Christian Solorzano [00:25]

Hi, you're listening to Underscore, a podcast by the Chicago Graphic Design Club. I am your host, Christian Solorzano. Today's episode is with designer and muralist Alyssa Low, and she shares with us the transition from the world of product design into the world of mural design and the meditative approach to painting and creating with her hands, which is something that, if you're familiar with previous episodes, I love hearing about process, making things. And just the craft that it takes to create inspiring work.

We also hear about Alyssa's upbringing. Growing up, Alyssa's mother was also a designer, and we hear about her first introduction to design software and also how sports, specifically soccer, shape and inspire her approach to creativity. I enjoyed learning about the framework that dictates the type of work that she chooses. 3 basic principles that center around compensation, joy, and values. We also spend time reflecting on the Chicago design community and what things were like about 10 years ago.

It's a fun conversation, and Alyssa also happens to be featured in our new publication, Faculty, which you can purchase via our websites. So as always, thank you so much for your support and enjoy the conversation. Talk soon.

Alyssa Low [01:52]

Good morning, Alyssa.

Christian Solorzano [01:57]

How are you doing?

Alyssa Low [01:57]

Hey, Christian. Good morning. I'm doing well.

Christian Solorzano [02:00]

The listener can't see this, but you're in a very beautiful studio. Can you tell us, can you paint a picture for the listener? Where are you right now?

Alyssa Low [02:10]

Yeah, so this studio is actually the second bedroom of my apartment. And behind me is this large easel that spans to the top Pretty much almost to the top of the ceiling, so like 10 feet tall. And then I have a pegboard behind me with all my tools. Right now I'm facing my flat file, and we are recording on top of one of my paint shelves. So it is generally pretty organized, but I like to keep it kind of like this, like messy organization.

I kind of know where everything is, just like paint cans kind of everywhere. But yeah, this is kind of like my sort of like creative space that I like just coming in and painting and just kind of thinking.

Christian Solorzano [03:00]

Right now I have like laser-focused vision. So I see that behind you have the book the Artist's Way. Is that, is that what I see back there? Like on that?

Alyssa Low [03:08]

It actually— yeah, that is. Yeah, that's a good eye.

Christian Solorzano [03:12]

What else? What— so what do you like to read? I'm curious about— I've been really interested in people's creative spaces and the objects that they surround themselves with. So what kind of objects inspire you? What do you usually keep? What are some must-haves that you can't live without?

Alyssa Low [03:30]

For me, so I'm glad that you noticed the book behind me. That's like something like a New Year's resolution for me is reading more. I've had friends recommend different books to me over the years, and I've been kind of like, oh, okay, that's great, and just kind of pushing that off to the side. But as I've just started reading a little more, like excerpts, I've noticed that it has brought on a different type of inspiration and thought process for me.

So I think, what I tend to keep around with me a lot is a couple of books. So one is the Artist's Way, and then the other one is the Creative Act by Rick Rubin. So those are usually in my backpack around in my studio. I move it over to my bedside, something that I just spend maybe like a few minutes, or, half an hour sometimes reading just to gain like a little inspiration.

But so yeah, that's always kind of on hand for me, I guess, like Other elements or objects that I have here, just like little trinkets. I'm like a trinket person. So kind of, I don't know if you can see behind my shelf. I have like these random little toys that I got when I was in Japan a few years ago. Gachapons, which is like these little vending machines, and they would like randomly like spit out like a little toy.

So I just like having like little stuff like that that's kind of fun and quirky.

Christian Solorzano [05:12]

So for anyone that follows you on social media, they will be quick to learn that you're always creating, you're always working on murals, you're always doing a variety of different projects. So what are some of your latest projects that you've been sharing? I saw your Lunar New Year poster, your prints, and the mural that you have in Oak Park. And then could you just talk to us a little bit about some of those projects?

Alyssa Low [05:39]

Yeah, sure. So yeah, the latest illustration that I did was a dragon poster for Lunar New Year. When it, when it comes to projects, I guess, you bring up a good point. There's a difference between kind of the mural projects that are more kind of like these commission pieces. And then ones that are for myself, personal ones, which is like the dragon illustration for Lunar New Year.

