About the artist
About the artist
About the artist
About the artist
About the artist
About the artist
About the artist
About the artist
About the artist
About the artist
About the artist
About the artist
About the artist
About the artist
About the artist
About the artist
About the artist
About the artist
About the artist
About the artist
About the artist
About the artist
About the artist
About the artist
About the artist
About the artist
About me

Designer based in Chicago

Zakia is a vessel for change - A passionate Creative with a love for process and storytelling through digital and print media. She studied traditional Graphic Design, which is the epicenter of her artistic approach. This led her into a career as an Art Director and Production Artist involving collaboration with Copywriters, Creative Directors, Producers, Strategists, and clients across various industries.

Through these experiences, she’s cultivated a versatile skill set including brand identity, advertising campaigns, OOH material, activation production, collateral, UX/UI design, and book/magazine layout. She excels in turning complex ideas into concise, visually stunning solutions for
multicultural audiences.

Her artistic practice manifests in the mediums of printmaking, woodwork, image manipulation techniques, typography and video documentation. With each piece she creates she explores the nuanced realm of self-exploration. She uses her artistic practice as a display of how courageous and resilient the act of honoring one's life is.
My timeline

6+ years as a creative designer

2018

BFA - Graphic Design

Illinois Institute of Art Chicago
current

third ear
Art director

Conceptualizing 360 campaigns, create moodboards, storyboards, provide insight and feedback on concepts / production.
2022 - 2024

fluent360
Art director

Collaborate with Creative Directors, Copywriters, Producers, and Strategist in conceptualizing and guiding the creation of campaigns, experiential activations  and complex user  metric inspired projects. Perform quality control for visual elements and ensure assets align with overall brand, concept & messaging. Lead Artistic Direction with keen eye for detail and effective communication in fast paced timelines. Proofing artwork. Daily use of Adobe Suite.
2019 - ONGOING

gumbomedia
art director / graphic designer

Create visually captivating & cohesive designs across various mediums, including print, digital/social media, UX/UI and environmental design. Daily use of Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign. Brand Identity & Collateral Design.
Gumbo Website
2018 - 2022

luckyprints
production artist

Prepare digital files for printing, color separations, refining artwork, adjusting resolution, and creating print ready files while adhering to technical specifications. Quality control print & film results, printer maintenance, as well as manage projects, files, and orders.
ONGOING

media experience

Jade Short Film 2022 // CCTASI at
Northwestern University
Credit: Assistant Stylist
View Project

Tastemade Series 2023 // Tastemade+
Credit: Field Production Assistant
View Project

I Didn‘t Mean To Go Mental 2023 // Short film
Credit: Assistant Stylist
View Project
2019

Public programming

Spudnik Press Fellowship // Tessellate 2019

Tessellate, a night of collective art making and installation building with the Chicago community. Hybridizing the fellows’ individual artistic practices, Tessellate invites guests to experience a variety of print-based techniques considering collage as a tool for creating narratives.

Through screen printing, paper embossing, risography, and relief printing, guests construct their own prints into never-ending books as part of a collaborative viewing library at Spudnik Press.

Self promoted / created / & marketed.

Tessellate - The Visualist
2021

Certifications

TECHNICAL OPERATIONS: Chicago Women In Trade 2021

CHICAGO WOMEN IN TRADE [APPRENTICE]

With a rich background in the design industry, Zakia’s  expertise seamlessly extends into the realm of construction and fabrication. Her  skill set encompasses a diverse range of hands-on experiences and technical proficiencies from  woodwork , commercial/ residential painting to the intricate processes of sign fabrication and installation. She has crafted abilities to meticulously translate design concepts into tangible structures.

Chicago Women In Trade
january 25, 2022

PUBLICATION

In Collaboration with Gumbomedia

Systemic Racism 101: A Visual History of the Impact of Racism in America

Credit: Infographic and Design Arrangement
View Book
january 25, 2022

exhibitions

FluffyCrimes 2019 MANA contemporary
#6 (MANA Exhibit): ARTISTS >
ongoing

public speaking

Arts & Public Life 2023 Presenter:
Forging Your Own Path

Conscious Conversations Panelist 2024

Gary Comer Youth Center 2022:
Career Day Speaker

Chicago Women In Trade
Guest Speaker 2021