Tell us who you are in one sentence.

I’m a designer and illustrator.

If you weren’t a designer, what would you do?

If I had the choice, I would love to be a figurative artist. Something about how surreal and delicate the human figure can be portrayed on canvas really awes and inspires me in a way that is hard to explain. The way William-Adolphe Bouguereau and Gustav Klimt manipulate the human figure have always stood out to me.

Something about how surreal and delicate the human figure can be portrayed on canvas really awes and inspires me in a way that is hard to explain.

What is something you wished you designed, either because you love it, or because you feel you could have done it better?

I wish I had designed Apple’s iOS 7. I’m far from a professional UI designer, but I do appreciate the breath of air that came with the design of iOS 7. There was a weight to the previous OS that waned with the new age of flat and minimal design. In my opinion, simple is usually better.

What was your biggest design mistake?

My biggest design mistake will always be how impulsive I can be. Immediate creations hold more meaning for me: it’s new and it’s fresh. New is always better right? Even though I know that’s not true, I can’t help but feel compelled to be drawn to my newest idea/creation. It’s a mistake because I’m so quickly moving on to my next thought that I don’t pay attention to the details at times.

I’m so quickly moving on to my next thought that I don’t pay attention to the details at times.

What advice would you give someone entering the design field?

Be open. Anything and everything needs to be an opportunity to learn from. If you’re too confident or if you let yourself be ignorant then it’ll be hard to improve yourself and grow as a designer and artist.

Be observant. Look at the good design and, of course, the bad design. See those piles of hideous coupon mailers? Look at them! See what works. Pay attention to what they’re communicating. Your eyes are never “too good” to pay attention to any level of design. Look at candy wrappers. Look at your receipts. Look at that wad of gum on the floor. Look at nature. For goodness sake, look at nature.

Think like an artist. Really anyone can be an artist, but it takes some real genuineness to think like an artist. Approach everything with an artist’s perspective. Which means to be thoughtful and let it consume your senses. How does it affect you? What kind of impression does it make on you? Do you gravitate towards a certain mood? Why? Be open to analyzing everything and anything and how it weighs with your morals and experiences.

Anything and everything needs to be an opportunity to learn from.