And I always like, peppering some of those personal projects with kind of in between these commissions and murals, at least something for myself, whether it's trying out, a variation of a style that I was really interested in a mural, or, if it's more event-based. So like Lunar New Year. Being in the beginning of February, wanting to do something to commemorate that. I just think I kind of let my intuition, at least with these personal projects, kind of flow.

I don't necessarily have a plan when it comes to those things. It's not like I thought, last year, or even beginning of this year, that, oh, I'm gonna make a dragon print. It was sort of like, hey, I really like the style. There's a good reason to kind of do that at this point. So why not just try it?

Christian Solorzano [07:05]

Yeah. And one of the things that I, that I feel like I could relate to you with is the fact that your background is in product design and you did that for quite some time. And I think the product design world is always very like fabricated. Like everything has like these, this prefabricated solution or process where it's like, these are objectives, these are things that we're going to be doing and so forth.

But it seems like leaving that world behind, do you find that your work practice now is a little bit more loose? Or is there still some of that rigidity that dictates how you approach or whatever, or the outputs that you create? How does that, how does, how does that work?

Alyssa Low [07:57]

Yeah, I think for me I've always been sort of right and left brain, probably more, a little more unstructured, I guess, which is kind of ironic because a lot of my murals and illustration style is very structured. But you could kind of see that sort of tension play out in my paintings and illustrations.

So I think just given my background in product, I wouldn't necessarily say I am leaving it behind, but, because I think the thought process and the way that you strategize and plan within product is very similar and kind of overlaps in just being in the creative field. It's just you're applying it in a different way.

Christian Solorzano [08:41]

One of the things that I probably don't talk about a lot is the fact that the Chicago Graphic Design Club, I try to run it much like a product without using the term sprint or like a retro or any of that kind of stuff. But it—

Alyssa Low [08:56]

Or agile.

Christian Solorzano [08:57]

Exactly. But it makes sense. I just, I don't know if you feel this way too, but I think the buzzwords and just that whole ecosystem of just the product design world, I think sometimes is a little bit I don't know, sterile, I think.

Alyssa Low [09:14]

Yeah, I think it can be. But also there's— but with that, there's a lot of opportunity to kind of make it your own.

And I think that's kind of, what I try to do in kind of anything I'm interested in is kind of— there is that sort of perception in any subject or category. And, what makes it unique to me is how I apply it. So, if it's within product, what does that look like when it's, my perspective when it comes to painting or illustrating or even just any type of design?

Christian Solorzano [09:52]

And I feel like one of the, one of the things that I've noticed about you is that soccer and just sports and being active play a huge role in just your identity, who you are as a person. And I love, I love the fact that there's, that there's that conversation that happens between the sports and also the creative, the creative work that you're also creating. So can you walk us through, how do, how do those 2 things, how does, how do those 2 worlds overlap?

And do you find it easy to draw inspiration from, let's say, a soccer game and bringing that over into the day-to-day, working with clients or creating work?

Alyssa Low [10:43]

Yeah, that's a really good question. So I always grew up playing sports. There was always that duality between athletics and the artistic side. Yeah, like you were saying, I play a lot of soccer. I grew up playing since first grade, did it in college, and it was always this balance of that, doing taekwondo, field hockey. So a lot of activities, a lot of ones that stem from working with others and being part of a team and collaborating.

And I think that experience of being an athlete and working with others translates pretty well into the design field, or probably at least like any— a lot of professional fields. But At least when it comes to designing, being a creative person, being able to work with others, kind of pivoting last minute or trying to strategize and plan for the future. There's a lot of that mental side that probably carries over and overlaps a lot between the two.

Christian Solorzano [11:50]

I've noticed a lot of it is also about building the resilience. I practice martial arts and I always Tell myself that if I'm, if I'm able to like survive like a very tough like match or like spar with someone in the gym, then I'm able to do that like in a business meeting, because it's the same, it's the same type of dynamic as you're facing some kind of like hardship.

