We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Zakkary Stefan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Zakkary below.
Zakkary, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?
Fortunately, I can confidently say that I have been able to earn a full-time living from my creative work. My journey in the world of design started at a young age, influenced by my mother’s career as an interior designer and my father’s involvement in the investment of rare art items and collectibles. Growing up in an environment that valued art and creativity, I was exposed to various artistic expressions, even showcasing art galleries at a tender age of 8 or 9.
During my teenage years, however, I temporarily set aside design and art to focus on sports, particularly soccer. I pursued my passion for the sport and eventually became a collegiate soccer player. Unfortunately, injuries and a shift in perspective led me to reconsider my path, reigniting my passion for design. While studying Economics and Web Development at USC, I embarked on my first fashion label around 10 years ago.
Balancing my studies and classes during the day, I devoted countless hours each night to crafting unique menswear and delving deep into the world of design and fashion. After a year of dedicated work, I made the decision to take a break from USC and fully commit to my brand. With my fashion label launched, I experienced some success, being featured in Vogue, worn by celebrities, and stocked in stores, among other accomplishments.
However, despite the brand’s achievements, I realized that my business partner and I were not the right fit. As a result, I made the difficult choice to sell my share of the company, knowing deep down it was the right path forward. Although this decision was accompanied by a period of depression lasting a couple of years, I remained steadfast in my belief that I would start another fashion label in the future.
Following the sale of my label, I returned to my hometown of New Orleans for a couple of years, embracing a monk-like lifestyle as I planned my next venture and diligently saved money. During this time, I also taught tennis, a skill passed down to me by my father, who was a collegiate tennis player. Several years later, I found myself back at USC, determined to complete what I had started.
During my final years at USC, I established a design firm called Social Design & Web Group (SDWG) with the vision of one day using it to fund my fashion label while assisting others with their design and branding needs. As an Economics and Web Development graduate, my initial projects with SDWG centered around web design and development. However, as my clients recognized my versatility and proficiency in various areas, my service offerings expanded to include brand development, logo design, product design, and more.
For a couple of years, I juggled part-time work with SDWG while completing my studies and working for celebrity designer Mark Zunino. In 2019, upon graduating from USC, the COVID-19 pandemic struck, leading to widespread layoffs. Recognizing the uncertain job market, I harnessed my determination and focused all my energy on making SDWG my primary source of income. Since then, I have never had to work for anyone else, and my company has continued to flourish.
Today, SDWG offers a diverse range of services, including web design and development, brand development, logo design, photography, video production, typography design and development, styling, art and creative direction, packaging design, graphic design, illustration, copywriting, fashion design, production design, UX/UI design, app design, and more. One recent project involved providing web design and development, photography, video production and direction, styling, creative and art direction, logo design, 3D visuals, and typography design/development for a professional you recently featured in an article, Amie Teske. It was an incredibly enjoyable project to work on.
Throughout my journey, I have learned invaluable lessons, and I eagerly anticipate the future. Currently, I’m in the process of renaming and rebranding SDWG, and I am currently working on a fashion label of my own. I hope to have both complete by the end of the year.
With all that being said, a few lessons I’ve learned thus far are to trust God and if you don’t believe in God, at least trust your gut/instincts, believe in yourself, never give up, don’t fear the opinions of others, try to improve your skill set every month, and be consistent in your work ethic. None of those tasks are easy and it’s always going to be a work in-progress but I’ve found that the better I can do each of those, the better things become in my work and life.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Expounding on the previous question, I have been deeply influenced by design and entrepreneurship throughout my life. Growing up, I was fortunate to have parents who excelled in their respective fields. My mother established her own highly successful interior design firm, working on prestigious projects like Dancing Bear in Aspen and creating stunning residential spaces for celebrities like Hayden Panettiere. Meanwhile, my father has spent over 25 years in finance, collectibles, and is a published author, currently working as a consultant and executive producer. Their immense talent, faith and passion have had a profound impact on me, shaping my interests and inspiring my journey.
