CURRENTLY HYPING UP THE FOUNDERS WHO ARE D✶MN GOOD AT WHAT THEY DO… and ready for branding that finally looks the part.
meet the founder
ONE THING ABOUT ME. I’M THE QUEEN OF SIDE-HUSTLES.
Deja, why does being good at side hustles mean I should hire you for my business’s brand? Glad you asked.
Brand design is my main focus, and I’m most known for the illustrative and playful spin I put on mission-driven businesses. But I also am pretty darn good at monetizing side hustles (ask me about my custom pajama set business) and that experience is a big part of what drives the success of the brands I design.
Because chances are this business started as a side hustle, but you’re way past that phase now. The only thing that hasn’t caught up yet is your branding.
When we work together, I go way beyond the pretty, putting strategy in the driver’s seat so you can tell your business’s story visually with ease… and have people convinced you’ve been doing this professionally your whole life.
STARTING OFF IN THE BIG LEAGUES
Specifically in D1 sports, playing basketball at UPenn, where I learned discipline, resilience, and the ability to push through literally anything. I always dreamed of being an artist, but practice hours didn’t leave much space for studio classes. so I majored in Communications and followed another path.
After graduating, I started my career in sports advertising at WarnerMedia then moved to Twitter (R.I.P.). My plan? Build toward a creative role, slowly but surely. But once Twitter was acquired, people were getting laid off left and right, so I gameplanned thinking I’d be one of them. And I decided ‘ok, when that happens, I’m going to start my own creative agency.’
I DIDN’T GET LAID OFF, AND WEIRDLY I WAS DISAPPOINTED
That told me everything I needed to know.
Then came the email: voluntary severance on the table, 48 hours to decide. Stay and sprint into uncertainty… or take the package and finally go all in on design.
Meanwhile, I’d been booking clients as a freelancer on the side while holding my full-time job and proving to myself that this whole “creative path” was actually working. Hey, queen of side hustles knows how to hustle.
So, guess who was OUT? And DEJAMAKES was born.
SAYING YES TO DESIGN CHANGED EVERYTHING
and I’ve been able to:
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work with Tarte Cosmetics as a Shape Your Future Small Business Grant recipient and illustrator for multiple product launches
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help a founder secure $10,000 in funding from Mark Cuban with exclusive selling rights inside the American Airlines Center
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empower business owners to raise their prices, reposition their businesses, and finally feel confident in how they show up online