Like you're pinned on the floor as opposed to being pinned like metaphorically, like in a meeting or a presentation. So I like that. I really like that.

Alyssa Low [12:31]

No, that's cool. I think I give, I give you a lot of credit for the sparring. That's not something that I would, I would do. I've been asked before, and I, it's a hard no for me. I don't, I kinda ask myself like, what's the point? What am I trying to prove? But I do understand like the, Overcoming a challenge and how that would translate into kind of a meeting or a working situation.

Christian Solorzano [12:59]

Yeah. So walk us through some of your childhood. I discovered online that as a kid, you love to read the Harry Potter series. You enjoy drawing, working out, being around friends, and you met a former Chicago Fire player. And an NHRA Top Fuel race car driver as well.

Alyssa Low [13:24]

Oh my gosh. Yeah, you probably oddly read my soccer, like college soccer bio, which I'm pretty sure my parents probably wrote for me back then. But yeah, my childhood, grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. Long Grove, Illinois, and my childhood was filled with sports, obviously, like a lot of soccer, design, drawing. My mom was a designer. My dad was a dental tech. So there's a lot of very creative, hands-on experience that I was sort of surrounded by at a young age.

My mom, she was a freelancer. So She had a home studio, so probably not too similar to what I have now. But she taught me a lot of the design programs from the very beginning. So for those that are familiar with Quark, the sort of writing formatting program, that's what I learned to typeset my papers growing up. I didn't really know what a Word like Microsoft Word was until a lot later.

But yeah, just being in her studio, flipping through all the design books, seeing her sort of interact with clients the way that she communicates, the way that she drew inspiration, and sort of allowed me to kind of explore that space really gave me sort of opportunity early on to really see myself as a designer. And probably from the beginning, I knew that's what I wanted to do. So in high school, I took a handful of design classes, drawing, painting, kind of those typical ones.

And, it was pretty no-brainer that in college, that's kind of what I majored in.

Christian Solorzano [15:30]

Yeah. And do you recall one of the first things that you ever designed, maybe as a kid, outside of your papers, typesetting your school papers?

Alyssa Low [15:43]

There was a lot of Photoshop. I think in high school we had to do a lot of Photoshop collaging, so there was a lot of like special effect layers. Okay, probably the file was so bloated with so many layers and effects. But I do remember doing that. I took an animation class in high school, which was a really cool way of seeing how you could take something that's flat and static and kind of think about it in this 3-dimensional motion way.

And I think, pretty early on, that's kind of how, I do some minimal animation, but I think just thinking about your work beyond just how it was intentionally or initially created allows me to think of the lifespan of a piece.

Christian Solorzano [16:35]

Yeah. And were there any like outside influences that were having some sort of inspiration early on, whether it was like film, music? Like what kind of— like the question that I always ask is like, what kind of media were you consuming? Like today is obviously like TikTok and Instagram and all that stuff. But back then, what were you like? Where were your avenues of inspiration?

Alyssa Low [17:03]

So probably sports, a lot of that, going to practices with friends, interacting with my teammates. But also music was pretty big. I admit I was one of those emo high schoolers that listen. I don't know if it's like fake emo, but just the hardship of, in my room listening to Dashboard Confessional or Good Charlotte, even like Blink-182. But a lot of that sort of music I love listening to while I was, working on, design projects or papers. Yeah.

Christian Solorzano [17:49]

Yeah. Did you have a MySpace? Were you—

Alyssa Low [17:52]

I did. I wish I still had it.

Christian Solorzano [17:55]

Yeah, I think all MySpaces, you're just— all profiles just went away. Yeah. I think I read about how a few years ago, because MySpace was like this hub for music as well, and a few years ago someone accidentally deleted some code that just wiped all the audio files off MySpace, which is like really terrible because there's some great music on there, I remember. Yeah.

