About the Artist

Ibrahim Bin Hj Md Yussop, known as "Ibbi," is an independent illustrator, graphic designer, and art director from Brunei Darussalam. Since becoming an illustrator in 2016 and a graphic designer in 2017, he has pursued a Bachelor's degree in graphic design at the University of Brighton, UK. Ibbi's practice centres on playful and thoughtful design, combining traditional graphic design with illustration. His work is inspired by nostalgia, mid-century graphic design, and children's toys and illustrated books. He believes these elements evoke carefree memories of childhood. Ibbi is motivated by London-based illustrator Dan Woodger's quote, “Create fun, silly things. Fun, silly things make the world more fun and silly,” and aims to spark other creatives to push for more diverse and memorable visual languages. “When The ASEAN reached out to me for their latest issue’s cover, it was first and foremost an honour! I was glad to work with the theme of education, and how it spans all walks and parts of life. Personally, I found it rang quite close to my creative process. During development, it was important for me to really emphasise the act of learning and how it can exist outside of the usual classroom format. I wanted to portray it as an inclusive and engaging activity, direct interactions between the learner and their chosen subject. For the art direction, I thought placing the entire illustration on a graph paper backdrop would be interesting. In a way, it is an intersection between STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and the social studies discipline. Green was chosen originally to emulate a highlighter, but it coincidentally happened to be reminiscent of green chalkboards.” See more of Ibbi's art on his Instagram account @ibbidibbidoo.