I’m Ezldean Shalabi, a designer and storyteller searching for beauty that feels honest.

My work moves between graphics, fashion, branding, photography, and experiential design, unified by one purpose: to capture what I feel more truthfully through design than I ever could through words.

I run Hawa and Qiyam, two parallel fashion projects that reflect different sides of the same pursuit. Hawa is where I’ve been, the representation of my lived & shared experience as a Muslim growing up in the States. Qiyam is where I’m going, the act of standing, the struggle to rise and refine oneself. Together they form the tension I design from: unity and self development.

I'm a designer obsessed with the storytelling and human/experience focused work. I’m wrapping up my Senior year at the University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign studying Sustainable Design & Architecture. I can’t wait to take what I’ve learned in these last few years and share it with the world.

What Drives Me

What drives me is the pursuit of feeling made visible. Design, to me, is not decoration, but translation. I’m captivated by how design tells stories without explanation, how tools of composition through can inform a person’s experience. I believe art serves to produce a beautiful, curated experience. The imperfections of the artist’s hand in the work deepens the intimacy between creator, their message, and their audience. Through this process, I work to be understood, communicating in ways words have failed me.

My Goals

I aim to grow as a designer who builds worlds that people can feel. I want to create design experiences that are beautiful, intentional, and human. From apparel that tells a story, to a physical structure or product that occupies a space, I want to create thinking about the user first, and work backwards from there, serving a vision I can share.