Today we’d like to introduce you to Adrian Medina.
Hi Adrian, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story feels a little unreal whenever I take the time to look back at it. My name is Adrian Medina, and I am originally from Corpus Christi, Texas. Creativity has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. Even before I understood what it meant to be an artist, I was surrounded by stories of someone who had already dedicated his life to creating: my grandfather.
My grandfather passed away from health complications when I was only three years old, so I never had the opportunity to truly know him. Still, his presence continued to shape my life through the stories my grandmother shared with me. Before I could properly read or write, she would tell me about the many forms his creativity took. He recorded videos with old VHS cameras, painted, drew and created impressive cartoon-character impressions. His work crossed several mediums, but the part of his story that stayed with me most was his dream of starting his own magazine.
The work he left behind was beautiful, but more importantly, it showed me that creativity did not have to exist within a single category. A person could be a painter, filmmaker, illustrator, storyteller and entrepreneur at the same time. Although I did not realize it then, his unfinished dream would eventually become deeply connected to my own.
I began creating YouTube videos when I was around nine or ten years old. Even at that age, I did not want the work to feel careless or unprofessional. I noticed that my favorite creators had strong thumbnails, channel banners, editing, graphics and complete visual identities surrounding their videos, and I wanted to understand how they were doing it.
At ten years old, I downloaded the Adobe Creative Cloud suite and began teaching myself how to use it. That decision became the foundation for almost everything I would eventually do. Over the years, I taught myself graphic design, photo manipulation, video editing, animation, website development and basic software coding. I learned how to design clothing, produce physical products and develop complete visual identities. Most of my education came through experimentation: making something, recognizing what was wrong with it and trying again until it became better.
For approximately five years, I consistently created and edited YouTube videos. That period taught me how to communicate visually, hold someone’s attention and transform an idea into something another person could experience. Eventually, that creativity expanded into music.
I taught myself how to produce instrumentals, record vocals, and mix and master complete songs. For several years, music became my main form of expression. I was producing full tracks while simultaneously creating the cover artwork, promotional graphics and visual worlds surrounding every release. Music allowed me to combine nearly every skill I had developed. It was never only about creating a song; it was about creating an entire feeling around it.
When I was around twenty years old, the audio interface I used to record music stopped working. It may sound like a small technical problem, but at the time, it completely interrupted the way I expressed myself. Music had become one of the main places where I directed my ideas and emotions, and once that outlet disappeared, I entered a long period of uncertainty. For months, I felt creatively lost. I knew I still needed to create, but I did not yet understand what that creativity was supposed to become.
During a trip to Las Vegas, I discovered a book by Takashi Murakami titled Summon Monsters? Open the Door? Heal? Or Die? Until then, most of my design work had been intuitive. I created without a complete understanding of grids, columns or structured editorial systems. I knew when something looked good, but I did not yet understand the mathematics and discipline behind a perfectly constructed layout.
Murakami’s book completely changed the way I saw design. I became fascinated with the possibility of building layouts that were expressive but still intentional—work in which every image, margin, column and piece of typography had a reason for being there. That fascination led to one clear thought: I wanted to make magazines.
To develop my editorial design skills, I began pitching completely free magazine publications to local brands. I used those projects to teach myself how to build page systems, work with columns, organize long-form content and transform collections of photographs and words into complete publications. I was no longer designing only individual graphics. I was learning how to build entire visual experiences.
During this period, I met an extremely talented rapper and creative collaborator named SoGoneSoFlexy. I began helping him with cover artwork, promotional material and music releases. Not long afterward, he joined Kevin Abstract on tour, and I was given the opportunity to come along.
That experience introduced me to an entirely different side of the creative world. I saw how touring worked, met potential clients and spent time around people who were supporting themselves through their ideas, talent and creative work. For years, making a living through creativity had felt like a distant possibility. On that tour, it became real.
I began to understand that the difference between myself and the people already doing it professionally was not some hidden qualification. It came down to access, consistency, confidence and the willingness to continue putting in the work. I left that experience knowing I could create a real career for myself.
As I continued developing my skills, Faded Decade became one of the most important chapters in my creative journey. It was the first shop to give me a genuine opportunity to help create and shape a complete brand identity. Before then, I had designed individual graphics, cover artwork, videos and personal projects, but this opportunity required me to think much bigger. I was being trusted to help define how an entire brand looked, felt and communicated with the people around it.
