Can you tell us more about your background as an illustrator?
I am an illustrator from a small province in Philippines. Being a quiet kid, illustration has always been my way to express myself. I get inspired by scenarios that happened or might happen in my daily life. The constant urge to illustrate things around me is what helped me practice and get better at my craft.
What’s the latest great book you read?
A recent book I’ve read is a novel entitled “Dance Dance Dance” by Haruki Murakami. It’s about a copywriter looking for his past lover, Kiki. This leads him to meet various odd characters along his journey. What makes this interesting for me is the unusual plot and how visual the writing was.
What were the main inspirations when you were first sketching out the Friendly style?
I draw inspiration from things or people that I observe in my day to day life. It could be from a walk around the neighborhood, a bike ride through the ricefields, or people I see working in cafes. Seeing other creatives’ work like Ilya Milstein, Colin Bigelow, and Beomjin Kim greatly inspires me as well.
Which scenes do you like the most from the style?
I liked the “Young Children in Class Scene” since this reminds me of my childhood during pre-school where I made new friends for the first time. I also like the “Person Working Virtually” scene which was inspired by people I see working in cafes, or whenever I was working from home.
Which of the style’s topics resonate with you most?
I can relate the most with the working from home topic since this has been the biggest change in my career in the past few years. The illustrations from this topic were inspired by me and my friends’ work from home situations. My intent for this topic was to highlight the details and elements that occur when working in our own spaces.
What additional topics do you hope to create for the style moving forwards?
It would be nice to work on more topics related to nature and wildlife. I could imagine scenes wherein people could be interacting with animals in a zoo or in nature or with pets at home. I think this would fit the warm and friendly vibe as well.
How do you think the default color palette reflects the spirit of the Friendly style?
I think the color palette matches the intent and description of the illustrations. The warmth of the palette highlights the friendly and approachable content of the scenes. I also think that the elements are flexible enough for the users to play with their own colors of liking.
For those members of the designstripe community who use illustrations in the Friendly style, what message do you think they can hope it gives to people they are communicating with?
I think that this style would be relatable to people who appreciate the interactions happening in our everyday life. I hope that these illustrations add warmth and help build relationships between you and the people you are communicating with.
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