Meet May: Designer, Letterer, Illustrator

We had the good fortune of connecting with May and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi May, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
The initial reason I chased my creative career & all my other artistic pursuits is because of the joy I derive(d) from them, but the reason I continue passionately chasing them stems from my stubborn ambition to be excellent at them. I chased my graphic design career since I was 15 and it took many humbling experiences for my dream career to finally bloom. While continuing to hone my design skills, I chased after lettering/calligraphy and found my voice after about 2 years of making many mistakes. And now since the lockdown first came to pass, I began chasing after illustration and have been fervently learning how to draw throughout my self-isolation period. I’m learning creative writing, working on learning 3D very soon, and plan to learn wheel thrown stoneware in the near future. I do not directly commodify all of my creative pursuits, but the auxiliary skills I accumulate help diversify my graphic design career palette and capabilities. It’s a happy symbiotic relationship and I’ll continue to chase all of these artistic endeavors as long as I’m happy and learning from them.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I don’t have a fundamental background in neither design nor art, so I rely a lot on my own drive and passion to continue improving. I’m mostly very excited to learn new things and I’m proud of overcoming some very challenging hurdles. I guess what sets me apart is that I’m not much of a jack of all trades and more of an aspiring polymath. I hope within a decade I can be in a place to actually consider myself polymathic and I’ll continue working hard to make this my reality. My graphic design career was a self-taught journey of endless mistakes and humbling experiences. It required a lot of grit, hard work, and dedication to get to where I am today. Knowing how to use Photoshop isn’t enough to make an excellent designer and the humbling experiences were necessary for my growth; being unafraid of constantly making mistakes and learning mediums beyond design have been vital. I frequently absorb a wide breadth of interests that have nothing to do with design and art, like politics, casual astronomy, and sociology, which help prevent me from tunnel vision-induced burnout. I want the world to know I’m going to continue to chase the things that make me happy.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’d definitely have to take them to my favorite ramen/noodle shops like Men Oh or Marugame Monzo for lunch. For dinner, we would visit hidden Szechuan food gems or one of my favorite authentic Cantonese restaurants, Yin Ji. We’d have afternoon tea at one of my favorite tea rooms and take terrible photos at photobooths. Skipping all the crowded tourists traps is necessary, but we’d still visit museums and the Griffith Observatory to look at stars. We’d drop by the Row for its secret rooftop park before ending the night with bar hopping and maybe find some warehouse parties for the underground techhouse music. Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to specifically thank Jesse and Martin of P+ for all that they’ve done for me, though they may not realize the influence that they had. Their insight, guidance and friendship had an incredibly profound impact on my journey to becoming a better designer and I would not have the focus & drive that I do now, if not for them. I’m really grateful and lucky to have met these amazing and kind designers. A bonus note of gratitude also goes to Ryan of P+, whose infectious enthusiasm and dedication to stringent design processes have served as my North Star when I get overwhelmed in the muck of my work.

Instagram: http://instagram.com/fryingsausage