every pixel and paragraph is an act of character that will lead to a more meaningful and authentic existence. Key strategies for achieving design excellence include:
Excellence is achieved when projects are not merely finished, but thoughtfully developed to be durable, safe, and sustainable while addressing the specific needs of the users and the environment.
Ethical Use of Deliberative Rhetoric
Focus on Public Benefit: The primary aim is to identify actions that are advantageous or detrimental to the community's future.
Open and Inclusive Dialogue: Ethical deliberation involves listening, empathy, and providing opportunities for all affected parties to participate.
Rational and Honest Argumentation: Arguments should be justified with reasons that are accessible, truthful, and open to scrutiny.
Respectful Communication: Engaging with opposing views with respect and reciprocity, rather than solely trying to win at any cost.
Transparency of Purpose: Clearly stating intentions and avoiding hidden agendas that might deceive the audience.
Common Applications:
Policy and Legislative Debate: Proposing laws based on evidence of their future impact.
Community Planning: Making decisions about urban development or resource allocation based on ethical, public-oriented reasoning.
Political Communication: Using rhetoric to build consensus on navigating future challenges.
Ethical deliberative rhetoric aims to foster trust and ensure that decisions are made based on the best possible information and for the common good. Practice, ethical deliberative rhetoric demands that speakers acknowledge competing viewpoints and genuinely engage with counterarguments rather than dismissing or misrepresenting them. This means avoiding manipulative tactics such as emotional appeals that bypass rational consideration, selective presentation of evidence, or divisive language that polarizes rather than unites. When deliberators prioritize intellectual honesty and mutual respect, they create conditions where participants can revise their positions based on new information and collective reasoning, ultimately strengthening both the quality of decisions and the legitimacy of democratic institutions.
The ethical use of deliberative rhetoric involves engaging in transparent, respectful, and evidence-based argumentation, aimed at determining the best course of action for a community. It requires weighing advantages and harms, focusing on the common good, maintaining open-mindedness, and using reasoned arguments. Examples include political speeches, policy debates, legislative proposals, and campaigns, such as urging the passage of a bill, and accessible language to promote democratic decision-making. Ethical deliberation is rooted in a commitment to reasonableness and a "moral style" of communication, ensuring that political arguments foster rather than destroy the public's trust. Common examples include political speeches, policy debates, legislative proposals, and campaigns, such as urging the passage of a bill.
Practice, ethical deliberative rhetoric demands that speakers acknowledge competing viewpoints and genuinely engage with counterarguments rather than dismissing or misrepresenting them. This means avoiding manipulative tactics such as emotional appeals that bypass rational consideration, selective presentation of evidence, or the use of divisive language that polarizes rather than unites. When deliberators prioritize intellectual honesty and mutual respect, they create conditions where participants can revise their positions based on new information and collective reasoning, ultimately strengthening both the quality of decisions and the legitimacy of democratic institutions.
Understanding Your Target Audience
Understanding your target audience involves identifying the specific group of people most likely to buy your product or service, defined by shared demographics, psychographics, behaviors, and needs. Creating detailed buyer personas through research—including surveys, analytics, and customer feedback—allows you to tailor marketing messages, maximize ROI, and avoid wasted advertising spend.
Demographics: Who they are (age, gender, location, income, education).
Psychographics: Why they buy (values, interests, lifestyle, personality).
Behavioral Data: How they act (brand interaction, purchasing habits, loyalty).
Pain Points: The specific problems your product solves for them.
How to Identify Your Target Audience
Analyze Current Customer Data: Use tools like Google Analytics or customer feedback to identify common traits. Conduct Surveys and Interviews: Ask potential customers directly about their needs and preferences. Review Competitors: Analyze who competitors are buying from to identify market gaps. Create Buyer Personas: Build fictional profiles representing your ideal customer to guide marketing strategies.
Benefits of Proper Audience Targeting
Higher Marketing ROI: Focusing on the right audience prevents wasted ad spend, with studies showing billions wasted on untargeted ads annually.
Improved Messaging: Enables you to use the right tone, language, and cultural context for engagement.
Efficient Sales Funnel: Helps determine where to reach them, both on and offline.
Core Dimensions of an Audience
To truly understand your audience, you must look beyond basic facts and uncover their motivations.
Steps to Identify Your Audience
Analyze Your Current Customer Base: Start with who is already buying from you. Use tools like Google Analytics to track visitor demographics and behavior.
Conduct Market Research: Use surveys or interviews to get direct feedback on why customers chose you and what their biggest challenges are.
Evaluate Competitors: Observe who your competitors target and how they communicate. Look for market gaps that they might be missing.
Create Buyer Personas: Develop fictional, detailed profiles (e.g., "Freelancer Anna, 32") that represent your ideal customer segments to make them feel tangible for your team.
Determine Who Isn't a Fit: Explicitly identify who doesn't qualify to avoid wasting ad spend on segments that won't convert.
Why It Matters
Personalization: 80% of consumers are more likely to do business with a brand that offers a personalized experience.
Cost Efficiency: Focusing on a specific group minimizes waste and maximizes your marketing budget's impact.
Brand Loyalty: When customers feel understood, they are more likely to become long-term brand advocates.
Audience Analysis
The process of gathering information about the people in your audience so that you can understand their needs, expectations, beliefs, values, attitudes, and likely opinions. While audience analysis does not guarantee against errors in judgment, it will help you make good choices in topic, language, style of presentation, and other aspects of your speech. The more you know about your audience, the better you can serve their interests and needs. There are certainly limits to what we can learn through information collection, and we need to acknowledge that before making assumptions, but knowing how to gather and use information through audience analysis is an essential skill for successful speakers.
Demographic Analysis
Understanding your audience starts with demographic analysis, which involves looking at factors like gender, age, marital status, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. In a classroom, you might already know these details about your peers. But for other audiences, how do you find out beforehand? Often, the easiest way is to simply ask the person or organization that invited you to speak; they can typically provide valuable insights into the expected audience. Demographic data can be collected formally through questionnaires, accessed from existing databases, or even informally observed by "scouts" who assess an audience's composition before an event. While it's more of an art than an exact science, knowing these details allows a smart speaker to tailor their message, making it relevant and engaging for their specific listeners. Consider how valuable it would be to know your audience is mostly female, between 35 and 55, predominantly married.
Would you adapt your message, or deliver the same speech regardless? A smart speaker would definitely tailor their message to address issues relevant to those gender, age, and racial characteristics. The core purpose of demographic analysis is to ensure your message fits within your audience's needs and interests. Crucially, always exercise respect when gathering demographic information. For example, if you're asking about sensitive topics like divorce, understand that not everyone will want to share. You can't force them to answer, and you shouldn't make assumptions about their reasons for declining. Always prioritize their privacy.