“The best is yet to come,” says Maria Montes, a versatile designer, illustrator and letterer based in Melbourne, Australia. On learning her story, it’s clear that this motto has given Montes the drive to accomplish incredible things. After growing up in a small town 43 miles north of Barcelona and studying at the EINA, Centre Universitari de Disseny i Art de Barcelona, she found herself working at a graphic design studio with Catalan-speaking designers from other countries. That was when it hit her: “I was living in a comfort zone,” she says. “So I booked a one-way ticket overseas to the furthest destination possible. I’ve been in Australia for more than ten years, learning English and finding a new home.” Now, within any given week, you might find Montes working on illustration for advertising agencies, lettering projects for brands, textile design for fashion boutiques and personal calligraphy projects. In 2012, she completed the Type@Cooper program in New York City, adding yet another skill to her arsenal: lettering. Her forays into new disciplines continually give her uncharted peaks to climb.