We were lucky to catch up with Austin Liu recently and have shared our conversation below.

Austin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Risk is a funny thing—it’s like a wall, guarding whatever lies behind it. Most of the time, risk scares us, as that’s human instinct. But sometimes, we take a leap into the unknown.

I encountered such a moment during a project where I had to create a font. Within just two weeks, I needed to define its general direction, draw inspiration, and identify its deeper meaning. At first, I was conflicted. Should I build upon a font I had previously designed or start from scratch? In the end, I decided to create a new one. Why? Because it was a risk I was willing to take—a commitment I made for the rest of the project.

The project centered on the theme of love, interwoven with my personal handwriting, inspired by cursive and runic symbols. I named it Starcrossed, after the love I found and lost during that period of my life.

Some of my peers suggested taking a different, less challenging route. But I was determined to make this font for her. Drawing from the themes of my handwriting and an imagined alien language, I set out to create something that reflected how I saw her: elegant, unpredictable, beautiful, yet powerful.

In the end, the project was a success. While there is still room for improvement, I’m proud of what I accomplished in just 14 weeks.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I joined the National Guard with plans to build a military career, but things didn’t go as I expected. During training, I became extremely ill and had to be discharged before completing it. It was a tough decision—I was reluctant to leave, and they weren’t keen on letting me go. After getting out, I felt completely lost. The military had been my plan, and now I had no idea what to do next.

One day, my sister asked me if I’d like to check out her school. She said, “Hey, I noticed you’re really good at organizing things. Have you thought about trying graphic design?” At the time, I had nothing else going on, so I decided to give it a shot. I said, “Yes.”

That decision led me to ArtCenter, where I learned so much about design and myself. The journey wasn’t easy—due to COVID, I graduated later than expected—but I’m proud that I finished. Beyond the invaluable lessons in color theory, typography, and design, the friendships I made along the way became just as important to me.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

I personally think more designers and artist should join the NFT space. There are a lot of bad reputation regarding NFT due to the oversaturation of uninteresting or moneygrubbing pieces, but in reality if you make quality work you can stand out in that space.

For example my sister’s Critters, is rather big in that space, especially the Sol community.

I also met other artists and designers who are doing well in the space because of the quality of their work.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

There is a couple goals yes. First is to have a hand in the space industry. Then have my own studio while getting people who are like minded onboard as well as giving back to the place at which I started from.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.wortwort.com/
• Instagram: @austinl_design
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/austin-liu-03557a2ba/
• Twitter: @AustinLdesign