We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Xhico. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Xhico below.
Alright, Xhico thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with 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?
Taking risks is so vital for a creative. Really in any field, risk can set you apart from others and help you develop into your unique self. My first risk was being 18 and wanting to leave my rural countryside for the big city and work for Warner Bros. Records as a designer. I had very little support for my dreams from others in my town, but it was a risk I took on myself, and that first risk paid off in dividends. After establishing myself as a designer in the record industry, I developed a 30+ year career in design. It allowed me space over the years to grow continually and remain in awe of everything new to come. As things changed with technology, I continued taking risks and creating work in new mediums, from make-up to video.
Last year, I took one of the most significant risks yet and started teaching online as a design educator. Taking this risk meant I had to believe in myself and my knowledge more substantially, and I needed to serve others to grow the way I’ve been able to grow. With this courage, I launched an online membership. And those who took the risk on me are now learning how transformative risk-taking can be. To this day, I still use risks as a motivator to step out of my comfort zone and become everything I can be.
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.
I’ve been an artist since I was a kid. In my early teens, I became fascinated with graffiti and lettering. My love of music and dance convinced me that maybe I could design record covers one day. Being the tenacious teen I was, I started cold-calling record companies and designers to see how to become a designer. Taking these early risks led me to incredible opportunities as a young person.
When I was sixteen, I spent an unforgettable day with famed designer Margo Chase at her studio in Los Angeles. My eyes were in awe of every moment I was observing, and I knew then that my life had changed forever. Two years later, I found myself as an intern at Warner Bros. Records, working for the Vice President of Creative Services, Jeri Heiden. Jeri became my mentor as a young designer, and I learned so much from her before I continued my formal education at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.
I started pitching my portfolio and getting so much freelance work that I dropped out of college and started my design studio. The momentum hasn’t stopped, and my curiosity for learning has kept my work fresh and innovative.
I’ve been a creative entrepreneur my whole life. I have guided visions for brands and worked as a designer, typographer, color expert, motion graphics artist, trend forecaster, and even as a professional make-up artist. I’ve served as all the directors – art, creative, and video – during my creative career.
My story came full circle several years ago when I worked with the woman I visited as a teen, Margo Chase, at her renowned design firm, Chase Design Group. I worked there for several years and worked on branding and packaging with an award-winning team of designers.
After many years there, I relaunched my studio, specializing in branding with Studio Xhico. Over the years, I also worked as a street artist and muralist, signing the name Xhico. So I picked up that signature and ran a different creative direction.
I’ve distilled all these experiences into creating graphic patterns, focusing on surface pattern design and art licensing, and passing my design knowledge on to others.
Pattern design has become an obsession. It allows me to express myself while creating work I can license and cast into the world with a bigger vision.
I believe in giving back and mentoring others, and I do that through design education. I teach with tutorials and lessons on YouTube, Skillshare, and my platform MultiColorMinds. It’s a membership for creative entrepreneurs to level up their design and branding skills.
I enjoy teaching designers and artists the principles of design, typography, Adobe Illustrator, and my favorite topic – color. I’ll be hosting Color Camp this summer. It will be a ten-day intensive teaching designers everything I know about color – from paint to pixels to production.
I bring designers together each year for a design retreat in Oaxaca, Mexico. The small group stays at a designer boutique hotel in the city, and I curate an incredible itinerary with indigenous artisans and designers from Oaxaca. The trip has been life-changing for past guests. The week is full of art, food, culture, and community. It’s always the best week of my year.
The more I travel and teach, the more I learn. I look forward to continued learning and growth as I continue my creative journey.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
My mission has changed over the years – drastically. As a teen, I just wanted to be a fabulous designer. But over the years, that has shifted to a place of service. With my collective knowledge about the design world, I realize I best serve the world by teaching others how to be better designers. However, even that idea has evolved for me.
With my connections to underserved communities in places like Oaxaca and Chiapas, I realize I can take this further to create greater design access to these communities. I aim to create a non-profit foundation to teach design and provide access to information, language, resources, technology, and scholarships to help them grow their businesses and develop creative projects.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being creative is the ability to give back with your creative gifts and share your knowledge of your talents, skills, and crafts with others.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://studio-xhico.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/studio.xhico/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-GDFsiUBnmuyLcg6iYJsOQ
- Other: https://www.multicolorminds.com/ https://www.wetravel.com/trips/wonders-of-oaxaca-design-art-retreat-studio-xhico-llc-oaxaca-99817685 https://linktr.ee/studioxhico
Image Credits
Xhico, Lizet Ortiz