42 min listen
16: Mexican-American Illustrator & Graphic Designer Itzel Islas
FromDraws in Spanish | Conversations with Latinx Visual Artists and Designers
16: Mexican-American Illustrator & Graphic Designer Itzel Islas
FromDraws in Spanish | Conversations with Latinx Visual Artists and Designers
ratings:
Length:
68 minutes
Released:
Apr 19, 2022
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Did you ever feel like you didn’t fit in with the Latinx kids at your school? This week’s guest experienced just that after moving from Tijuana to San Diego for her Sophomore year of high school.In this episode, I chat with Mexican illustrator and designer Itzel Islas who’s worked with brands like Nickelodeon, GoFundMe, and for her own brand @YAYITZEL.Itzel never wanted to leave Tijuana, but now she’s so thankful her parents made that decision when she was just in high school. She had a hard time adjusting to American life to the point where even the automatic sprinklers made her mad, but now she can’t imagine her life being any other way. Thankfully, since they moved right over the border to San Diego, she’s always managed to feel very connected to her Mexican heritage and grew up constantly going back and forth across the border.Nowadays, Itzel is a self-employed graphic designer and illustrator who creates amazing bilingual products inspired by her Mexican culture. Despite originally having doubts about creating products in two languages — and sometimes even in Spanglish — now she recognizes it’s the best decision she could’ve made.Tune into this episode to hear Itzel and I talk all about her artsy emo days in high school, how her mom helped her discover the field of Graphic Design, and how she decided to create bilingual products to stay true to herself.Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or on your favorite podcast platform. Guest Links: Itzel’s online shop, portfolio, Instagram, and TikTok! Host Links: Follow Fabiola Lara on Instagram, TikTok, and Youtube! Free Download: Listeners of the podcast can get a free, undated weekly and monthly planner inspired by the show from our website here. Topics Covered:How Itzel’s family decided to move to the United States to help her and her siblings pursue a college educationFinding her high school clique as an Artsy Mexican girl from TijuanaThe diversity of people within Latin AmericaHow her parents didn’t want her to pursue being a Makeup ArtistHow her mom lead her to Graphic DesignPaying for and attending college, and whether she recommends it nowDeciding to go freelance from a full-time, in-house jobThe stress and anxiety she developed from working in a toxic workplaceBalancing work and personal life as a freelance graphic designerHow she launched her online shop YAYITZELHer experience creating bilingual productsGoing viral and her advice for artists on TikTokLaunching a Patreon to create stable income after leaving her in-house gigHer dream commissions under YAYITZEL
Released:
Apr 19, 2022
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (40)
03: Gay Chicanx Collage Artist, Ruby Marquez | @Broobs: Welcome to this week’s episode of Draws in Spanish where I chat with queer Chicanx collage artist, Ruby Marquez aka @Broobs on Instagram. Ruby and I get existential about what it “means to be Latinx,” the risks associated with making Selena fan art, using art as a coping strategy, and how Ruby processes the pressure to be perfect on social media. Ruby also divulges how they go about collecting source material for their collection, moving into music production, and why connecting with your culture is so much more than tracing your bloodline. Join me on this week’s episode to learn more about Ruby’s complex story as a queer Mexican-American artist. by Draws in Spanish | Conversations with Latinx Visual Artists and Designers