I STAYED SINCE IT TURNS OUT I'M GOOD AT MAKING CONFUSING THINGS SIMPLE.

I'm Tays, based in 4103, Philippines. I found design the way most people find their actual calling, completely by accident.

It started in high school, messing around in Photoshop until I became the school paper's layout artist. Then came college, a brief attempt at civil engineering, and the quiet realization that I was not built for that much mathematics. So I took a break. Applied for a part-time design gig on a whim. Got it. Never left.

Fifteen-plus years later, I still think that was the best detour I ever took.

I don't take design too seriously, and I think that's actually a feature. The way I see it, art is for expression, design is for guidance. When it's working, it helps someone make a decision without them even noticing they were being helped. That's what keeps me interested in it.

I call it the Grandma Test: if your grandma needs an explanation to use it, it's not done yet.

I shoot street photography. Alex Webb and Pau Buscato are the benchmark I'll probably never reach, but that doesn't stop me from trying. The usual workflow: go out, take a hundred shots, come home, upload one. The ratio is not great. The process is worth it.

I used to be in a post-rock band called Idle Hrs., we didn't really disband, we just got older in age. There was also a quieter acoustic thing called The Pineapple Incident, mostly on SoundCloud or in GarageBand. Radiohead, Toe, Asian Kung-Fu Generation and Bloc Party for music influences, while in lyrics I try to reach Ben Gibbard levels of writing.

Oh, and One Piece. Manga and anime both. But if that's not your thing, we can also use Satoshi Kon movies, Bakemonogatari, or Jojo as talking points.

I genuinely get giddy when a project lands in an industry I've never touched before. The part where I have to learn everything from scratch before I can design anything, that's the part I look forward to. I really hope that doesn't go away.