For San Francisco-based designer Maximillian Medina, personal projects offer a chance to explore obsessions, experiment with form, and push beyond the limits of client work. His latest book, The Wan Chai Times, channels that energy into a fictional Hong Kong newspaper that’s equal parts art book, type study, and visual playground. Think Tang Dynasty poetry, AI-generated hands, and oversized page numbers—brought together through bold CMYK layers and Medina’s signature design instincts.

We caught up with Medina to learn how a teenage band name turned into a lifelong creative identity, what he’s learned from a career spanning political campaigns and entertainment, and why print still holds a special place in his process. Don’t forget to check out his work on Instagram @the_mystery_parade and find The Wan Chai Times in the Blurb Bookstore.

Your career has spanned political campaigns, entertainment marketing, and editorial design. Can you walk us through your design journey and how it led to The Mystery Parade?

The Mystery Parade started out as a teenage band fantasy, but since I have zero musical talent, I kept the name over the years to use as a pseudonym to credit my personal work, instead of my real name (I suppose I’m personally not about being famous). I became a graphic designer because of the Duran Duran “Rio” album cover—its design is, incidentally, credited to Assorted Images. Perhaps that’s the inspiration to use The Mystery Parade as a design credit. 

My first job was art directing a national martial arts magazine, but I eventually got the chance to live my dream for a bit: designing in the music industry. When digital music piracy began to cannibalize record label budgets, I transitioned to home video packaging for a while before that dried up as well. After moving from Los Angeles to San Francisco, I fell into political design through a mutual friend, and that’s the bulk of my rent-paying work these days.

As The Mystery Parade, I’m constantly designing projects for myself and the San Francisco band Halou (I’ve designed a few Blurb-published books for them, with a new one currently in the works). The existence of DIY companies like Blurb has been instrumental in making this possible.

What’s the biggest thing your client work has taught you about making personal art?

Client work is essentially a means to an end. There are usually rigid parameters, and I always do my best to create a great solution (I have standards!), but ultimately, there isn’t much room for creative license. I think I do personal design projects in the same way other people have hobbies.

What sparked the idea for The Wan Chai Times?

I had stumbled on an archive of old Chinese newspapers. I am kind of obsessed with Chinese typography, and not being able to read or speak the language, the next best thing is to design a project using its letterforms. To make it more visually interesting, I found the old poems. 

I still needed another element, and I think I just exploited the fact that A.I. constantly comes up with bizarre, grotesque human imagery. Giant page numbers, because why not? 

Lastly, I wanted to break down the CMYK print process. In the end, it’s almost three or four books in one. 

I got to visit Hong Kong years ago, and there is a Wan Chai district, although I’m not sure how that resurfaced. The title was also partly inspired by the Oasis song “The Hindu Times.”

The book feels experimental and intentional at the same time—what was your workflow like? Did you sketch it all out, build spreads iteratively, or something else?

I tend to follow my instincts when designing for myself. I definitely enjoy experimenting!

While I do a fair amount of experimentation and trial-and-error, there is usually a point where the design just feels correct. I try to avoid investing more time than I need to, which can potentially be consequential to the design. Trust your instincts!

Give us your best book design advice.

1. Lock down your blueprint. Know exactly how the book will lay out before you begin.
2. Make sure you have press-quality assets. Even if your book is just text, you still need great cover art.
3. If you’re not a professional graphic designer, hire one. I think the work you put into your book’s content deserves the best possible presentation.

You sell books, t-shirts, clocks, prints. How do you reach the people who are most excited to buy your work?

I basically only post on Instagram. I’m well aware of how esoteric a lot of my work is, so I have low expectations of people being interested. But when I do get any interest, it’s definitely flattering.

You’ve created 19 books with Blurb (!). What keeps you coming back to the platform, and how has your approach evolved over time?

As a graphic designer, the biggest advantage of Blurb to me is the InDesign plugin. The workflow makes it really easy to design books with Blurb.

What advice do you have for artists who want to self-publish and sell their books or zines?

I think you really owe it to yourself to respect your hard work and present it properly. If you’re not a professional graphic designer, hire one to help you. If you have ambitions of selling a lot of books, use any resources available online, including social media.

What drives you to make books instead of just sharing your work online?

I guess I’m old school. I prefer having tangible objects rather than just access to pixels. No electricity required!

How it’s made: The Wan Chai Times

• Format: Softcover Trade Book
• Size: 6×9 in, 15×23 cm
• Paper type: Standard Color
• Tool: Blurb plugin for Adobe InDesign

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Have a personal project you’ve been meaning to bring to life? Blurb makes it easy to turn your ideas into a professional-quality book, whether you’re designing with InDesign like Maximillian or just getting started. There’s no perfect formula, and that’s the beauty of self-publishing. Experiment, stay curious, and make something uniquely yours. Get started today.