Working with Faded Decade taught me that branding was about much more than designing a logo or a collection of attractive graphics. It was about building a complete visual world through typography, photography, color, clothing, physical products, advertising and storytelling. Every element needed to feel connected to the same larger identity.
That creative freedom gave me the space to experiment and discover a style that genuinely felt like my own. Through Faded Decade, I became more comfortable combining my influences from music, fashion, vintage advertising, editorial design and Houston culture. My work became bolder, more intentional and more emotionally driven. I became interested in creating work that could feel nostalgic and contemporary at the same time—polished without losing its humanity and structured without losing its personality.
Faded Decade became much more than the first shop that trusted me creatively. It became family. Located at 1310 Nance Street, Suite G, in Houston, Texas, the shop represents the heart of Houston to me. It is a place where clothing, art, music, design and community naturally exist together. It never felt like a space built only to sell products. It felt alive.
Creatives could come into the shop, hang out, share ideas, talk about what they were working on and inspire one another without any of it feeling forced. Artists, designers, musicians, photographers and people from completely different parts of the city could exist in the same space and build genuine relationships through creativity. A casual conversation could become a new project, a collaboration or an entirely new direction. Ideas were not treated as competition; they were shared, developed and strengthened by everyone in the room.
That openness showed me how powerful a physical creative space could be. Faded Decade gave people somewhere to belong, somewhere to create and somewhere to be surrounded by others who understood the need to make something meaningful. The shop was one of the first places where I felt that my creativity was truly understood and valued. The people around it supported my ideas, trusted my perspective and gave me room to grow into the designer and creative director I was becoming.
Faded Decade was never simply an early client. It became a home, a creative family and one of the places that shaped my understanding of Houston itself. It taught me that a brand could become much larger than its products. It could create a culture, bring people together and give a community a physical space in which to see itself represented. That lesson became a major part of the foundation I would later bring into my work with musicians, global brands, Rolling Loud and eventually ARCHVE MAGAZINE.
Not long afterward, I came across an Instagram Reel from the person who would eventually become my manager. In the video, she spoke about working in media and marketing for Rolling Loud, one of the largest hip-hop festivals in the world. I decided to reach out and ask whether there was any way I could contribute design work to the festival.
For a few weeks, I heard nothing. Then I received a response: they needed help.
I immediately put everything else aside and committed myself to the opportunity. I delivered the work they needed, proved that I could operate within the speed and pressure of a major festival environment and eventually earned a position on Rolling Loud’s core marketing team as its primary in-house designer.
In that role, I created more than a thousand assets across social media, digital advertising, websites, sponsorship campaigns, merchandise, stage screens, billboards and live-event materials. I learned how to protect and expand the identity of a global brand while producing work across countless formats, deadlines and audiences. Rolling Loud showed me that the skills I had spent years teaching myself could operate at the highest professional level. It gave me the confidence, experience and foundation I needed to begin building something of my own.
Even while working with Rolling Loud and continuing to create for independent brands, musicians, artists and friends, the dream of making a magazine never disappeared. It had followed me from the stories about my grandfather, through my childhood YouTube videos, music, touring, editorial experiments and eventually into my professional design career. After years of developing the skills necessary to do it properly, I finally decided to create ARCHVE MAGAZINE.
ARCHVE MAGAZINE is a global, people-powered publication built from the experiences, passions, ideas and imaginations of anyone willing to share them. It is not limited to one city, one industry, one kind of person or even one definition of creativity. It is a place where people from anywhere in the world can submit the things that matter to them—photography, artwork, personal stories, videos, music, fashion, cultural observations, strange experiences, unfinished ideas, private obsessions, unbelievable memories or concepts that may not have a place anywhere else.
Every submission becomes the beginning of something larger. Rather than simply placing an image beside a block of text, ARCHVE transforms each contribution into a fully realized visual experience. Stories become immersive editorial spreads. Photographs become layered compositions. Videos can be reimagined through still frames, sequencing, typography and experimental design. Even a single thought can become a beautiful piece of visual art.
Every page is treated as an artwork of its own, carefully designed to preserve the personality, emotion and meaning behind the original submission while presenting it in a way the contributor may have never imagined. ARCHVE is shaped by the people inside it. It exists to document the personal, unusual, meaningful, chaotic, beautiful and completely unexpected.
