Today we’d like to introduce you to Carolina Ibarra-Mendoza.
Carolina, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
The beginning of my career as a designer started when I was a teenager: I taught myself how to use Paintshop Pro to make digital art and to experiment with photo-manipulation. I believe the security of having an “undo” button gave me the confidence to push myself creatively. After high school, I attended UC Davis and double majored in Gender Studies and Design, as a result of my passion in both of these fields, I knew I wanted to be a social impact designer–even though I didn’t have a word for it at the time.
It didn’t take long after graduating from UC Davis that I enrolled in Otis College of Art and Design for grad school. I was fortunate enough to travel abroad twice for both my undergraduate and graduate school, furthering my understanding of visual communication on an international level. While attending grad school and working as a freelance graphic designer, I got the opportunity to intern with www.verynice.co, an innovative business that gives half of their creative services for free to non-profits, they now share their “give-half” business model globally. Working with verynice furthered my passion for good causes, accessibility, and social impact design.
I graduated with my Master’s in Graphic Design in 2016 and immediately began applying my version of the “give-half” business model. I learned that giving your design services to non-profits is an excellent way of building your portfolio and making connections while simultaneously giving back to the community. I started gifting my design services for the Montebello Historical Society (@JMSanchez_Adobe) and volunteering for Las Fotos Project as a Photography Mentor (because it’s awesome, and I love it). Thanks to volunteering for these non-profits and working with verynice; I was able to build out a network and find future creative opportunities that would fulfill both my design and social justice values.
It was while networking with a friend I met through Las Fotos Project, that I got introduced to Cashmere Agency (a multicultural creative agency) and began working there as an independent contractor in 2016. Working at Cashmere Agency came with many advantages including creating digital artwork for Atlanta and Legion on FX!!! It was incredibly fulfilling to apply all of my photo-manipulation skills/love towards such groundbreaking series.
I was honored when the Creative Director of Cashmere Agency suggested I consider working with them full-time, due to the positive contributions I made to their team creatively and strategically. What an opportunity! …I declined with much hesitation. It was a difficult decision for me to make, but it was at that critical time that I began to see potential in my own business: of very intentionally and publicly pursuing my passion in design as it applies specifically to intersectional feminism.
It felt like I made the right decision when at the same time that I finished working with Cashmere Agency, Matthew Manos (the founder of verynice) reaches out to me about an opportunity to work for Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Gender Equity team! He spoke positively over the artwork I showed him a year ago (www.imcarolina.com/manifesto) while applying for the internship, and remembered my enthusiasm for gender equality. It was a perfect fit! I became a one-woman-design-machine that designed ALL of the materials for the “Inaugural Los Angeles State Of Women & Girls Address & Young Women’s Assembly.” I grew exponentially as a designer while working on that project–I felt unstoppable! I’m grateful for the continued positive relationships I fostered at City Hall because I ended up working with them the following year.
It was at that time that I began to take my freelancing career more seriously and to think of myself as a business that provides creative services. I was seeing a growing community of female/POC entrepreneurs and knew I wanted to contribute to that growth. I believe my portfolio speaks for itself and demonstrates my passion for social justice.
It’s been four years since I started working as an independent designer and in the fall of 2018, I registered my business with the city as “I.M., Carolina.”
I am now the owner of my own business. I also co-founded CropCollective.com with two other designers. I’m on the board of directors for the Montebello Historical Society and a board member of the Women’s Center for Creative Work. I am grateful for the challenges and benefits of having my own business; I love attending events and networking non-stop because I understand that having your own business requires a nurturing community.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Well, it hasn’t been easy, but at least it’s not boring! Overall it’s been an exciting experience, especially the challenging parts.
I believe that self-doubt is one of the biggest challenges you can face when following your passion: bigger than financial struggles or a dry-spell in workload because if you don’t believe in yourself, why would others believe in you?
There was one experience while attending UC Davis, where I doubted myself. It was my second year in the Design program when a professor saw my drawings and just gave me “the look.” A look of disappointment. He told me I couldn’t draw and asked why I was in the Design program. Ouch. I still remember his face and how it made me feel. That was the moment where it would have been easy to give up and run away. Instead, it gave me more fire to prove to myself why I was in the Design program. I knew I had exceptional creative skills even if I couldn’t articulate what they were at the time. I took the professor’s advice and enrolled in additional drawing classes. The most vital lesson I learned in drawing wasn’t necessarily about drawing itself–it was about seeing. I learned how to examine the lighting, shadows, and the bounce-light of my subject critically; because of this insight, I then enrolled in a photography class and immediately excelled in it. Once I grounded myself in confidence, I began to look forward to hearing critical feedback because I now understand it’s necessary to grow as a creative.
Beyond issues of self-doubt, I’m sure my more typical business-related challenges are similar to other entrepreneurs. For those challenges, I go to my close group of friends and collaborators for support and guidance. I’m grateful for my family as well; they have supported me in countless ways, and it’s because of them that I’ve been able to take a mostly scenic route down the road of growing-your-own-business.
I believe that experiencing difficulties is proof that you’re working hard, and taking risks — ideally, calculated risks.
I now welcome challenges and meet them face-on.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I am a social impact designer. The mission of my business is to provide creative services for an intersectional feminist future. I blur the lines between activism and design; I live and work by the phrase “the personal is political.”
Focusing on intersectional feminism has allowed like-minded clients to seek me out for their particular needs. My favorite example I have is the work I did for Suzanne Lacy and Leslie Labowitz by creating the www.AgainstViolence.Art website. This project required a deep understanding of feminist history and theory, to appropriately and effectively disseminate the vast amount of content gathered. My multi-disciplinary approach resulted in creating a dynamic archive website that is both narrative, educational, and visually striking.
It has been my passion to create work that makes a significant and positive impact in the world in regards to social justice and equality.
I’ve worked with latinx owned businesses, social impact entertainment entities, non-profits, creatives, and positive city-based initiatives in both gender equality and sustainability. My creative services include the conceptual development of large-scale branding projects to detailed production of collaterals for print and digital use. I believe we can work well together to create a positive impact in L.A., and beyond.
What were you like growing up?
I was a very social, imaginative, opinionated, and playful creature growing up. In elementary school, the teachers would complain to my mother about how they would move me to another seat for talking to the student next to me–only to continue the conversation with someone else.
I enjoyed playing magic by going into my mother’s garden as a child, taking flowers and grass to make “potions.” So… you can imagine how big of a Harry Potter fan I would become later on, but you’d be wrong. I was a BIG fan. I won a competition for dressing up as Bellatrix Lestrange at a midnight book release event. I would even roleplay in online chatrooms! That experience helped me read/type faster, and write descriptively/creatively. As a result of that, I was moved to Honors English that same year.
I was also a part of the marching band in high school and competed as a Military Style Baton spinner (made it to the state championship!). I’ve been in a total of FIVE marching bands playing the flute.
In short: I’m a geek.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.imcarolina.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/i.m.carolina/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/imcarolina.creative/
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/imcarolina/
Image Credit:
Portrait of Carolina Ibarra-Mendoza (wearing Viva La Muxer Shirt) by Alexander Sommer. Group portrait of Chelo Montoya, Carolina Ibarra-Mendoza, and Paola Gil by _| Crop Collective. City Hall group shot left to right: Adrian Scott Fine (Los Angeles Conservancy), Carolina Ibarra-Mendoza, Terry Wolverton (The Woman’s Building artist), Maria Karras (The Woman’s Building artist, thanks for the photo!), and L.A. Conservancy member.
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