We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ximena Jimenez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ximena below.

Ximena, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Growing up between sports and music, I learned that taking risks is essential for growth and improvement in any area of life. Looking back, I can see that the defining moments of my professional career have been shaped by embracing those risks.
I stumbled into lettering almost by accident. At the time, my life revolved around Ultimate Frisbee, but after a knee injury and two surgeries, I was forced to step away. This meant leaving behind my social circle, completely changing my routine, and searching for something new to hold onto.
In that search, I decided to move to Buenos Aires, Argentina, with the goal of studying electronic music production—my second greatest passion at the time. I left everything behind, freshly out of surgery, and started from scratch, working as a waitress and taking any job I could find. Ironically, it was while drawing daily menus on restaurant chalkboards that I fell in love with letters.
I found myself in the right place at the right time. Back in 2014, Buenos Aires had an incredible typography and calligraphy culture, with numerous schools offering various calligraphic styles, typography, and lettering. This is how my journey began—completely by chance, as it wasn’t why I initially came to Buenos Aires.
My original goal was different. I studied and completed an intensive electronic music production course, but upon graduating, I couldn’t afford the equipment to continue practicing. So that dream was put on hold. Instead, I simply allowed life to show me another path—and I followed it. 10 years later, I can’t imagine my life without painting letters

None of this would have happened if I hadn’t risked starting over. It’s fascinating how things work—taking a risk doesn’t mean the path is predetermined. It’s about embracing the unknown with a feeling of excitement for what life may bring.

In the same way, I discovered murals, returned to my country, and have made the most incredible travels. Having no certainty but all the curiosity that something more must happen. I always carry some stickers I designed that say “Risk Taker”, it’s my motto. I like to think that I not only make my inner child proud, but also my older self, who when looking back will not regret not having lived more.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Ximena Jiménez, I’m queer, Colombian, Latinx, a Pisces, an overthinker, and always more human than artist.

I’m a graphic designer by profession graduated in my city Cali, Colombia, and I’ve been specializing in lettering for exactly 10 years now. I started in academia in Buenos Aires, Argentina studying different styles of calligraphy, typography, and lettering, and it was through branding that I found a way to connect my love for hand-drawn letters with my profession—creating logos, merchandise designs, packaging, product designs, and everything related.

A few years ago, I returned to my country and reconnected with an old passion I had when I was 18: graffiti and street art. That’s where I felt I could explore a more personal and artistic side, where it wasn’t just about solving a problem, but about expressing something. In murals and with spray paint, I discovered color—a completely new world that I was quite afraid of. I’m still studying it, but I’ve been intuitively making friends with it, to the point where it’s now a significant characteristic of my work.

Here, I’ve been able to explore my art not just graphically, but through writing as well. I’m a very reflective person—I write a lot and am constantly thinking about phrases, words, analogies, and metaphors. I love psychology and am fascinated by the human mind and behavior. So whenever I get the chance, I enjoy creating something of my own, whether it’s a mural, a print, a design on a t-shirt—whatever comes to mind at the moment—always with something to say, usually filtered through my own experiences.

My current graphic style is characterized by a fusion of formal lettering and graffiti, always exploring textures, contrasts between perfection and irregularity, tons of color, and above all, a powerful concept that raises questions or touches on themes like mental health, motivation, human rights, and life.

I always have so much to say, and that’s what I enjoy most. Questioning, doing a bit of philosophy, inspiring people to do more, to lose their fear, to take risks. I love connecting with people through my work and managing to shake something up in myself and in others.

Currently, I work in both areas. In design, I offer lettering services for branding, merchandise, murals, live painting activations, and anything that includes digital or hand-drawn letters. I teach experimental lettering workshops, show people how to take risks, get their hands dirty with ink and paint, and give conferences that inspire people around the world.

On the other artistic side, I sell my merch, prints, t-shirts, products, paint murals, go to street art festivals, do artistic residencies—everything that nourishes my Pisces and reflective side of life. Anything that makes me feel like I’m living with passion will always be welcome.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

In my opinion, being a creative person is a privilege, and the most beautiful part of that process is being able to find yourself in the purest honesty of your being.
Creating forces us to question ourselves, confronts us, frustrates us—it’s complex. And from that very place, it compels us to be in constant self-discovery. It pushes us to investigate beyond the obvious, and in my view, that’s beautiful. Creating is a privilege because we simply have the pleasure of discovering and finding what many people would never dare to seek.

We have a very powerful tool, I wish we would learn to lose the fear of showing our inner true selves, because that’s always the most interesting part.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

When I first started in lettering, I was constantly chasing trends, trying to fit in. I would check which phrases or words were popular to draw and post on Instagram. And don’t misunderstand me—I think this works to a certain point. It helped me practice and improve, perhaps at a time when it was necessary to focus completely on graphic skill to learn and get better.

But over time, I started to feel a bit off, like I was pretending or trying too hard to please and get projects. As if I was passing over myself.
From that moment, I began to explore whether there were other ways to show myself and my work to the world. This was something I hadn’t even questioned before.
For this, I remember talking to some friends from the creative world and asking them how they saw me and my work, and if they felt these aligned. I started watching videos, attending conferences, going to creative community events—and I was no longer just looking at portfolios, but at the essence of the person behind them.

One of the first things I noticed was that I never talked about being queer. I had never mentioned anything about it on my social media, even though in real life I was always very open and proud of it. I realized I was afraid and that I might lose potential clients because of it.
It’s a process that takes time, deeply connected to one’s own security. But the moment you recognize a fear, you can slowly start to face it.

I started talking about this, using words like “Proud”—adding phrases little by little. Yes, I lost followers, received a few homophobic messages, and I won’t lie—it affected me. But I continued doing it despite this.

The most beautiful part was realizing that my niche was changing. I not only lost followers but gained new ones, and people started connecting more with me. It was like trading a basic “like” for a comment saying “I also feel proud, thanks for sharing it”—and that felt much better.
On top of this, I started receiving projects for for and from the LGBTQI+ community. That’s how I got my first big project: creating a poster for the New York and San Francisco Pride in 2018. Who would have imagined that daring to show who I am, beyond trending topics, would also boost me professionally?
Since that moment, I’ve been very clear that what will make us stand out as creative people is the same thing that makes you different in your life and essence. There’s nothing to invent—everything is inside you. It’s just about finding it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jimenezlettering.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimenezlettering/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ximena-jim%C3%A9nez/

Image Credits

Luna Andrade, Sofia Borba