Today we’d like to introduce you to Shakeel Mohamed.
Hi Shakeel, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Shakeel Mohamed; I was born and raised in Seattle, where I studied computer science and worked as a software engineer for a few years. In 2022, I moved to SoCal for graduate school.
I am a Graphic Design MFA Candidate at ArtCenter College of Design, set to graduate in spring 2025. In my prior career as a developer, I collaborated with UX designers since my first undergraduate internship. I suppose I worked with designers for so long that I began to think like one.
Before realizing my love of branding, I found design through streetwear fashion. I was drawn to the late Virgil Abloh through my love of hip-hop music and the culture surrounding it. On November 1, 2017, I watched a video of his lecture at Harvard GSD. I will remember the date forever. That day, something permanently changed in my mind; I began to understand the notion of “being intentional” in everything I do. Virgil did it through unwavering attention to detail in sneaker designs. Yet, the man was traveling internationally so much that WhatsApp phone sketches and annotations became his collaboration tool of choice.
The next day I began a thought experiment, “what if I was as intentional with my daily style as Virgil is with sneaker design?” A few weeks later, I was overcome with a dream and visions of a t-shirt design. I couldn’t get it out of my head. After a week of frustration, I taught myself to use Adobe design software and ordered t-shirt prototypes. Within a month, I was running a clothing brand in my spare time while working my full-time job as a software engineer. After a year, I pivoted the business to focus on design services for other small businesses because I was getting so many requests and loved the collaborative process with clients.
Along the way, I discovered Chris Do and his company, The Futur, on YouTube. They were teaching these foundational principles of graphic design, which were so much more advanced than I had ever been exposed to. In one video, he mentioned where he went to school… this place called ArtCenter, which I had never heard of.
Fast forward to 2020, in lockdown, my passion for design continued to grow. At some point, one of my mentors, Rahim Bhimani, told me I should consider going to design school if I was serious about a career in design. I didn’t think much of it at first. But the more I looked into it, the more I realized I needed to build a strong foundation if this was going to be the next leg of my career.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I quit my job in early 2021 without a design portfolio; all I had was a mission: “ArtCenter or die trying.”
The design school application process was intense but led to so much clarity of purpose. I had never created a design portfolio, and when I had my first portfolio review, I walked away, ready to quit. Had I picked a goal too big? My friends and mentors encouraged me to keep revising my work and that feedback (critique) is part of the process of being a designer. Soon after, I connected with other ArtCenter alumni who helped me with the final push of my application, of which I must thank Jose Caballer and Professor Gloria Kondrup in particular.
The email came in a few weeks later. Accepted. MFA Graphic Design.
Two years later, I feel an indescribable amount of gratitude every time I step on campus. It feels like just last week, I was pulling weeds in the parking lot of my high school to earn my graduation because I missed too many classes. Now, I’m attending a graduate program at one of the best design schools in the world. The students, faculty, staff, and alumni I’ve met continue to remind me that I made the right choice.
With my diverse professional experiences as a foundation, I am excited for my career ahead as a designer. I am highly motivated, passionate, and always ready to learn.
Ultimately, I’m grateful for the hundreds of people who I’ve met through this career transition. This would not have been possible alone.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
During my MFA I am exploring a variety of media types, creative uses for technology, and balancing my love of classic Swiss design with more expressive visual styles. This fall, I will enter my thesis year, where I get to spend two semesters focusing on a project of my choosing. I haven’t picked a specific project yet, but the theme of community continues to show up. Though brand identity design initially drew me to graphic design, I am exploring what the right blend of design and tech might look like for me.
As a Muslim American, I’m very interested in Islamic design and Arabic typography for their connection to my religious practices. In my (very little) spare time, I am learning Arabic and hope to design an Arabic typeface (font) in the near future. Non-Latin writing systems and alphabets are often overlooked in digital font design. When I begin that project, I hope to consult language and culture experts to ensure I am enhancing the visual vocabulary of the Arabic language—not stifling it.
I have worked on some very rewarding design projects in my career so far. I often return to my documentary campaign and book I designed about Mark Rothko, one of my favorite artists. The project started in my first semester at ArtCenter and began my exploration into AR (augmented reality), research, and led to an even deeper appreciation for Rotkho’s artwork.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up.
As a designer, the ideas of awe and scale inspire me. Sometimes in nature, musical performance, or sport.
My favorite childhood memories are being so inspired I didn’t know what to do with myself, and there are two moments of sports history I will forever be inspired by. I’ve included links because they are indescribable.
1) Mike Metzger doing back-to-back back flips on a motorcycle in the 2002 X Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QGNj7nqEFU
2) Taurian Fontenette, aka Air Up There, doing a 720 dunk in the AND1 streetball league: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkrkUVbz7Rk
Contact Info:
- Website: https://shakeel.design/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/shakeel.design
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shakeelmohamed/
