By Kai Curry
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
The last time we spoke with Shayla Hufana, owner of ConceptShell Art + Design Studio, she told us she expected to do more projects related to sports. Expectation became reality. This June, Hufana’s work will be featured as part of the Seattle FIFA World Cup 2026 organization’s Pride Matchday, which falls during Pride Weekend on June 26. Hufana was one of three whose designs were chosen to represent Seattle, soccer, and the LGBTQ+ community.
“I’m grateful and humbled to be a part of it,” said Hufana, whose design is also featured as the official Pride pin. While her design was made with Pride in mind, and features all the colors of the Pride rainbow, it’s for everyone, Hufana continued. “My artwork is still representing for all of us in Seattle, no matter who you are.” That includes herself, a queer Filipino artist, whose trademark is turning into the vibrant butterfly she includes in many of her designs. In addition to reminding her of her home country culture, she likes that butterflies stand for transformation, new beginnings, and freedom. She uses the butterfly as a reminder to embrace change and welcome the beauty in every person. Rather than sowing division, Hufana’s work sows unity.
Artist and designer Shayla Hufana (center) shares a moment with singer Royce Lovett (left) and saxophonist Medearis Dixson during GALLERY TOGETHER’s very first pop-up titled “Art as Resistance” at Boon Boona Coffee in Renton.
This is a great theme for the FIFA 2026 World Cup, and far from the controversy that has surrounded the June 26 Pride Matchday so far. Both the Egyptian and Iranian teams – who hail from countries in overt opposition to homosexuality – have protested that their match is part of Pride (Egypt also has another match in June, on the 16th). The matter is still unresolved, although nothing has changed about plans for the match as a Pride event. (FIFA itself is not involved in the Pride Matchday designation, which was in place before the matches were).
Hufana told us that the Seattle FIFA design contest asked that every group be included. They chose three designs as finalists, all of which include references to LGBTQ+, as well as to Seattle, Pacific Northwest indigenous cultures, and other groups, such as those who are disabled. Kelly Bjork’s design shows a collection of people of different colors, different shapes, and different abilities, all playing soccer (or football). Sharon Blyth-Moss’s design shows a rainbow over a pink Mount Rainier and a crab holding a Washington state ferry, a cup of coffee (with heart design), and an evergreen tree. Hufana chose the orca, the ocean, the sun, and “the mountain” as her focal points. The orca rises from the sea to punt a soccer ball in front of the skyline of Seattle. Pink and blue are dominant, yet all colors from the Progress Pride Flag are present. At the bottom right are salmon, to symbolize the strength and resilience of everybody as a people in the community together, explained Hufana, who put a lot of thought into the bold design.
Since we spoke about Hufana’s work with the Seattle Kraken back at the start of 2025, Hufana’s work as a freelance artist has taken off. She painted a mural that you can find at 70 & Sunny Coffee Co. on Seattle’s Pier 70. She designed the 2026 Alliance Season Ticket Member soccer scarf for the Sounders, with more Sounders projects to come. Everything she chooses – or for which she is chosen – has some connection to what she believes in and what she enjoys. She reserves some of her revenue, for instance, to do events with kids, such as combining art and hiking. She likes to bring “the creative world” into young people’s lives, she said. And help keep them active. This connects to a nonprofit, ConceptShell Foundation, that Hufana started to advocate for art and wellness. She still primarily does graphic and web design, helping business owners turn their brand around. She especially likes to help those who are just getting started, something very relatable for her. While she sometimes hires contractors, for the most part Hufana works alone, at her studio, or maybe with two kids at home.
Hufana prefers being able to showcase her work in ways that have meaning. She wears her own Pride and her Filipino culture on her sleeve. Her family immigrated from the Philippines to the Big Island in Hawai’i and to Beacon Hill in Seattle, where Hufana grew up with her Filipino heritage intact. In the Philippines, for instance, moths and butterflies are considered spiritual and magical. They are related to those who have passed away. These are further reasons Hufana often includes one somewhere in her work. “I carry those who passed on with me,” she said, and includes in that number her grandparents and baby sister. With the butterfly, Hufana tries to promote positivity and the message that life is short. She talks about how the smallest gesture can change someone’s day from good to bad and that we shouldn’t take anything for granted.
It was the Seattle FIFA World Cup 2026 organizing committee that reached out to Hufana after she submitted her design for the Pride design competition. “I was so surprised to be one of the three finalists,” said Hufana, who remains humble in spite of her ascending career trajectory. Hufana’s design is also on a pin that people who use SEA&WIN (the official mobile game of Seattle FIFA World Cup 2026) during Pride, will be able to win.
Those who play on SEA&WIN (the official mobile game of Seattle FIFA World Cup 2026) during Pride, could win this pin with Hufana’s design.
“I never thought my designs could be included in something huge like this,” Hufana said. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
Seattle FIFA World Cup 2026 organizing committee information can be found here: www.seattlefwc26.org/. Winners of the Pride design contest can be seen at www.seattlefwc26.org/pride-match/pride-match-design-contest.
Kai can be reached at newstips@nwasianweekly.com.
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