How I got into Design
For my whole life, I've loved to draw. I was obsessed with cartoons, painting, the art supply section at target. It was when i started drawing on the walls was when my parents finally put me into art school. I went to a local art school in my area where I learned various techniques, artists, and medians.
It was the kind of love that is innate; an unquestionable instinct.
However, as I got older, my love for art seemingly fizzled out. One day It didn't feel the same
It's weird how you can do something for your entire life, and still be unsure about what it means to you.
When I actually got into art school, i felt more conflicted than I'd ever been in my entire life.
Ai was super new at the time, and I kind of just deduced that it was probably hopeless for anyone who enjoys any form or art.
technically I was pretty good at art, but I felt like I had no preferences, style or anything particularly unique. I didn't know why I was creative, I just was sometimes.
Maybe it was to impress college admissions or maybe to prove to myself that I was good enough at something.
I wasn't even sure if i had a reason. So when I finished my fine arts portolio in junior year I took a massive break. I'd still draw sometimes in my freetime, but it felt different from when I was a little kid—like there was not point in me doing it.
In my junior year I became obsessed with Douyin nails, but At the time, not a single nail salon offered douyin style nails.
in my sophmore year, After going to a salon and paying over a hundred dollars on my ugly nails, I realized that the only way I was going to get the nails i wanted was if I Learned to learn how to do it myself.
i practiced through tutorials nearly everyday. I'd ask my friends to do their nails from time to time, and eventually I started doing them for my whole town.
I enjoyed the technical side of nails, however what I really fell in love with and what kept my going for over 4 years were the conversations and experiences I had with my clients.
I realized it when I was volunteering at an event I hosted at Downtown LA's womens shelter, doing a woman's nails. we were talking about keanu reeves and how she thought he was hot, but also that hes a good person.
Apparently, he would come by and donate.
AND through his donation, IT WAS THE ONLY WAY SHE COULD AFFORD TO GIVE HER KIDS CHRISTMAS PRESENTS THAT YEAR.
i learned how to do henna and jagua in my freshman year of college, I'd test it out on my roommates, and eventually their friends would ask them about where they got it. I loved practiCing on them, and in a weird way I felt kinda honored that they got to wear what I drew on them.
quickly, many others around my university found out about my work, and they started asking for temporary tattoos. they'd want them before they'd get a real tattoo, special events, and even fantasy football punishments for Their friends.
I started creating moodboards for each person, drawing custom designs and prints. it was such a cool way I found myself getting back into drawing because for the first time in a long while, It felt right.
henna and jagua was how i made some of my closest college friends. I like the idea that—even just a few weeks—something that I worked on becomes part of their everyday life. It's cool It's cool that they trust me with their skin, and I give them a piece of my creativity. I fascinated by the way my art would interact with the way they feel.
SO I GUESS MY LOVE FOR ART never truly went away. I THINK IN MY ADULT YEARS I'VE done a lot of soul searching on WHAT IT MEANS TO ME.
DESIGN CARES ABOUT THE DETAILS, THE EMPATHY AND THE EXPERIENCE OF THE USER. IT'S SOMETHING I'VE LEARNED TO APPRECIATE MYSELF, BUT ALSO experienced by SEEING MEASURABLE OUTCOMES FROM MY THE PEOPLE MY ART HAS (LITERALLY) TOUCHED.
Whether it was small talk, gossip or the stress of a mother wondering how she is going to afford christmas presents for her kids, I loved that through my art, i was able to create space. I love art, nails, and henna, but what I love at its core is it's ability to bring people together, create conversations that otherwise would've ceased to happen, and experience the mundane and crazy together through it.
Back then I was pretty skeptical of how our society would adapt to new technology. I was concerned about it's relation to user Safety, taste, and Identity. for a long time I was deeply conflicted about it. it was partially what stopped my from pursuing art at full force, something that has drained a lot of hope out of me at one point, and even was a driving force in a premed major change I made for a month in freshman year
However, i realized that if it was something I thought was a concern, why not do something about it?
Perhaps this is optimistic, but I whole heartedly believe that there is a future where we can use AI tastefully without giving up our autonomy over it. I think that Design is going to be a huge factor in that and I want to be apart of the solution.
I used to worry a lot about how others would perceive AI, but if theres one thing i have learned: humans are always going to value connection and appreciate the details, which is why theres not too much to worry about.