Alyssa Low [18:23]

So yeah. I remember that MySpace was probably the first time I experienced doing some lightweight developing, and I'm pretty sure that a lot of other people can relate to that too.

Christian Solorzano [18:36]

Yes, those days were fun. So then how do you go from your— so you grew up and you have a parent that's a designer, you're immersed in the world of sports, you're already introduced to design software, but at what point do you decide, I want to be a designer, and then you go into school for that? What was that transition like?

And maybe what were some of the most, what were some themes or topics or like what were you most interested in learning when all of a sudden now you're in this space where it's all about learning graphic design, visual communication?

Alyssa Low [19:18]

Yeah, I think the transition between sort of that high school, college period, you're kind of rediscovering, or maybe in some ways discovering who you are and that type of independence. So I kind of look at it from, a bird's-eye view first of, this is my first time being somewhat independent. I'm very focused on, working towards something that I enjoy doing. I think at the first few years of college, that's kind of my perspective where I'm taking these classes. I want to get good grades.

I am learning and growing as a designer, but it wasn't until probably my junior year where that really transitioned into, hey, this could be a career, or, oh, I should— there's a level that I need to kind of step up and kind of look at the bigger picture. And how am I going to apply what I've learned to kind of that working world? I spent a semester out in New York City.

That was a part of a, study abroad program with my college, and it was with 20-something college students from different universities around the US. And the program's called NYCAM. I think it's called— stands for New York Center of Arts and Media Studies. I don't think they're around anymore, but they, set up a studio for us. Where we took different art classes, design classes in Chelsea, and then we all had an apartment in Queens. It's like Queensborough Plaza.

So that was the first time that I actually lived on my own. I actually took public transportation by myself for the first time, and just being able to be thrown into that sort of world. Right away without any sort of buffer was like, in some ways an awakening for me, both as a person and as a designer.

Christian Solorzano [21:33]

As I was prepping for this interview, I was looking through your Twitter and like just going all the way back.

Alyssa Low [21:39]

Oh my gosh.

Christian Solorzano [21:41]

And I saw that in 2013, you were at a talk that Rick Valicenti was giving, and I believe it was hosted by AIGA Chicago. And I remember I also happened to be at that talk as well, which is funny that we probably crossed paths like over 10 years ago.

But once you were like, I'm curious about what your experience was like being in Chicago and maybe experiencing the world of graphic design through events, through just meeting other people, because I know that Community plays a really big role in a lot of the stuff that you do, and you happen to be in— you happen to be featured in our upcoming publication, and some of the things that you talk about are about the importance of community.

Talk to us a little bit about your— like, because I'm assuming you have your community in sports, but then you're also at the same time, you're developing this new community. Within the world of graphic design here in Chicago. So what was that experience like to listen to, people that have been practicing for decades or younger people that are probably also in your shoes? Just walk us through that. What was going on?

Alyssa Low [22:59]

Yeah, that's a good question. Community does play a huge role in my practice. When I first started to— even now, I think, taking it back all the way to 2013, I can't quite remember. I feel like I've seen Rick Valicenti talk a handful of times, so I can't quite remember exactly which talk that was. But, during that time when you're just out of school, you just want to absorb everything. That was like an advice that someone gave me that, hey, take everything in and be curious.

And I think even now, that's still something that I apply today, this sort of, I don't wanna say like beginner brain, but almost kind of like experience, like the feeling of experiencing something for the first time. And, being able to absorb that. So yeah, when it comes to community, when it comes to like hearing my peers and people that I look up to talk, it's, there's so much inspiration to gain from that, even if it doesn't necessarily apply to me.

It's something that I can take and learn from, and in some ways, it is knowledge sharing. So whatever I can take and learn, I would I love sharing and giving that back to others.

Christian Solorzano [24:27]

Someone told me a few weeks ago that when they were younger, they used to spend a lot of time with like older people and that the older people would like naturally just always give advice. But they would always say, the advice that I'm giving you now isn't going to make sense until you reach like, a certain stage in your life.

