XIOMAR: CULTURAL ASSIMILATION THROUGH CREATION
Location
FA-255
Department
Art + Design
Abstract
XIOMAR: CULTURAL ASSIMILATION THROUGH CREATION Carlos Hernandez Art and Design Department, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, IL 60625 I’m a Mexican-American Graphic Designer and Photographer who up until recent years struggled with identity and finding a place in the world. Being Mexican-American meant that I threaded between both cultures on a day-to-day basis never being accepted by either side. Xiomar is a clothing brand that I began to create last year. What started with a simple logo sketch began giving fruit in ways I had not foreseen. The brand was only a logo when I began working on this project. I knew that to further develop the brand I had to develop a solid foundation to build on. What is Xiomar? Xiomar is a hiking and streetwear brand fundamentally inspired by artisanal Mexican colors and patterns. There are three main themes that Xiomar aims to encompass: formality, functionality, and a story. To achieve this, I plan on combining three passions of mine that I think work in conjunction with the themes previously mentioned. In my struggles to connect to two different cultures, I explored various hobbies and practices. During this time, I began to notice similarities between the two, areas in which their practices overlap. Based on my own experiences between these two cultures, I noticed their similarities in hiking, streetwear, and cultural representation. In their own way, these three things became my own space in which I was able to bridge both sides of my heritage. While Xiomar aims for a physical tangible creation, symbolically it is a bridge for both cultures to meet in a common ground. The end goal of the Xiomar brand is to parallel the journey of The North Face, in its trajectory from being an outerwear winter brand to becoming enveloped in streetwear culture. To achieve this I plan on creating three unique pieces of clothing whose main focus will be to highlight the artisanal patterns found in the southeastern regions of Mexico. Followed by a guide in the history of such patterns I hope to uplift and spread Mexican culture whilst finding common interests that can be shared with other multicultural individuals.
Faculty Sponsor
Lauren Meranda
Faculty Sponsor
Izze Norman
XIOMAR: CULTURAL ASSIMILATION THROUGH CREATION
FA-255
XIOMAR: CULTURAL ASSIMILATION THROUGH CREATION Carlos Hernandez Art and Design Department, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, IL 60625 I’m a Mexican-American Graphic Designer and Photographer who up until recent years struggled with identity and finding a place in the world. Being Mexican-American meant that I threaded between both cultures on a day-to-day basis never being accepted by either side. Xiomar is a clothing brand that I began to create last year. What started with a simple logo sketch began giving fruit in ways I had not foreseen. The brand was only a logo when I began working on this project. I knew that to further develop the brand I had to develop a solid foundation to build on. What is Xiomar? Xiomar is a hiking and streetwear brand fundamentally inspired by artisanal Mexican colors and patterns. There are three main themes that Xiomar aims to encompass: formality, functionality, and a story. To achieve this, I plan on combining three passions of mine that I think work in conjunction with the themes previously mentioned. In my struggles to connect to two different cultures, I explored various hobbies and practices. During this time, I began to notice similarities between the two, areas in which their practices overlap. Based on my own experiences between these two cultures, I noticed their similarities in hiking, streetwear, and cultural representation. In their own way, these three things became my own space in which I was able to bridge both sides of my heritage. While Xiomar aims for a physical tangible creation, symbolically it is a bridge for both cultures to meet in a common ground. The end goal of the Xiomar brand is to parallel the journey of The North Face, in its trajectory from being an outerwear winter brand to becoming enveloped in streetwear culture. To achieve this I plan on creating three unique pieces of clothing whose main focus will be to highlight the artisanal patterns found in the southeastern regions of Mexico. Followed by a guide in the history of such patterns I hope to uplift and spread Mexican culture whilst finding common interests that can be shared with other multicultural individuals.