Zabi Jose
Zabi Jose is a Manila-based illustrator and designer who enjoys adding a colorful and childlike lens to mundane things. These translate to narrative illustrations and silly cartoons. Through these creations, she hopes to bring happiness and enjoyment to both kids and kids at heart.
Hi Zabi! Tell us about yourself - how did you get to where you are today?
Hi! My name is Zabi (aka Renee Yzabelle Jose). I grew up daydreaming all day and imagining worlds around me. I also drew a lot of my favorite characters and played pretend almost every day in school with friends. I think my first original drawings were of cool bob-cut girls in thick dark sunglasses, flared pants, and large angel wings.
Way back, I dreamt of becoming a cartoonist when I grew up. It took a lot of inner work, going through art school, and skill building through all of that, but here I am now: an illustrator and graphic designer making art (and some of these can be found in Canva)!
“Create what makes YOU happy and allow yourself to make mistakes. You'll get to the level you want to be when you enjoy yourself and leave yourself plenty of room to learn and keep improving.”— Zabi Jose
When did you first become interested in art and design?
I started to take a look at it more seriously as a career during my freshman year (I was an interior design major that time). I visited my friend's art college and that's where I realized how much I actually wanted to draw for the rest of my life. That's when I decided to shift to her school to learn more about art and design. I became much more inspired to improve when I explored further after graduating. Meeting all sorts of creatives and trying out different processes opened me up to a brighter world of possibilities!
How would you describe your design style and how has it changed over time?
I'd say a constant in my design style is my love for vibrant colors, and that each personal piece is rooted in something a teensy bit whimsical. I also enjoy making my characters have their own little stories to tell.
The way I see it, its "soul" has changed over the years. As I continue to work on myself as a person and give myself intentional time to play, it's become a lot more lighthearted and bubblier!
What's your creative process like? How do you typically take an idea from concept to delivery?
A great part of it is mulling things over and thinking of multiple ways to solve a problem. I like to set myself up where there is a problem to solve, actually — even if it's as small as "how will I make this a little more fun for me?" From there, I do plenty of research and bullet list my ideas. Then, depending on whether this is a personal or client project, I let these ideas marinate for a specific length of time while doing something unrelated to the actual work. This helps me refresh my mind when I revisit these ideas after the little break!
Following that are different concept sketches and iterations until I feel good about what I'm about to make. Once everything's ready, I start executing the whole project while playing music (or silly podcasts) to get me right in the groove.
I like to reflect on the finished project afterwards. I look at my wins, the things I could've done better, and what actions I can take to make the next project better than the last one!
How were you introduced to Canva and what's your favorite part of working with the Canva team?
I started working with Canva in 2020 after trying out for their roster late 2019. It was a big surprise to me, and I'm blessed to be one of their go-to illustrators.
Everyone I've worked with has been friendly and supportive! It's definitely been a fun ride. My favorite part: the variety of the projects makes working with them exciting. It encourages me to try new things and even strengthen my own style and taste.
How do you approach creative collaboration with your clients?
It doesn't stray too far from my usual creative process, but includes good back-and-forth sessions between me and the client. I keep an open mind about what they have to say, give my own thoughts and suggestions, and keep their wants and needs in mind as I go through each step of the process. Each collaboration is different, but these steps are important in developing a project that the client and I can be proud of.
What's been one of your favorite projects to work on so far? What would be a dream project?
Last year, I decided to join the My Famicase Exhibition, creating game cassette art featuring my original characters. I've had these characters hidden away since I was 12, so I decided to go beyond the cassette and expand it to "Nightmare Delivery!", a whole fake game concept. It was a blast to make! It's a fun mix of exploring pixel art, print design, concept art, and satisfying my childhood self. I'm stoked to expand this project soon!
One of my dream projects is to design toys and figurines. I'd absolutely love to illustrate for books or publications too!
Do you have any favorite tools or resources? Where do you find creative inspiration?
For tools/resources: I love using PureRef (Desktop) and VizRef (iOS) to access all my reference images in one board. Online courses have also been helping me a lot in learning and improving specific areas of my craft. Wouldn't be here without them, honestly!
On the other hand, a good chunk of my inspiration is drawn from my personal memories and experiences: like the food I shared with loved ones, the morning cartoons and games I grew up with, the music my family played at home… and of course, the feelings I associated with them! I've started noticing inspiration everywhere by choosing to live more mindfully and with loving appreciation. There's a sense of wonder to everyday life that's easy to miss!
And apart from looking through catalogs and sources of inspiration from the internet, I enjoy going to exhibits, art markets and museums, and chatting with other creatives about all sorts of things.
What's one of the biggest career lessons you've learned so far?
Cherishing your time and looking after yourself is absolutely required to keep going! While it's good to keep working towards a goal, it's so easy to slip into fatigue. Our bodies can only handle so much. It's a pretty difficult lesson to learn for creatives that want to achieve a lot, but allowing yourself to rest and be something other than a creative can be so liberating. Take that well-deserved nap, drink plenty of water, go to that bakery you've been wanting to go to, dance! When you're feeling refreshed, you can come back to work with a newer sense of motivation.
What advice would you give to new designers and illustrators starting out in their careers?
Create what makes YOU happy and allow yourself to make mistakes. You'll get to the level you want to be when you enjoy yourself and leave yourself plenty of room to learn and keep improving.
Also, be open to explore! Don't lock yourself into one "style" just yet. When you try out different techniques, you'll pick up some fun ones along the way and eventually you'll surprise yourself with how far you'll come!
Lastly, live your life and make meaningful memories. Your happiness and good health will most certainly positively affect the work you put out 💓
What are you working on now and what's up next for you?
I'm exploring the possibilities of other mediums right now, like what motion can do to my craft. At the moment, I'm putting a lot more time into my passion projects too. I'm also looking into more collaborative opportunities. Lots of things to be excited for!