Episode
Deja Jackson Howard – Making It on Your Own, a Fork in the Road, and the Numbers Don’t Lie – Ep44
- Podcast
- Students of Design
- Published
- Feb 28, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 4047
- Processing state
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Summary
Deja is the Founder and Creative Director of Dejamakes Creative Studio in Chicago. Her focus is on the brand and web design, and she primarily works with small business owners and founders who've DIY'd themselves into oblivion and have realized they're ready for a brand experience that combines strategy and storytelling. But before starting her career in sports advertising and eventually working for her dream company, Twitter, Deja played D1 basketball for the University of Pennsylvania, so she's a hooper, y'all, don't get it twisted. Since evolving from an athlete to a designer and saying "peace out" to Elon and Twitter, she binged-watched everything on Bravo (shoutout to Dorinda Medley lol) and is out there making things happen on her own. Between lattes and walks with her dog, Goose, she's crafting thoughtful brand identity systems, wedding invitations, and short-form content to help you get to the next level. Tune in for a talk about how a "fork in the road" led to her decision to leave the corporate girly life behind, how saying yes to design changed everything, and how she measures progress and success for her design studio. Follow Deja on Instagram @dejamakes, and check out more of her work on her website: dejamakes.com. Remember. Quality over quantity, and the numbers don't lie.