Nobody needs to be established, connected or professionally recognized to contribute. The value of a submission comes from the fact that it means something to the person sharing it. At its core, ARCHVE is a living archive of human expression—a constantly evolving collection of what people care about, what they have survived, what they are creating and what they want the world to see. Anyone can contribute. Anything meaningful can become art. Every person has something worth archiving.
So far, I have developed the magazine’s identity, designed its logos, built its website and begun planning the structure of the first full print issue. I have also designed and produced a collection of ARCHVE keychains that will be sold to help fund the printing and production of Issue One. Every part of the project—from the website and physical products to the typography, photography and page layouts—is being developed with intention.
ARCHVE is not simply another design project for me. It is the point where nearly every creative path I have followed throughout my life finally comes together. It carries my grandfather’s unfinished dream, everything I taught myself as a child, the years I spent making music, the people and places that believed in me, and every experience that proved creativity could become something real.
As of April 7, 2026, I am 22 years old, and I know my story is only beginning. I am determined to keep dreaming bigger, continue pushing the limits of what I can create and build the life of my dreams through creativity. ARCHVE represents everything that has brought me to this point, but it also represents everything still ahead of me. I am building something that belongs not only to me, but to everyone willing to place a part of themselves inside it, and I cannot wait to see the collaborations, relationships, stories and ideas that grow from here.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
My path has been anything but a smooth road haha, of course it’s been a bit rocky at times. I believe every path worth going on isn’t going to be completely smooth. Devoting your life to art is a difficult choice to make, but in the discovery and creation of beauty, there are rewards that far surpass the hardships. At the beginning of my career in design, I made the decision to leave my last job and dedicate myself completely to my passion. I spent countless nights sleeping on couches, floors, and in cars while traveling between cities, doing everything I could to connect with people who shared the same creative drive, interests, and belief in something greater. On my first tour with Kevin Abstract & SoGoneSoFlexy, my car completely broke down an hour out from Austin, we somehow had somebody recognize us and helped us to get our car up and running making in JUST in time for the show we were headed to, I’ve starved for weeks, ruined my credit score tremendously, missed bills, had trouble even paying for the most basic necessities in life, and of course the biggest struggle that still occurs is trying to get done with weeks worth of design work for multiple different people on strict deadlines.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a multidisciplinary designer and creative director specializing in visual identity, editorial design, campaign development, and storytelling across music, fashion, entertainment, and culture. My work can take many forms—from magazine layouts, album artwork, and brand identities to digital campaigns, merchandise, billboards, social media systems, and large-scale event graphics. I’m known for creating work that feels bold, immersive, and culturally grounded while still serving a clear purpose.
One of the things I’m most proud of is my time as an in-house designer for Rolling Loud, where I created more than 1,000 assets across festival marketing, advertising, merchandise, partnerships, web, and live-event experiences. Working at that scale taught me how to maintain a strong creative identity across countless formats while moving quickly, collaborating with different teams, and adapting to the needs of an international audience.
I’m also extremely proud of ARCHVE MAGAZINE, an independent platform I’m building to give people from all backgrounds a place to share their art, stories, photography, videos, and ideas. My goal is to transform those submissions into carefully designed pages that feel like individual works of art. ARCHVE represents everything I love about creativity: collaboration, experimentation, documentation, and giving meaningful ideas a physical home.
What sets me apart is my ability to move between creative direction and hands-on execution. I don’t only develop the concept—I can design the identity, build the layouts, edit the imagery, create motion, develop campaign systems, and help shape how the final story is presented to the world. Because I am largely self-taught and have pursued creativity through many different mediums, I approach every project with curiosity rather than a fixed formula. I’m always searching for the most honest, exciting, and visually powerful way to communicate an idea.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success, to me, is simple. It means waking up every day with the freedom to dedicate my time to creative projects, while surrounding myself with genuine people and building real, meaningful friendships. That is success to me. Money is not part of the equation, and neither are fame, status, or recognition. A life filled with creativity, authenticity, and true human connection is my idea of “living the dream”
Pricing:
- Support my first magazine issue! ARCHVE Icon Keychain Sets – $15.00 (shop.archvemag.com)
- Working with all budgets for design work!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://xlvii47.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xlviihq/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xlvii47/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ARCHVEMAG
- Other: https://archvemag.com
