Rising Stars: Meet Jamal Abdullahi

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamal Abdullahi.

Hi Jamal, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My journey is one shaped by resilience, community, and a profound passion for the arts. My parents, immigrants from Ethiopia, instilled in me the values of determination and self-reliance as they navigated a new culture and language, paired with my father’s advocacy for immigrant and labor rights in Colorado’s taxi cab industry. This upbringing gave me a deep appreciation for community, Which was recognized by the prestigious Daniels Fund scholarship.

I started undergraduate school at the University of Denver. Despite the challenges of being a first-generation student, this opportunity granted me access to education and the freedom to explore my multifaceted interests. At university, I explored arts, communications/critical race studies, and entrepreneurship. Beyond schooling, I devoted myself to mastering music production, recording, and mixing, later exploring graphic design, imaging, and typography for album covers and promotional materials. This pursuit led me to ArtCenter’s Graduate Graphic Design program, where I intend to graduate in April 2024.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Although I got to where I needed to be, I was not a stranger to struggle. As a first-generation American and the eldest of 9 children, I helped my family with the struggles of being an immigrant to the United States, all while pushing myself to become a great example to my siblings. Advocacy for my family and I taught me the importance of finding resources to get me to the starting line with my peers. My parents left their families to come here for a better life. This instilled in me the determination to move out and come to California alone with my savings and create a better life for myself.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
At the core, what matters most to me in my work is community, experimentation, and accessibility. In a world where we are overwhelmed by data, innovation, technology, and ultimately the design of these formats, these three pillars are most important to me. We must retain our connections to each other while technology drives us apart, Come up with innovative solutions to the world’s problems, and continue to make our design, resources, and technology accessible. My work specializes in Identity design, motion, and transmedia. I am most proud of the refined depth of my conceptual design behind my work. Deeper conceptual/thematic thinking was the crux of my academic background. While it’s been tough at some points, my time at ArtCenter tempered my concepts and ideas to make them more impactful.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
My view on risk taking is always looking at it from a cost/benefit perspective. I think that some risks are always worth taking because the cost is low, just as some risks aren’t worth taking because the cost is so high. While this isn’t to say that some risky decisions aren’t worth taking, I think that this perspective is necessary to safely evaluate your decisions. Along with this perspective, I evaluate my risk taking through a spiritual lens. If I’ve prayed, meditated, or manifested a choice It makes any risk a little bit easier to take.

In terms of design, risk taking is central to my process. As a designer, two of our most important tools in the design process are investigation and intuition. I believe that these two processes work hand in hand. However, interpretation of both is all a risky process because the quality of both is dependent on depth, experience,
and variety.

Contact Info:

• Website: designjamal.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moda.human/?next=%2F
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamalabdullahi/