We were lucky to catch up with Dustin Lopez recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dustin, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

A regular job? Like Monday through Friday, 8-5? Kill me now, hahahaha. No, I don’t wonder. I used to work that regular job and was so unsatisfied, it really messed with my mental health. I felt so caged and misunderstood. I’m most creative in the mornings and early afternoons, having my life evolve around this ‘regular job’ would really get in the way of that. My last regular job was with a Tribal Government and my boss was a horrible person, the worse leadership skills. I will not give names but the drama, the creative killing with all these measurements on the success of my position would give me so much anxiety. All that said I’ve learned a great deal about who I want to work with, why and how not to treat people I collaborate with. It really has brought me a lot of fullfilment and I feel that leads to happiness.

Am I happy? Yes, very. As a father, as a son, as a brother, and as a creative….. yes, lol. I think being happy is something we have to cultivate for ourselves individually and it takes a lot of work and understanding in order to achieve that. I’m approaching the end of my 30’s and I feel like I have a hold on what that looks like, I just wished I did it a lot sooner.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Oh man, this is a loaded question. Lol.

Well, I tell people I am a creative strategist; which includes a graphic designer, illustrator, and artist. Most times those disciplines blend all together. I also do lettering, speaking engagements, art/design classes and I have my own streetwear & home goods collection called Mixtblood. Recently, I had a Pendleton blanket design released and it sold out in a week *happy dance*. They should have more soon!

Please know I am also a taco killer, street art lover, indigenous cultivator, and creative admirer (try fitting all that on a business card, lol).

As long as I could remember, I’ve always been an artist or at least a creative person. When I was in fourth grade, I learned how to do graffiti from one of my best friends, JD (still one of my best homies today). The movement of the letter forms, the three-dimensional effects, and the development of your style were very seductive to me at that age. I didn’t get into big trouble as an adolescent, but I was arrested once for graffiti in 7th grade. Instead of treating me like a typical brown person in the 90s, the officer sat me down. He was really the first person to tell me how talented I was and that I could waste my life if I don’t get my shit together. I was so embarrassed, shamed, and angry that I didn’t even get his name because he wasn’t the arresting officer. I wish I could remember who he was so I can give him a token of my appreciation for believing in a little angry stranger.

I struggled with my creative identity in high school, being athletic and creative hard to balance for some reason. I was a really angry child and those emotions inspired a lot of my work when I was younger and even into my early 20s. That being said creating just always made me feel good, and I always thrived off the energy other people would give me when they would see my work. Fast forward to college, I enrolled in a design program, but my professor was a real d*ck. They ended up, firing him after a couple of semesters after multiple complaints. And then I went back and fell in love with graphic design/illustration. Receiving many accolades confirming I was where I belonged.

One of the things I’m most proud of was being an ambassador for art and design for Arizona. I was able to travel to South Korea for five weeks and meet amazing people, try, this whole gamma of food that I never knew existed, drowned in the rich culture they were so proud of, and shared my own culture with them. That whole experience, I was proud because I was nominated by a freelance client. After three months of interviews and 200 candidates later, myself and three others were chosen to present the state of Arizona. I learned how culture can really stimulate conversation, art, and design. I learned how it influences your own brand and identity when being a creative person ignited my entrepreneurial mindset. Reflecting on that journey in South Korea, I realized I had a lot to offer, and understood what separated me from other creatives. My identity as a creative was important to know in order to navigate the rest of my career.

Oh man, this is becoming a long story, hahahaha, sorry, I’ll wrap it up.

Jessica Hische is a big inspiration to me, and in her 2011 interview, she made a point that we have so many ideas, why not share them with other creatives because we don’t have a lot of time to dive into them by ourselves? I liked that. A lot of my ideas come from the struggle with my identity, trying to exist in two worlds. I wanted to share that with like-minded people to discover solutions. Through that process, which still continues, creating work has given me a lot of liberty and freedom to express these ideas, and share them with people who might feel the same. My work isn’t authentic unless it has some part of my story is somehow injected into it.

Whether I’m giving a talk, running an identity seminar, teaching a class, or just developing my own art/designs, I just want people to know that my work comes from a place of love, curiosity, struggle, triumphs, and failures. Because my work comes from these places I think it is natural to wanna work with like-minded people, organizations, customers, students, and businesses.

In other words, my focus is to work on commissions, projects, and collaborations that empower the communities we belong to.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I’m actually pivoting right now. I found myself wanting to go back to school so I could teach at the college level. I felt the need to share all the information that I’ve learned as a designer and illustrator. I’m really looking forward to having those conversations with the up-and-coming creatives. I’ve discovered that my passion for being creative has been reignited and I think that’s a very important lesson for any person in their respected field.

This past spring I finished my first year, and I think my work and grades are a reflection of my determination and passion for this industry. That being said, my mentor keeps reminding me to enjoy the process on the journey because I can be a bit impatient, hahahaha.

Even though I’m in school, I’m always looking for freelance gigs, commissions, and the ability to collaborate because I feel that there is always more to learn, share and apply, especially with how fast our industry changes. I think this pivot in school/career/life really confirms my passion for the creative industry. It’s exciting and I am eager to see what happens after this chapter is over.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Now that I’ve returned to school, I wanted to make sure I was going to a school that was indigenous. Attending Dine College has reinforced my philosophy when I tackle all of my projects. The philosophy, Sa’ah Naaghai Bik’eh Hozhoo, is a traditional system based on how we conducted our lives many moons ago.

Nitsáhákees (thinking), Nahat’á (planning), Iiná (living/doing), and Sihasin (assuring/reflecting) are the 4 stages.

Applying this to my everyday life has really impacted how I conduct myself as a strategist and a person on a daily basis. Using this philosophy helps my curiosity when doing my own research and learning of other indigenous peoples doing their things with love, harmony, and passion. Being a mixed-blood native (sometimes referred to as intertribal) I find myself learning about other indigenous communities that include Afro-indigenous, Meso-American, and other Mexican creatives. This fuels my curiosity but also makes connections on how we are similar and different, enhancing my thinking.

Contact Info:

• Website: dopez.design
• Instagram: @dus10lopezart
• Other: @dopez.design

Image Credits
Del Ray Photography, New Mexico