Today we’d like to introduce you to Jaidah B.
Hi Jaidah, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
All I can remember is being a little girl in a dentist’s office, school library, etc admiring the posters on the wall and wondering how did they get the “picture” into these colorful designs. My favorite thing was admiring menu designs when we went to restaurants, like how did they put the photos of what they offer to eat on this piece of paper for us to flip through. I learned as I got older it was “graphic design”. I begged my dad to get me a computer to teach myself. I started with a MacIntosh computer, from a junkyard at that and practiced with what I could find. Then AOL came and I was able to upgrade to better computer in the 2000s and along came Myspace, the rest was history.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
For the most part, it has been a smooth road. I have my hits and I have my misses. It has been challenging due to the fact, I’m an introvert that loves, eat, sleep and breathe design to the point where I feel as though I don’t need to show my face. I don’t need to reveal what I look like to appear ‘relatable’. All I want people to see is my art. I was told the way I market myself people think I’m an agency full of white men that just “knows how to design” when that’s not the case, haha. I just want to be known for my art and it’s hard in this climate when everyone is making reels, going live, “showing their face”, taking phone consultations and zoom meetings to communicate with their client. With this interview, a lot will be seeing what I look like for the first time ever in my design career.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a graphic and web designer, by the way of creative director. I build websites, brand identity, print and packaging design and more. I’ve been designing for well over 17 years and have been freelancing for the past 9 years, I am most proud of sticking to my communication boundaries when it comes to my business. Being in this industry for this amount of time, I would say what sets me apart is my eye for angles, typography, placement, etc. My favorite quote I live by is:
A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Legacy. My son watches me design sometimes and have the same curiosity I had when I was his age “How did you do this?”, How did you make this look like this?”. I joke with him all the time and tell him to let me teach him what I know. I’m getting older and I have a lot of art to offer the world, but I also know when it’s my time to bow out and explore my other talents, so I think it’s important to try to leave your mark in this world. How you’re remembered.. What memories and/or accolades are attached to your name. How will I be remembered by my children and family, and how will I be remembered by my design peers, clients, etc. Like when you think of it, the world revolves around us. You’re intrigued by a menu design/commercial to try that meal… You’re intrigued by a movie poster/commercial to go and see that movie, right… I can go on but I’ll be here all night, haha. I just hope when I bow out, I’ve left a good mark.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.crememedia.co
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crememediaco
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crememediaco
Image Credits
https://www.instagram.com/jeaneareed/
