I’ve been drawn to design ever since I immigrated to Los Angeles in 2000. Coming from a place where even clean water wasn’t easy to access, LA felt like a different world — one intentionally built for people. Sidewalks, street signs, and automatic doors all felt secretly magical. Back then, I assumed it was just the result of science and engineering. I didn’t speak the language of design quite yet.

A decade later, my friend John handed me a copy of Steve Jobs’ biography. That book changed everything. I saw how design wasn’t just about how things looked, but how they worked — how they made people feel capable, in control, understood. Apple’s obsession with product design gave me a framework for everything I’d been fascinated by since childhood.

That was the spark. I’ve been chasing it ever since.

Outside of design, I chase another spark: music. I’m a seasoned musician, even though I don’t play any instruments. I spend my nights composing experimental hip-hop and R&B. Did you know music follows the rhythms of human speech? It swells and softens, pauses and picks up — telling sonic stories the same way we do when we have conversations.