Top Designer Itzel Islas

Itzel Islas (she/her) is a freelance graphic designer and illustrator from Tijuana, Mexico, currently living in San Diego, California. Itzel’s work is inspired by Mexican culture, vibrant color palettes and playful elements of everyday life. She primarily works in digital design, but loves sketching and incorporating hand-drawn elements into her work. As the founder and CEO of YAY Itzel, Itzel’s mission since 2016 has been to create a positive bi-cultural impact through design and empower folks to pursue their creative career.

Hi Itzel! Tell us about yourself - how did you get to where you are today and when did you first become interested in design and illustration?

Hi! My name is Itzel and I'm a freelance graphic designer and illustrator based out of San Diego, California. I grew up in Tijuana, México, which inspires a lot of my current work and my brand, YAY Itzel.

I went to school for graphic design and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree. To be quite honest, I had no clue that graphic design even existed right before I enrolled in the program (haha.) I was fresh out of high school and originally wanted to do photography, but when I told my parents, my mom mentioned knowing someone that was studying graphic design and offered to tour the school with me. I will never forget the day I first toured the campus. I remember not being sure of what graphic design even was, but finding out that it involved photography, computers, and marketing (which were all interests of mine.) I'm so glad it worked out! Because I enrolled right away and have been designing for almost 15 years now.

Soon after graduating, I started working in apparel design for mass market retailers. I would design for brands such as Disney, Star Wars and Marvel, and the designs would sell at Target, Wal-Mart, Urban Outfitters, etc. I did that for over 9 years until I decided to quit my full-time job in May 2020 to do freelance graphic design and run my own business.

Graphic Designer and Illustrator Itzel Islas

“Learn to be patient because things take time. It's taken me almost a full decade to get to where I'm at now.

Never stop learning and keep practicing. Your skills and voice will come.

How would you describe your aesthetic and how has your design style changed over time?

Fun, bright, and very Mexican. My style hasn't changed much to be honest, I think I just became more confident in my voice and have refined my skills.

Are there particular themes you like to explore through your work?

Mexican and border town culture are the most prevalent ones.

Over the course of your career, you’ve worked with clients including HP, GoFundMe, Nickelodeon, and Adobe. What is your creative process like and how do you approach creative collaboration with your clients?

The process of producing creative work in partnership with a brand varies from client to client. In my experience, the bigger the client the more paperwork there is to sign and the faster the turnaround time. Normally a "bigger" client will come to you knowing exactly what they want and asking you to execute it in a short period of time. So far I've found more creative freedom with my local clients, but I can truthfully say I've had fun working with every single company that has reached out to me. I feel fortunate that every client I've worked with reaches out to me for my style and therefore respects it.

You have an amazing online shop filled with a variety of products like greeting cards, stickers, tote bags and mugs featuring your illustrations. What sparked the idea to start an online shop and what are your favorite types of products to design?

My online shop was born out of wanting to see certain products out in the world (pretty much a "make the things you wish existed" moment.) Followed by having people asking me for specific products, which showed there was a demand for it (aka it gave me the excuse to make certain things.)

Stickers have to be my favorite product! Just because of how nostalgic they are for me. I grew up collecting stickers (and still do!) A close second are my reusable totebags because designing patterns is extremely fun for me, and I absolutely love a functional object (they're my most used product, followed by my berets!)

What has been one of your favorite projects to work on recently and why?

The main one that comes to mind I unfortunately can't speak about yet, but if all goes well it will be in stores around October and I cannot wait to share more details!

In second place I would say my axolotl collection. I released it recently and have been so excited about this for quite a while now. Ajolotes are my favorite animal. They're such beautiful and fascinating creatures and I'm glad my community was so supportive of a whole collection dedicated to them.

What’s been one of the biggest career lessons you've learned so far?

To trust your gut and move forward even when you don't feel "ready." The truth is, you probably are ready (and have been for quite some time now) you just gotta go for it.

Where do you find creative inspiration?

In my Mexican culture, the border town experience, vibrant color palettes, and playful elements of everyday life.

Do you have any favorite design resources?

I love using the foodie app for any quick photo edits (for more serious edits I use Photoshop.) I also use InShot to edit my videos, and Adobe Express to animate my illustrations.

As far as podcasts go, my favorite is Draws in Spanish (currently on a pause, but has a lot of amazing episodes out), the A24 Podcast, and Dementes.

What advice would you give to artists and designers just starting out?

Learn to be patient because things take time. It's taken me almost a full decade to get to where I'm at now. Never stop learning and keep practicing. Your skills and voice will come.

When you look to the future, what are you excited about?

Learning more, growing as a designer and a person, making things that are meaningful and true to who I am, and having fun while doing it. :)

Thanks for sharing with us Itzel! To view more of Itzel’s work visit her website, follow her on Instagram, and check out her shop.

Itzel was nominated by Noun Project. All images courtesy of Itzel Islas.

Itzel Islas