Tell us about where you studied and some of your highlights and favourite lecturers
Throughout my almost three years at University of Illinois Chicago, many of my professors and classes have encouraged experimentation and hands-on methods. My education started with learning traditional Swiss typography and modernist composition. Soon after, more projects tended to fall under the category of anti-design, focusing on creating unique forms and abstract expression. The UIC School of Design has a combined masters program with the Basel School of Design in Switzerland, where many current professors once studied under Wolfgang Weingart, an early proponent of New Wave and Swiss Punk. This led to my combined exposure to the ideas of Swiss modernism and Swiss postmodernism (often heavily leaning towards the latter). I found myself falling in love with this rebellious, expressive, and chaotic style. It turns design into a true playground.
The University of Illinois Chicago is a research institution, and thus my professors emphasized research as a very important part of the design process, including visual research. Many projects started with an exploration phase, where we were instructed to experiment with as many different things as possible, usually required to be done physically. The rest of the project was informed by what we discovered through our own creations, which were then brought into and finalized in the digital world. This has given rise to my adoration of making and exploring through physical processes, learning from every personal exercise I do. Before college, I used to hate doing things by hand, and preferred the computer's ability to make everything perfect. Since then, I’ve come to realize how important both mediums are to graphic design.
What weird and wonderful things are you obsessed with right now that inspires your creative work?
This year, my creative work has become dominated by collage. I love how there are an infinite number of ways to approach it, and how it allows you to share your unique character with others. It can be anything from sticking a bunch of Legos and buttons to a hairbrush, to drawing the letter ‘W’ one hundred times on a piece of paper. Collage can be applied to a multitude of purposes and functions, my favorite being just for the pure joy of it. Collage is an artistic medium for everyone, a personalized collection that anyone can do, and do uniquely. I never want to stop exploring different methods of collaging. It’s a medium that never gets old, and there’s still so much more for me to try.
I’ve also recently noticed how wonderful the artwork of children is. It is so full of soul and personality, and there’s something so captivating and inspiring about it. It was made by someone who could fully invest their time into something they enjoy, living life free of any outside pressures. It makes me sad that as you become an adult, it’s expected that you’ll stop doing this kind of artwork for pure enjoyment. I think a lot of people could take great inspiration from the art and specific methods used when they were a little kid. In a time where companies would rather use a robot than hire a human being, it’s important to remember that even a child could make something more compelling and interesting.
Favourite travel destinations that inspire you?
Some locations that inspire me are art museums or galleries, downtown Chicago, and natural areas such as forests and parks. I love seeing the collections of real paintings that are physically right in front of me. I can see the true size of the piece, in addition to what was painted. I get a lot of inspiration from fine art, especially the abstract and avant-garde paintings of the early 20th century, or those in a similar style.
My favorite thing about downtown Chicago (and other big cities) is the street signs being covered in stickers and graffiti people left over time. They’re like collaborative collages on display for everyone to see. I love walking around and looking at every sign, each one made unique by the city’s inhabitants. There’s also all the other graffiti bringing the city to life, on the walls, in the trains, bus stops, etc.
A favorite pastime of mine is going birdwatching with my family in forests and parks. My sister identifies the birds, and I take their picture (squirrels and plants are also welcomed subjects). I love collecting all these photographs of nature that I actually witnessed. I can make designs with these photos, as well as get inspiration from them. A lot of them tend to be blurry as little birds hate standing still, but I think that makes them look more interesting and alive.
Tell us about your tools / what tech, programs, equipment and environment do you do your best work in?
I’ve come to learn that the most pleasant method of creating is by hand. Yes, technology is a great resource that I use in my work almost daily. However, in my experience, it is never quite as reliable as the physical methods (Photoshop scratch disk errors haunt my nightmares). The collages I love making would be a pain to do digitally, and regardless of my enjoyment, would still lack those slight imperfections that add a whole new dimension. This is why a lot of my favorite work starts in the physical world, and then ends in the digital world. They simultaneously enhance each other. Another way I marry the digital and physical is by printing digitally made posters on my new love the risograph. I’ve also printed things made physically, which were then edited digitally, and then made physical again in a whole new way thanks to the risograph’s unique look. These riso prints can also be scanned and brought back into the digital world again! These layers upon layers of processes are so exciting to me.
The environment I work best in is a large table fit for the mess that comes with creating, in a quiet place where I can be alone with my cats. They may love sitting right on top of what I’m doing and begging for dinner one hour after breakfast, but those are challenges I gladly take on.
Which 3 creatives do you look up to and why?
One of my biggest inspirations is actually the reason I found out about The Design Kids awards, that being Kel Lauren . Their use of typography is so bold, elegant, creative, and just pleasant to look at. Their compositions and visuals are fun, colorful, and quirky. I’m a big fan of the weird, vintage, and maximalist. Learning about Kel’s journey as a designer has also inspired me. That and their amazing work has caused me to greatly consider designing for the music industry (more so for rock and metal). And of course I have to mention how incredible Kel’s collage work is.
Another artist and designer I adore is Pavel Ripley, who does incredibly unique and detailed collage work, combining paper scraps with hand drawn elements to create one visually intricate and complex composition. They distort and pixelate type and scraps, which juxtaposes wonderfully with the amorphous hand drawn figures, as well as the fact that it is all done by hand. All of their hand drawn elements bring such a fun touch to their work. I am in awe of the amazing notebook spreads they post on their Instagram.
Finally, another awe-inspiring designer is April Greiman, one of the biggest figures in American postmodern design. Her work has an engaging use of color combined with a bizarreness that I love. Her pieces are often a collection of many parts, feeling fragmented yet cohesive, like a controlled chaos that’s a joy to study. Her pieces are sharp and clean, despite the intentional messiness, which I find very interesting.
What are your biggest hopes and dreams for 2025, both for the world and your career?
I hope all the capitalists will realise that Artificial Intelligence (which I’ve come to consider an oxymoron) is a waste of everyone’s time, and will never replace the true intelligence they are trying so hard to suppress. I hope the people will rebel against the CEOs by refusing to become the lazy, brain-dead liars they want us to be. I hope the world doesn’t forget about the life and beauty that lives with us on this planet.
As for me, I hope the squirrels finally let me pet them. I hope I can do the work I love and make enough money to move out of my dad’s basement.
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