And I feel like for me, a lot of it has been that way where Things that maybe I heard 10 years ago are now like, it's like, now I get what that person was talking about. So I agree with like just approaching things through that beginner's mind of let me just absorb and see what sticks. And sometimes it doesn't need to make sense, like in the moment. Sometimes you gotta be patient.

So today, like you're really active and you've done a handful of collaborations with brands like the Chicago Bulls. SoHo House, the Chicago Blackhawks, Navy Pier. Did you always have like dream clients or like dream projects, or is it more like spontaneous, like these things sort of just happen, or do you have that mindset of like, I want to work with XYZ?

Alyssa Low [25:45]

I think it's a little bit of both. So I kind of approach it where there are dream projects, dream clients that I would love to work with and work for. And at the same time, it kind of happened organically, too, which is— I think it's a combination of like the hard work, a little bit of luck, being in the right place at the right time, but also producing things that make me happy, that inspire me, and work that I want to keep doing more of.

So being able to put some, a lot of that out there probably has drawn interest from those clients, from others. And that's kind of how I've approached it.

Christian Solorzano [26:34]

And when you, when you talk about like projects that will make you happy, like what is that checklist like? What needs to be, yeah, just what makes a project be something that you want to work on?

Alyssa Low [26:47]

Yeah. So I actually had this conversation recently with a friend of mine, and for me it's like 3 criteria. So the first one is compensation. So whatever form that looks like, obviously I want to be paid for the work that I do, and there is a standard in how I value my work. The second is this project going to make me happy? Is it going to inspire me to want to continue creating this?

And then the third one is, am I passionate about the company, the people, the organization that I'm making this for? So ideally all 3 of those should be met. But for me, if there's one of them that is missing, I'm okay with doing 2 out of the 3. It, that's the bare minimum. 2 out of the 3 have to be met.

Christian Solorzano [27:37]

I like that framework. I think that is, I mean, obviously it's really important and I feel like it's at least From my experience, it took me— I mean, it's taken me like years to get to a position where I could even have that kind of criteria. So for you, has it always been that way, or was this like a realization as of the last, I don't know, so-and-so years?

Or— because I know for a lot of people, like COVID, like 2020 was kind of like that turning point where it's like everything needs to change now because it's a new world or new reality that we're living in. So walk us through, what were the— what's the origin story of those 3 checkmarks or checklist items?

Alyssa Low [28:22]

So those 3 items weren't something that— it was something that was developed over time, probably over the last couple of years, but how it started for me during COVID like you were mentioning, is, like a lot of us trying to adjust and make sense of what's happening around the world and even within our own homes and spaces. We're so used to this routine.

At least for me, it was kind of like, get up, get coffee, take the train, take a bus to work for X amount of hours, do this, go home, do the same thing over and over again. And then all of a sudden, kind of like switching gears to we don't know what's gonna happen. This might be the new normal. This is potentially a normal. And the way that I coped with it was just illustrating.

That was— I think it was during a time where I was doing less work with my hands, and I was sort of longing for this analog creativity outlet. So I illustrated pretty much almost every day. Throughout quarantine, pandemic. And these were little sketches that probably take like 30 seconds. But it was capturing sort of what I did that day, how I was feeling.

And over a span of a couple of years, just having a collection of all of these little illustrations was a really cool thing to look back on. And I kind of call it this visual diary. And that in itself caught some attention from some, from some friends, and that evolved into sort of this mural work of a friend asking if I want to get into helping be a part of this mural collection at Goddess in the Grocer.

And yeah, that was the first mural that I did in 2020, and From there, it was sort of like one thing after the next of word of mouth and, developing my style. What is my style? What, what's my point of view? Where is this going to go? But yeah, and I think over time you get sort of this collection of work.

You're realizing, okay, this process is not too dissimilar than a graphic design process when it comes to engaging with a client, sort of like kicking a project off. And yeah, I think with that, you experience working with different people. You are essentially, you are essentially your own business. You are doing all of the different roles. And that's what, that's where you start developing the structure of, okay, how do I get paid for this? Do I even enjoy working on this project?

