Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin KAZ Zapata.
Hi Kevin KAZ, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’m a Miami native who’s spent 20+ years watching this city transform and making work rooted in the real thing. The geography, the cultures, the working-class neighborhoods that actually built this place. My career spans illustration, licensed product design, and brand work across major clients, but my creative practice has always been broader than any job title; integrated media, live drawing events, and music. I currently play with two Miami groups, Cumbiamba and Nova Vida. Right now I’m designing toys and doing contract work, building a practice where commercial work and community work inform each other, using illustration to capture Miami the way locals see it; void of any tourist lens.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It hasn’t always been smooth. Figuring out who you are, professionally, creatively, as a community member, takes time and a lot of trial and error. There were moments where the path wasn’t clear and stepping into new spaces felt genuinely intimidating. Miami itself adds another layer. The city has a reputation for the superficial and the transactional, and it can be hard to find your footing when that’s the loudest energy in the room. But what kept me grounded was more basic than any career milestone, finding my people, my neighborhood, that feeling of tending your own patch of grass in the middle of all the noise. That sense of connection, of showing up for the people around you, that’s what I kept coming back to.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m creative in every sense, the way I think, the way I move through the world, the way I process what’s around me. Art & design has always been my way of translating things that words can’t quite hold, and I genuinely believe in its power to build connection across people.
Professionally, I’m known for illustration and product design, with work across major household brands (Marvel, Hello Kitty, Squishmallows, Grand Theft Auto, and more). That body of work has kept me close to my philosophy of play: staying curious, finding joy in the process, and never losing sight of why I started making things in the first place.
What sets me apart is that the creativity doesn’t just stop in my sketchbook. Music has opened up a whole new level, learning production, performing live, activating a room and feeling that shared energy with an audience. Whether it’s a product brief or a stage, I show up ready to jump in, problem solve, and bring something real to it.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Having a hand in so many creative projects, most people might think I have a chaotic workflow but in actuality I’m extremely methodical. Ever since I was young I was able to connect patterns/ how things relate to one another. Over time I think it helped develop my acute sense of direction and photographic memory.
Contact Info:
- Website: kazillustration.net
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/kazillustration
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kazillustration/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CumbiambaMiami
