How did Young Guns get on your radar?

I can’t even remember a time before knowing about Young Guns — I must’ve heard about it in school. I always thought it would be so cool, but it was such a long shot.

And I discovered that a lot of designers I look up to are part of the Young Guns community. So I always kind of had it in the back of my head and thought, why not give it a go?

How did you end up in the creative field?

I had my eye set on being a photographer. I went on photoshoots with my dad from a young age and loved the atmosphere. In college, I majored in graphic design to get a background in design principles and composition that could add to photography, but I ended up falling in love with design!

Why did you decide to enter this year?

I entered a few years ago as well. I thought if I entered this year, it would still give me a couple more years to get my work more refined and be able to enter again before the age deadline.

I felt good about my work the first time I entered, but I felt even better about my work this time. And I think that’s how design goes — as time progresses, we will always continue to develop, morph, and adjust.

You only get to submit six projects. How did you decide what made the cut?

I first gathered everything. Considering most of my work is layouts, rather than thinking of them as projects, I thought of them as collections. Instead of just a single layout for an entry, I gathered multiple layouts to create curated collections.

Then I asked for opinions! What projects caught other peoples’ eye, what they didn’t like so much. Then after considering the feedback, I went with my gut and what I felt represented my work.

“Rather than thinking of them as projects, I thought of them as collections.”

What was your reaction when you found out you won?

I remember being relieved I saw the email because I get way too many emails and don’t tidy my inbox like I should. Then excited to tell people! Then realizing I couldn’t tell anyone for months haha.

Then feeling really grateful for the opportunity to apply, working with amazing illustrators and to learn from amazing design mentors. Just keep feeling very grateful.

In what ways does where you’re living right now inspire your creativity?

While of course you can’t talk about being inspired in New York without mentioning the access to museums, zine stores, amazing food and other inspiring atmospheres, I also feel there is a state of mind here.

Since NYC is a frequent backdrop of films, at the end of my commute, if I cue up just the right soundtrack and the sun glints off the skyscrapers onto the sidewalk, I feel like the main character in a movie strolling down the street. And it feels inspiring to be surrounded by so much creativity — it just excites me to keep discovering everything I can.

Name a dream project you’d love to do next. Who would you want to collaborate with?

A while ago, I went into the Nike store on 5th Avenue. They had this mini store set up with a bunch of broadsheets bound in stacks. The broadsheets, from the small bits you could see, had some cool looking type.

I asked if I could buy one and they said it was for display only. I remember thinking, “wow, even a detail that no one is allowed to open is thought of.” It just added so much to the atmosphere.

And I remember thinking how cool it would be — whether at Nike or elsewhere — to create the details that most may not notice, but add a lot to the atmosphere of an experience.