JEFF MAStrategy and storyVisual explanationCreative direction

Your ideas, clearly told

Strategy and storyVisual explanationCreative direction

I help make what you say connect with your audience.

An expert’s web of connected dots sends copies of its dots through a wall to build a Bauhaus-inspired figure on the other side, while the web itself stays and slowly changes.

You bring what you need to say.

I listen, ask questions,
and craft
your story
until the people who need
to understand it actually do.

Jeff Ma

Hello.

For twenty years, I’ve helped teams win over customers, explain technical concepts to non-technical partners, show where a company is headed, and make the moments that matter land.

Why it’s hard

My observation

The closer you are to an idea, the harder it can be to explain.

It’s called the curse of knowledge. Once you know something deeply,
what feels obvious to you loses everyone else.

And when you’re closest to the work, it’s easy to

  • stay in the weeds.
  • oversimplify.
  • use jargon.
  • prove how much you know.
  • skip the visuals.
  • leave out steps.
  • bury the ask.
  • assume they already care.

The gap between knowing and explaining can be difficult to bridge. Closing that gap is a different kind of work.

How I help

Conversation to craft

I connect the dots with you, then for your audience.

Design starts with a conversation and guides every step that follows.

  1. Listen

    I listen and line up what you’re saying with what you mean.

  2. Ask

    I ask the questions your audience will, and the ones they’re thinking.

  3. Edit

    I keep what this audience needs and set aside the rest.

  4. Shape

    I tune your story for the people hearing it.

  5. Craft

    Then I design what carries it.

Working together produces three kinds of work.

  • The Message

    What you know, distilled into a story that holds together

    • Strategy workshops
    • Messaging playbook
    • Core narrative

  • The Kit

    What you need to tell your story, made for each audience

    • One-pagers and briefs
    • Key visuals and metaphors
    • Presentation templates

  • The Story

    Finished pieces, made for the people who need them

    • Keynote or pitch
    • Explainer video
    • Full campaign

And here’s what you gain.

  • Faster understanding The point lands in minutes, with the details there when people want them.
  • Better conversations Time goes to moving the idea forward, not decoding it.
  • A story that travels It sticks, and people pass it on to boards, teams, or the public.

Once the thinking is clear, everything that comes after gets easier: every deck, every deck, launch, and conversation.

Things I’ve made

Things I’ve made

Also Apple, Warby Parker, Anthropologie, IBM, First Round Network, Abercrombie & Fitch

The message and the room choose the medium. Then we build it together.

Getting started

Working together

A conversation is all it takes to start.

When your audience isn’t getting what you know is there, we should talk.

  • Bring what you’ve got A rough idea, a messy deck, or a deadline is plenty. We’ll find the story together.
  • Share in confidence What you tell me stays with me. I’ll sign an NDA beforehand, if needed.
  • Talk it through first We’ll discuss what you’re working on and whether I’m the right fit. If I’m not, I’ll tell you.
  • Start small or go big One sprint, a full launch, or an ongoing partnership.
  • Agree on what’s next Before anything starts, we’ll decide together on the best next steps and put them in writing.
  • Work with me directly From the first call to the final piece, you’ll work with me, side by side with your team.

Tell me about your ideas.

Let’s talk

Based in San Francisco. Working with teams anywhere.

Tell me what you’re working on.

A sentence or two is plenty, or you can say more if you like.

Or email me at majeff@gmail.com