Or do I even, am I passionate about the organization, the people that I'm doing this with?

Christian Solorzano [31:35]

Yeah. And why— so I love that you're like, a big part of your work is analog. You're doing, you're making things with your hands, and even just your studio behind you tells that story.

So, and I think I don't want us to spend too much time talking about AI because I, there's plenty of that already online, but what's your relationship to like the visceral act of creating something with your hands as opposed to just doing your murals like in Illustrator and then, digitally putting them up or something like what, what's that? Why make with your hands? Why is that important for you?

Alyssa Low [32:23]

So when I first started, selfishly, it was for myself. It was, it was meditative. It still is meditative, I would say. And I would, I set the rules to myself that, I, I'm going to paint, I'm going to draw, I'm going to do these things with my hands because I want to. Because I'm at a moment where I feel like I need an outlet.

And any point where I feel like, you know what, this is not— I'm not passionate about it, I'm not— I'm forcing it, that's when I stop.

So I— so yeah, in terms of doing some— doing like painting with my hands, it is very much this internal process of where I could just block out sort of everything that's kind of happening and just focus on the work of, painting a really clean line, adding another layer. It's so nice to just have that break from the computer and just really focus on the act of like putting paint on a brush, cleaning your brushes, thinking about the layout.

Christian Solorzano [33:33]

Yeah, I love that. I feel like it's such a At least the way I see it, it's like a way of protesting against this world of just digital everything. So I'm a big fan and I, and I love to see— yeah, I mean, that's one of the reasons why we decided to create like a print publication is because there's like a need to have things in the physical world that could be touched.

So I have like a series of what usually I refer to as like quickfire questions. And some of them are a little bit related to design, some of them not. But when it comes to like your workflow or just you being in the studio, what kind of music or like what keeps you— what are you listening to throughout the day?

Alyssa Low [34:26]

It kind of depends on my mood. And when people have asked me this before about, what type of music do you listen to? It's everywhere. If I feel like this sort of childlike awakening inside of me, then I go back to my playlist that I would listen to in high school, like bring on the Blink-182s.

If I'm in this sort of zen mode where I don't really want to listen to words, I just want to kind of like be in this like vibey space, I listen to Krangban, just like the, just the calming sort of beats. I enjoy that. If I'm in this sort of like rush of, okay, I need to, I'm amped, I'm pumped, I just wanna like, I'm super inspired by this work and I just kind of wanna be in this like very like Heart-thumping space.

I love listening to Run the Jewels.

Christian Solorzano [35:27]

You'll have to create a mixtape for the club one of these days. And then do you have any, do you have any guilty pleasures?

Alyssa Low [35:34]

I'm not ashamed of being a fan of the Kardashians. I love Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Love the memes, love just the dynamic of they're the whole family. They're— I just love watching the show. It's like, I don't know how else to explain it.

Christian Solorzano [35:58]

Do you watch it like on a regular basis? Or are you like—

Alyssa Low [36:02]

More in a background kind of thing. But obviously, they're successful women in their own way. So that's also like a very inspiring thing for me. But yeah, there's all the drama too that I don't really care much for, but, or I'm just entertained by.

Christian Solorzano [36:21]

What about Chicago? Let's talk a little bit about Chicago. You've been here for, a really long time. What is it about Chicago that keeps you here? Obviously, design community, you play a big role in it. What are some of the things that you find to be perhaps unique about Chicago in contrast to other cities that you've traveled to?

Alyssa Low [36:44]

Yeah, so I would say I've— I can't even count New York as one, a place that I actually like lived, even though I was there for a semester. But I, I— what I love so much about Chicago, and bias being that I've just— I've lived here my whole life, is it has a really great mix between being laid back, but also just the hustle of it. I think that's what I gravitated towards New York is the hustle, but it was just this nonstop.

I've spent— I vacationed in California before and love the weather. I think it's like a little too chill for me. So Chicago's this like nice middle ground, which I'm sure a lot of people have said, but— And also just the Lake Michigan.

