When Itzel Islas was in college, she set her sights on graphic design. But as she searched for inspiration from established artists, she noticed that none of them looked like her, and the distance between their success and her own possibilities felt vast.
"I was so young and just thinking I didn't see myself in any of them, and at the same time, that made me not think that whatever they accomplished was an option for me," she said. "It felt so distant."
Islas pushed forward anyway and has now worked as a graphic designer for more than 15 years. She says she has become the kind of representation for a new generation of artists that she once searched for herself. Students, many of them Latinas who are the first in their families to attend college, sometimes write papers naming her as the person they admire, a full-circle moment that reminds her why putting her work into the world matters.
Her art is vibrant and playful, depicting real-life scenes and experiences, and it has earned her opportunities to paint murals across San Diego County. Three of those projects stand out.
At Barrio Donas, a donut shop in National City, Islas began by creating merchandise before the owners asked her to help with a rebrand. She designed a new logo, redesigned the donut box and painted a mural inside the shop, keeping the business's core identity while giving it a more modern spin. As a Mexican American artist, she said she feels a personal connection to the shop and its owners, and she believes visitors can feel that thoughtfulness whether or not they grew up in the culture.
Outside El Cholo's Kid, a gift shop in Chula Vista, Islas created a mural and logo as part of another rebrand. The building is painted in shades of pink and neon yellow with blue and yellow accents, a design inspired by Mexican nichos, the decorative shadow boxes often made of tin, wood or recycled materials and associated with religious and folk-art traditions, including Día de los Muertos. She recalled that when the shop first opened, it was the single brightest thing on the block, visible from the corner before anyone knew what it was. She said businesses like it reflect the diversity of Chula Vista, where she grew up after moving from Tijuana, blending old school and modern Mexican culture with modern American life.
Islas also collaborated with Birch Aquarium on its exhibition, The Axolotl's Garden, which highlights conservation of axolotls, salamanders native to the waterways of Xochimilco in Mexico City. For the aquarium she created two murals, an entryway design, signage and gift shop merchandise. She said she wants to bring awareness to the fact that axolotls are critically endangered and that resources are needed to help them remain in their home waters.
The aquarium project asked something new of her. Used to drawing the creatures in humanlike activities or cute poses, she instead had to illustrate the animal realistically in its own environment and translate that into images people could grasp. The exhibition, she said, was months in the making, and tying her illustrations to a Mexican creature in the city where she grew up and lives felt full-circle. "It's such a wonderful opportunity. I'm just very grateful," she said.
Her advice to aspiring artists is patience. She noted that social media shows young people who is doing the work and what is possible, but it can also create pressure that success happens overnight. "Most of the time you have to put in the work and eventually it pays off," she said.
