About
Asad Ilyas
أسد إلياس
A creative director working at the intersection of story, faith, and craft.
The studio
Aflak Studios
Based in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Asad is the co-founder of Aflak Studios, a real-time cultural storytelling studio that builds brands, campaigns, and live media for hospitality, B2C, festivals, nonprofits, and mission-driven organizations across Canada.
2024
Founded
8
People on the in-house team
100+
Clients since founding
The brief · Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī 2416
His practice begins with a hadith.
لَا تَزُولُ قَدَمَا ابْنِ آدَمَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مِنْ عِنْدِ رَبِّهِ حَتَّى يُسْأَلَ عَنْ خَمْسٍ
It states that every person will be asked about five things.
- 01 Their life, and how they spent it عَنْ عُمُرِهِ فِيمَا أَفْنَاهُ
- 02 Their youth, and what they wore it out in وَعَنْ شَبَابِهِ فِيمَا أَبْلَاهُ
- 03 Their wealth, and how they earned it وَمَالِهِ مِنْ أَيْنَ اكْتَسَبَهُ
- 04 Their wealth, and how they spent it وَفِيمَ أَنْفَقَهُ
- 05 What they did with what they knew وَمَاذَا عَمِلَ فِيمَا عَلِمَ
Asad treats those questions as a standing brief. Each piece of work is meant to answer well to at least one of them.
Selected work · Aflak Studios
He has led media for some of the largest community gatherings in the region.
-
BC Halal Food Fest
Media lead
Led media across PR, content, and livestream.
72,000+
attendees
-
Ramadan Fest
Media lead
Led media across PR, content, and livestream.
40,000+
attendees
-
Halal Expo Vancouver 2026
For Salaam Events
Official Media Infrastructure Partner, with 16 reels published live during the event.
10,000+
attendees
-
Voices of Resilience
For Penny Appeal Canada
Directed media for the sold-out fundraiser with Bassem Youssef and Dr. Gabor Maté.
$200,000+
raised
-
Strawberry Festival
For Unite Capital Partners
Designed the identity and ran the 61-day campaign that preceded its first edition.
3,000+
at the first edition
Recognition · 2025
Most Innovative Social Media Production Company
Corporate Vision Canada
Community and events
His work extends well beyond the studio.
2025 – 2026
Public Engagement Manager
Muslim Food Bank & Community Services
Set PR and content direction for five national giving campaigns and produced roughly 46 community events across Canada.
2026
Event Executive
Freelance
Led the programming department across seventeen large-scale conferences, including Web Summit.
Since 2024
Operations Director
MSFR
Founded MSFR Meets, a monthly community gathering.
Since 2024
Events Lead
Muslims Achieving Excellence (MAX) Canada
Leads the events department for a national scholarship and leadership organization.
Where it started · Karachi, 2016
The thread runs back to Karachi.
In 2016, he co-founded Meal Donate, a youth-led food relief initiative that distributed more than 10,000 meals in its first year.
10,000+
meals in the first year
~1M
meals served since
Question 05 · Teaching
He considers teaching his answer to the last of the five questions.
Since 2022
The Photo Academy
Vancouver chapter
Teaches visual storytelling and photography.
Keynotes and workshops
-
Let them in
A keynote and workshop that helps young people pitch the work they care about.
MSFR · 2026
-
Pre-production is the real director…
Keynote panel.
Halal Expo Vancouver · 2025
-
To the aunt or uncle who takes photos on their iPad, we love you…
Keynote.
BC Halal Food Festival · 2024
Education
Bachelor of Arts, Cognitive Science
Simon Fraser University
Associate of Arts, Psychology
Douglas College
Languages
- English
- Fluent
- Urdu
- Fluent
- Arabic
- Intermediate