Illustrator Tou Yia Xiong is no stranger to travel and the impact a place can have on a person. A Brooklyn, New York resident, he came to the U.S. from Thailand as a child, growing up in Wisconsin before moving to Seattle to start his graphic arts career. Tou’s understanding of how the physical world can inspire artists made him the perfect choice to design Sylvamo’s Creative Works East sketchbook cover.
Creative Works East is an annual gathering of graphic artists and designers. This event celebrates creativity and innovation in design, and it’s a platform for them to share ideas and collaborate. With a diverse range of interests, Tou captured the essence of Brooklyn with a nod to what sustainability means in such a large urban area.
Featuring anthropomorphized animals that walk, bike, skateboard, rollerskate and scoot through a blissfully car-free Brooklyn, Tou’s cover encapsulates his style and approach to a new project. He sat down with us recently to discuss how he got into graphic art, his creative process and his advice for up-and-coming artists and designers.
Let’s start at the beginning. How did you get started in graphic art?
There were many beginnings for me. If we go all the way back to my childhood, it starts with moments when I drew in the dirt grounds of a refugee camp in Thailand. That’s where I was born and spent my early years before my family moved to Wisconsin. As a kid, I was always drawing — my sketchbooks were filled with cartoons, animals and worlds I imagined.
High school brought a new beginning when I discovered digital art through the magic of programs like Photoshop and Flash. It wasn’t until college, where I attended the University of Wisconsin–Stout for my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Multimedia Design, that I realized I wanted to dive deeper into graphic design, illustration and animation. The blend of storytelling and design really pulled me in.
Who or what inspires you today?
My inspirations come from a mix of nature, sports, urban life, cartoons and my Hmong roots. I also find a lot of inspiration just walking around New York City. Brooklyn, in particular, has a rich mix of cultures, fashion, art and architecture. Conversations with other artists are a big part of that too. I’m constantly learning from people in my creative circle, whether it’s how they solve problems or talk about their process.
Take us through your creative process. How do you approach a new project?
My process for client work can be summed up in three phases: define, discover and design.
It begins with define. We need to identify the project’s purpose, the audience and the message we want to convey. Next is the discover stage, where research and inspiration happen. This includes browsing for visual references, exploring related content and sometimes reviewing competitor work if needed. Lastly, I move into the design stage where I put pen to paper and start sketching quick, rough ideas.
It’s an iterative process with continuous sketching, refining and several client check-ins to make sure we’re staying aligned with the project goals.
With the sketchbook project, how did you approach combining the idea of sustainability with a sense of place, specifically Brooklyn?
For this sketchbook project, I thought a lot about how people, me included, move through Brooklyn without cars, and that naturally connected to the idea of sustainability. I illustrated different iconic NYC animals using car-free transportation — biking, rollerblading and skateboarding — set against recognizable Brooklyn landmarks.
I also included small nods to local stories like the Brooklyn Aquarium, which was actually a fire hydrant turned into a mini-aquarium that brought the community together. That mix of imagination and real place captured the spirit I was after. I wanted the work to feel playful and local, but also say something bigger about how we live and move in cities.
Talk to us about your relationship to paper. What’s unique or special about designing for print?
Designing for print is grounding in a way that designing for digital often isn’t. Paper has weight — it has a physical presence that demands a different level of care. You think more deliberately about each detail because once it’s printed, it’s final. There’s also a joy in knowing someone might hold your work in their hands or flip through it. Print slows things down. It invites people to look more closely. As someone who spends a lot of time in front of a screen, seeing my work printed feels refreshingly tactile and intimate.
What’s one piece of advice you would give graphic artists who are at the beginning of their careers?
Stop aspiring! You are an artist — even if no one’s hired you yet, even if you’re still figuring things out. That mindset shifts everything. It helps you take your work seriously, take more creative risks and put yourself out there.
Also, find your people. Having a creative community — whether it’s classmates, mentors or even online connections — will help you grow faster and stay inspired. And finally, get your hands on different types of projects early on. You’ll learn so much just by doing, experimenting and even failing a little.
Thanks to Tou for a great conversation. You can learn more about him and view more of his work by visiting his website.
Looking for a little additional inspiration? Read more about this sketchbook project or browse our library of project inspiration.
