In each illustration by Los Angeles–based designer and illustrator Peilin Li, what first reaches out to viewers is the core emotion she wants to convey. Then, as the eye wanders, you notice all the details she has put in every corner to fully flesh out the world within. “I’m very conscious of whether every element in the illustration actually does something,” Li says. “My illustrations can be dense and emotionally rich, [which] comes partly from my love of maximalism, but they always have a clear hierarchy. Working on commercial projects pushed me to constantly refine my compositions and how I distribute information, and through that process, my visual style has become more stable and defined.” Attracted to the discipline of narrative illustration from an early love for children’s books, Li studied at the School of Visual Arts and then became a freelance illustrator after graduation. However, she eventually felt restricted by simply drawing “a nice image,” as she puts it. “I wanted to create visuals that could connect with each other and grow into something bigger, instead of standing alone,” she explains. “That shift in thinking led me to study motion and graphic design at ArtCenter College of Design, where I could explore how images move, expand and work as part of a larger system.” Now, working at the global creative company BUCK, Li has the opportunity to transform the visual narratives of her design work and illustrations into motion graphics for clients. “For me, being a creative professional is an ongoing process of thinking about how work is seen and understood,” she says. “I enjoy moving between different media to find the clearest, most engaging way to communicate an idea and using that process to build a genuine connection with the audience.”