Christian Solorzano [37:34]

Do you have any favorite— like you mentioned Lake Michigan, but what other— are there any like neighborhoods that you're most fond of, or any spots around town that you frequent?

Alyssa Low [37:46]

Yeah, so I live pretty close to the lake, so I'm very biased towards that. I just love the access to the lakefront path, so I do a lot of Biking in the morning, that's kind of like my ritual. So I think for me it's the accessibility to the public parks and outdoor spaces is, where I gravitate towards.

Christian Solorzano [38:12]

Next question is, can you remember the last thing that made you laugh a lot?

Alyssa Low [38:20]

I feel like I laugh a lot, probably in a— I don't know, I feel like probably at a meme. Maybe last night, like I'm doom scrolling and seeing a random meme on my feed. Yeah, I don't know if I have like a specific.

Christian Solorzano [38:34]

The other question I have is, if you were to be— if you were to— if you were in a position where you can— where you're able to say anything to Alyssa of the past.

Alyssa Low [38:48]

I would tell my former self to not worry about the future and don't take yourself too seriously. I think young early grad Alyssa always— I think I'm just by nature a serious person. And I think, when starting off, I put a lot of pressure on myself to just kind of like make it, like do all the things that I want to do right away.

And it's like that takes time, that takes a lot of work, that takes experience and patience and, yeah, maybe that's another one is like have patience too. And I could probably tell my yesterday self that as well. So yeah, I would say if I were to give myself advice, I would say have patience. And yeah, kind of be open and curious.

Christian Solorzano [39:41]

I kind of relate that to just like trusting the process. If you show up, things will find a way to work themselves out.

Alyssa Low [39:47]

Exactly. I totally agree with that. It's like, putting in the time, effort, and just even like sometimes like that energy, like putting that out there, it's contagious. And I've found that, whatever formula that's been working so far, like just keep putting a pulse on that and moving forward.

Christian Solorzano [40:11]

From your perspective, like what are some of the things about Chicago that you feel like Could be improved, or like, how do you wish to see Chicago like continue to evolve, continue to improve, continue to get better? Does anything come to mind?

Alyssa Low [40:29]

I think there was— and it could also be my own perception too, but I remember when I first started kind of working in the city, there were so many, and this could also be a symptom of just pandemic, but a lot more in-person events.

I loved being able to go to those, meet other creatives. And, I think probably as things are shifting now, there's probably kind of an uptick on more of those in-person events, but yeah, being able to connect with people in person is, I think, something that Chicago has done a really good job at before. And, we're trying to, probably trying to find more creative ways to do that.

Christian Solorzano [41:25]

Yeah, I was talking with a friend about this today because I remember 2013, like around that time where you tweeted that Rick Valicenti talk. I just remember there was like weeks where there's multiple things happening that week. And it was almost like every week there was like an event or there was a party or a conference. And it was so exciting. And I remember like getting stressed out about not knowing, like I couldn't go to all of them because I had like, life.

But I was always like, which one do I go to? And I would go to one, but I'm like feeling like I'm missing out on the other one. But it was so exciting. And I think like the pandemic certainly, I feel like that put a dent in a lot of that stuff, but I miss that. Do you remember that? Like back in the day?

Alyssa Low [42:15]

I do. You just actually been like mentioning that has like made me feel that same sort of anxiety again, like in a good way. Yeah. Oh man, like this event is on Monday and then, tomorrow is this person's talking and then there's this conference next week. It's like, I totally remember like hopping. I think probably have like bus hopped to different events and, seeing which ones of my friends are going to, or, meeting other people at certain ones. But yeah, I do remember that.

And yeah, that was a good time.

Christian Solorzano [42:58]

There is a— I remember there was like a conference called MoxieCon. Moxicon.

Alyssa Low [43:03]

Yes, I was there.