Although I briefly pursued sports during my teenage years, my inherent connection to design eventually led me back to my roots. Approximately 10 years ago, while studying at USC, I embarked on my first creative venture by launching a fashion label. Despite encountering challenges along the way, the experience taught me valuable lessons. Years later, I established my own design firm, SDWG. Initially, it was a part-time endeavor, but the uncertain job market and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted me to devote my efforts to it full-time.
Today, SDWG offers an extensive range of design services, including web design and development, brand development, logo design, photography, video production, typography design and development, styling, art and creative direction, social media management, packaging design, graphic design, illustration, copywriting, fashion design, product design, UX/UI design, app design, and more. My ultimate aim is to take on captivating design projects that challenge both myself and my team, ensuring that each client receives something truly distinctive.
What sets me apart from others in the industry is my ability to craft unique brand identities and execute them. Often, clients approach me with business ideas, logo concepts, or websites but lack the expertise to effectively brand or execute them. Similarly, established companies may lack a quality brand image, website, or product and seek ways to enhance their presence. In these scenarios, my strength lies in my capacity to create one-of-a-kind branding solutions that exude elegance, sophistication, and authenticity.
Allow me to provide you with a couple of examples to illustrate. One of my notable projects involved creating a brand identity, fashion collection, and unique stadium gear concepts for Korey Foreman, the country’s top-ranked football recruit at the time. With a tight two-week deadline for NBC Sports’ All American Bowl Declaration Day, sponsored by Geico, I embarked on the challenge. I designed a stadium fashion collection that blended high-fashion-inspired streetwear and athletic silhouettes, featuring a cool comic illustration of Korey’s tiger-like alter-ego, “Hollywood” Foreman. In just five days, we developed 3D models of Korey based solely on the images we had of him. Moreover, we designed wearable dreads for stadium fans and created an innovative lunch bag packaging concept. To get a closer look at this project, I encourage you to visit my Instagram profiles, @zakkarystefan or @sdwgstudio.
Another client, Amie Teske, recently interviewed by your publication, approached me seeking a visually captivating website for her sales-focused business. However, after extensive conversations and gaining a deep understanding of her brand, I realized that a mere website wouldn’t do justice to her exceptional story and services. To showcase Amie’s remarkable talent and unique approach to sales, I broadened the scope of the project. Alongside website design, I provided photography, video production, and other services to convey her artistry to viewers. I wanted Amie’s brand to transcend the traditional sales industry and emphasize her artistic prowess. Therefore, I infused nearly every service we offered, including photography, video production and direction, logo design, styling, 3D visuals, copywriting, overall brand direction and development, typography design and development, and more. I take great pride in the stunning photography, compelling videos, and captivating typography we created for Amie. I can’t wait to launch her website, it’s going to be a truly extraordinary online experience.
Among all the projects I’ve undertaken, my constant pursuit of unique design and branding approaches is what I cherish most. My primary goal is always to capture the pure intention behind each project, to discover a distinctive frequency, and to express it through design and branding in a way that leaves a lasting impression.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
Upwork has been the best source of new clients for me. It’s a great platform and I highly recommend it to anyone trying to start a business similar to mine. I’ve had a lot of success from other sources as well though: word of mouth, referrals, partnerships with other agencies, social media, and more. I’ve been somewhat fortunate in regards to not having to market my company too much, many of my clients have come to me, and I think that’s due to building a nice portfolio. It allows me to not have to sell. I simply listen to the clients needs, make suggestions and the work speaks for itself.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Figma. Such a great platform. As terrible as it sounds, the first year I started web design for clients I was using Photoshop – it’s embarrassing. I learned about Figma from a colleague, fell in love with it and I use it almost every day now. Another platform that has been useful to me is Notion. When I first started I used Asana to manage tasks for web development projects, but found Notion to be less expensive and a better solution for not only managing web development tasks but tasks, notes and scheduling for all types of projects. It’s definitely worth checking out.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sdwg.io/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zakkarystefan/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sdwgstudio
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zakkarystefan/
- Other: https://www.upwork.com/fl/~01f8b7f1a5565b7d72