From the northern town of Al Kantara in Akkar, Salem’s relationship with design began as child, when he gravitated instinctively toward fabric, form, and transformation, draping himself with his mother’s dresses, dressing his sister’s dolls with improvised materials, sketching designs, and learning to sew on his grandmother’s old machine. Creation, for him, was not something he chose later in life; it was always there. He went on to study graphic design at the Lebanese University, where he came to understand design as both social force and deeply personal practice. For Salem, design is emotional and intimate, a way of expressing inner life outwardly. Highly sensitive and instinctively creative, he channels his feelings, thoughts, and imagination through making. His creative process is rooted in vulnerability and connection, sparked by dreams, encounters, and emotional states. He finds himself most alive while creating, moving intuitively through form, texture, and idea. At its core, he believes creativity is “making something out of absolutely nothing,” a capacity he recognizes as natural and deeply embedded within him. At CSB, Salem hopes to develop his technical skills and give structure to the work he has always carried within him. In return, he brings a caring, positive, and nurturing energy to the community, offering presence, empathy, and emotional openness as central parts of his creative contribution.