It all began in 2013, when I stumbled upon the band NEEDTOBREATHE on Instagram. Captivated by their music, I created a typographic design inspired by one of their lyrics and shared it on Instagram with the hashtag #needtobreathe.

Months later, Seth, the bass player in the band, reached out. He asked if I’d be interested in designing a book he and his brother had written for charity.

I had no experience with book design whatsoever. But I channeled the fearless spirit of my childhood idol, Pippi Longstocking, who famously said,

With that, I said, “Let’s do it!”

The next few months were a whirlwind of learning, creativity, and collaboration. I had no idea it could take so long to design a book, but the end result was worth every second. The book turned out beautifully—a true masterpiece—and launched on March 4, 2014. All proceeds went to One World Health, an organization that provides healthcare in developing countries. It was an incredible experience to contribute to such a meaningful cause.

A year later, Chandler Bolt, one of the book’s co-authors, founded selfpublishing.com and invited me to join as their in-house designer. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of bringing hundreds of authors’ books to life, and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

The moral of the story? Never underestimate the power of a hashtag—or the courage to say “yes” to something new.