Ashwin Chacko, Illustrator, Author, Speaker, Whacko Chacko
Ashwin Chacko is a seriously playful connector, bringing people together through positive storytelling with illustration & design, championing creativity to shape culture through talks, books, videos and workshops.
Ashwin is a storyteller and motivational speaker based in Dublin who specialises in positive visual storytelling. He helps companies connect with their audience through illustrations and design. He is interested in uncovering the social interactions that drive culture. He seeks to capture these moments in bold lines and shapes; his compositions focus on strong characters intermingled with typography and patterns. He likes to describe his work as positively playful. Ashwin develops and designs conceptual illustrations for advertising campaigns, products, packaging, editorial, children’s books and one-off commissions worldwide.
He also runs creative workshops and speaks in companies to encourage creativity. Select clients include Facebook, Adobe, Nike, Puma, Threadless, and United Nations.
What is your favourite social media platform, and why?
Instagram is conducive to my line of work which is visual storytelling. They are also very good at developing new features and enhancing the user's experience.
Tell us about you and your current role or area of interest.
I am on a mission to champion creativity to shape culture through talks, books, videos, and workshops. I believe creativity has such a powerful role in society; it is the core behind how much we have developed even in the last decade. Creativity propels us to push forward and adapt and improve. I think if we can teach creativity and positivity as a part of everyday life, the world would be a better place.
What do you like about your career or area of focus?
More than the act of drawing, I think to me, the story behind the drawing has always been my driving force. As an introverted child, drawing was a way to experience the world around me and express myself. This ability to communicate a story through visual language has always fascinated me. The act of drawing to remember or tell a tale goes back to our ancestors leaving a mark in the caves they inhabited; the act is very intimate and intuitive.
A story has the ability to reach past the many filters and walls we build and to touch the heart. This urge to tell a story is very present in my work today. I think a huge factor for me is bringing a sense of joy or encouragement through my work. I like to tackle serious or unconventional topics in a light-hearted, humorous way to allow for the viewers to see the piece and smile but then walk away with something deeper, something that hopefully touches the heart.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
Be yourself; everyone else is taken.
What inspires you, motivates you, or helps you to move forward?
The driving factor for me will always be my passion to create, draw and tell stories. I also practice creative meditation. Unlike eastern meditation, which asks you to empty your mind, creative meditation asks you to fill your mind with a positive idea, through or quote. I think the most important factor for me has been finding the why. Discovering my why clarified my purpose and vision. With clarity on my vision, I was able to set goals and had a direction to head towards.
What are you proud of in your life so far?
As a father of three, I am one of those proud fathers. As far back as I can remember, I have always drawn. It has been a lifelong dream to turn drawing into a full-time career. Today in many ways, that dream has come true. I was also fortunate enough to publish a few books both for children and adults over the last few years, and I am really proud of that.
What is your preferred way to meet new people/network?
I always love meeting people over a coffee or a pint and at creative events. Hopefully, post covid, this will be possible again. At the moment, I have been enjoying platforms like clubhouse and Instagram, where I have been able to connect organically.
What skills or qualities do you feel have helped you?
With the various roles I have played in the creative industry in the last decade, my ability to think strategically has been my greatest asset. This ability allows me to access the data discover the problem, and then work toward solving it.
What do you wish you had known when you started out?
There are so many lessons I have learned over the years. In fact, I put a lot of the lessons I would have taught myself into a book called Keep At It. One key takeaway for me has been, "your value is not is what you do, but who you are."
Who do you most admire in business, academic or creative circles and why?
What I admire about any great business, academic or creative, is their ability to adapt. If we want to grow and evolve, we must embrace change. When we allow ourselves to get a comfortable feeling, uncomfortable we have the most growth.
Outside of your professional/work area, what hobbies or interests do you have or what other areas of your life are of real importance to you?
I love nature and adventure. Every opportunity I get, I like to dive into the outdoor with a couple of mates and go rock climbing, bike packing or hiking.
Has the pandemic had a positive or a negative effect on you and/or your business, and how have you managed it?
The pandemic gave me a moment to pause and reassess what I was doing and why I was doing it. This pause gave me the much-needed space to clarify my why and deepen my understand of my purpose, my vision and thus my overall direction since I clarified why my business has been really good.
Do you have a mentor, or have you ever mentored anyone?
I have had many mentors over the years though often they were unaware of it. I learned from my friendship with them, observing them and asking questions. I have been mentoring a few young creative and hope to continue to do so. There is an interesting dynamic in mentorship where both parts learn from each other through the process of teaching.
What advice would you have for someone looking to get into the same area of work or interests?
Clarify your why and your artistic voice. With this clarity, you will have the road map to who you want to work with and which community you want to serve.
What do you feel is the most common reason for people failing or giving up?
Fear is the greatest thief of potential. When we submit to our fear, we are putting our faith in the negative future and thus setting ourselves up for failure. It is essential that we focus on building a positive mindset. We cannot control our circumstances, but we can control our attitude.
Is there a phrase, quote or a saying that you really like?
Be true, be you is my tagline. It's a little reminder that we need to learn to embrace what is unique about us and share that unique perspective in the world, for our stories are our superpower.
What companies, brands, or institutions do you like or do you think are getting it right?
I love the Futur, it is rapidly changing the landscape of education, and their deeper commitment to building community has drawn me to them.
How do you define success, and what lessons have you learned so far that you could share with our audience/readership?
Success to me is to live a purpose-driven life powered by passion, so each day feels like play, where my life impacts the community I serve. Key lessons I have learned. Embrace who you are, what makes you weird, makes you amazing. Your value is not in what you do but who you are. Find your why, and everything else will begin to fall into place.