Robert Vinluan

Essex Street Academy

Brian Herrera

In 2010 I was lucky to be able to collaborate with a class of students from Essex Street Academy, a high school in downtown Manhattan. I met Carlos and Brian through the class and we talked about our fears, our hopes and dreams, and our thoughts about the future. We bonded over our common love of video games and rock music and hopefully making the world a better place. I designed 3 spreads to be put together in a book about our collaboration with those students. Entitled ‘Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid’, the book explores themes of loneliness, anxiety, and aspirations from the perspectives of both high school students and graphic designers.

Brian Herrera