A bit about me
My name is Keiko Lee-Hem and I’m the graphic designer here at Keiko Creative. I work with folks who, in their own way, are making a positive impact in the world. I find purpose in addressing their design challenges holistically, producing results that effectively amplify their message to create the impact they need.
My solo adventure as Keiko Creative began in 2007, and in 2016 I also became a collaborator at iilo Creative Alliance, a values-based, woman-led design collective with a virtual team from around BC and Alberta. As part of the iilo team, I work on complex projects for progressive impact businesses, nonprofits, institutions, social enterprises, marketing & communications departments, and municipalities. These collaborations go on to inform the work that I do with my clients at Keiko Creative.
I earned a BFA from Emily Carr University of Art + Design (2004) and a diploma in Publishing from Langara College (2006).
My life weaves together my passions for design, art and the handmade through creative practices and projects. These include drawing from nature, sketchbooking, community collaborations, teaching cooking skills and growing a huge food and flower garden.
At the heart of it all is a desire to create beauty with minimal impact on the planet, and to connect with the land and others through the creative.
A few of my favourite things…
Creating clarity, simplicity and beauty in all areas of my life!
Working with people and organizations who share similar values
Creating genuine human connections
Drawing as a meditation on the moment
Growing way too much food and flowers and taking the time to savour them
Having tactile experiences as a maker
Connecting my brain and body with dance (specifically hip hop!)
Finding new ways to reduce my impact on the planet
Then…
I was born and raised on the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean where I developed a taste for barefoot-exploring and tree-climbing (usually to get at some ripe fruit). At the age of 16, my family moved to Vancouver BC, and the moving continued: to Scotland, to Salt Spring Island, back to Vancouver and finally to the beautiful mountain town of Nelson, BC, the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Sinixt, Ktunaxa, and Syilx peoples.
…and Now
I now call 1.5 acres of fertile land home and share a multi-generational, certified Passive House triplex with my extended family (story featured here Growing Together on Bedford Road). We grow food and play in the mountains, the water and the snow and are grateful for it all.
15 years old (above) and more recently with family (right).