Christian Solorzano [43:04]

Yeah. And there was also— there's like a Harrington College of Design, which no longer exists. But I remember the first floor, they had that gallery space and like the STA would always put like really awesome typography events there. And I remember being young and thinking that the Society of Typographic Arts, I thought all they talked about was going to be like just fonts. And that was—

Alyssa Low [43:31]

That's—

Christian Solorzano [43:31]

I'm like, that's what they're gonna talk about. And I remember just going to their events, and they were talking about so many other, just really interesting, fascinating things, and my mind was just blown. It was so cool. I miss those times.

Alyssa Low [43:44]

I know, we need to revive them.

Christian Solorzano [43:47]

I know. And the funny thing is that, all those people, they're still around. So it's— I'm sure there's— yeah, there should be like a what are they called when, like a reunion, like a design community Chicago reunion or something?

Alyssa Low [44:03]

Reunion tour. I think like everyone's doing that now. So in music, why don't we do that for design?

Christian Solorzano [44:09]

So we're almost at time, but are there any other projects or like what else is going on right now in your radar that the listener should be out on the lookout for? You did a mural here in Oak Park. Which is exciting. And for the listener, please check out Alyssa's Instagram because it's beautiful. I walk past it all the time, but I can't see it because like everything's under construction. But I hope that one day I could like take a peek or something.

Alyssa Low [44:39]

Yeah, definitely. For sure. I think it's right off of like Pleasant Street. So, yeah, probably once all the scaffolding and fences are down. Yeah, you'll be able to see it from that street.

But yeah, upcoming projects. I have one I can talk about, one I can— I can't really, but can sort of gloss over. But I'm gonna be painting a mural at Penguin Foot Pottery Studio next week. So that's gonna be the first one of this year. So I'm super excited to do that. The second one is gonna be sometime in May. I'm really, I'm like chomping at the bits to wanna talk about it, but it's gonna be the biggest one that I've done.

It's an outdoor mural, and I'm sure as the months or weeks come on, I can share a little more publicly. But yeah, that one's gonna be pretty cool.

Christian Solorzano [45:42]

And do you have like a dream mural or what's— is there, is there something that just is there like a dream project when it comes to like murals? Is there something that you'd love to do and that you're just waiting for the opportunity to show up?

Alyssa Low [46:00]

So this one coming in May is probably the dream one. I— not probably, it is. But I, when, that's like an interesting question. What's your ideal dream project? It's honestly like, I try not to think about it too much. And maybe it's just my own self of like, hyping so much. And if it doesn't happen, then yeah, I'm like, oh man, I'm bummed. But I see every opportunity regardless if it's like, every opportunity is a chance to really create something great.

And sometimes my dream project, some, sometimes a project that I don't normally think would be a dream project ends up being one in something like an unexpected way. So I try not to think too much like, okay, I think there's a difference between like aspire, like aspiring to do something versus like, okay, this is like a goal. I think I'm just so open to kind of whatever is out there that I treat every project as if it's like a dream one.

Christian Solorzano [47:15]

If anyone wants to get a hold of you, what's the best way for people to find you, to reach out if they have any other questions or if they want to collaborate with you?

Alyssa Low [47:28]

Yeah, Instagram's probably the best. So it's @alyssalow with 3 W's. The first Alyssa Low was taken, the second with second W was taken. So then the next available one was the third. So yeah, there's that for updates, obviously through email. I have it all linked in my bio too. Well, awesome.

Christian Solorzano [47:56]

Well, thank you so much. Really inspiring conversation. And I hope that the club is able to do some work with you soon. Maybe we'll see, but that would be—

Alyssa Low [48:09]

Yeah, same here. Yeah, fingers crossed. Let's manifest it.

Christian Solorzano [48:13]

For the listener, I'll include all those links in the description below, but thank you so much, Alyssa. This was great. And like I said, you're in the upcoming publication that the club is producing. So for the listener, go grab a copy.

Alyssa Low [48:28]

Yes, definitely do. So I'm excited. Thank you, Christian. Appreciate it.

Christian Solorzano [48:33]

Thank you again for sticking around until the end. I hope you enjoyed the conversation as much as I did. And to learn more about the club, just visit our website, www.chicagographicdesign.club. Thank you.