About Me

About Me

I’m Ezldean Shalabi, a designer and storyteller who values excellence above all else.

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, A brand that reflects this same pursuit. HAWA is the representation of my lived & shared experience as a Muslim growing up in the States. A project dedicated to me making my place in the world, and finding the words to communicate who I am. With every product, pop-up, collaboration, or campaign, I aim to make excellent, memorable experiences.

Beyond my independent practice, I’ve built my skills across, institutional, academic, and consulting environments. I’ve contributed my work within hungry startups, classrooms, organizations, non-profits, and alongside busy research faculty.

I'm a designer obsessed with storytelling and experience focused work. In May I graduated from 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.

Understood

My pursuit of being

-Ez

Ezldean M. Shalabi • Chicago, IL • 7085188189 • ezldeanmahmoud@gmail.com •  Linkedin • Portfolio

EDUCATION

University of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign | B.S. Sustainable Design - Minor in Architecture | May 2026 Grad

Brand designer creating print & digital collateral within brand systems, from signage and merch to social and web

WORK EXPERIENCE

Siebel Center For Design Urbana-Champaign, Illinois

Senior Designer - Human Centered Design Strategy May. 2024 - July 2025

UIUC’s space for researching design thinking, pioneering design strategy & hosting campus’s most ambitious new projects.

  • Part of a 6 member team, responsible for weekly design projects installing wayfinding, signage, media, and promos

  • Develop branding across circulation graphics to support exhibitions, events, and high-traffic public programming

  • Translated brand identity into print, digital, & physical environments, ensuring consistency across all touchpoints

  • Lead multidisciplinary projects implementing architectural, graphic, video, & marketing skills for brand engagement

  • Utilize Photoshop, Premiere Pro, AutoCAD, & MS office for iterating projects that occupy physical spaces

  • Collaborated with interior designers, researchers, & faculty to get projects to concept → schematic → installed environment

HAWA  Design & Fashion Studio Chicago, Illinois

Owner/designer Jan. 2022 - Current

  • Directed brand identity and seasonal visual systems across garments, packaging, e-commerce, and physical retail

  • Designed original graphics, prints, logos, trims, & packaging for collections distributed across 10,000+ units

  • Design, source, & fulfill physical merchandise for over 50 clients (Universities, Non-Profits, Businesses, Influencers)

  • Hire & lead a team of 2 graphic designers to execute projects in social media, print, client & manufacturer communication

  • Selected for UIUC's iVenture Startup Accelerator (11th Cohort, 2025), receiving $20k in funding & mentorship

  • Designed & executed pop-up brand experience in downtown Chicago, 400+ pieces sold, & 5,000+ customers reached

    • Translated digital branding into physical - environmental signage, merchandising, 10x10’ space & customer flow

UIUC Illini Union Campus Media Team Urbana-Champaign, Illinois

Photo/Videographer Feb. 2023 - Feb. 2024

  • Capture campus life & events using professional equipment, prepared media for use in print, email, & socials

  • Develop content strategies for maximizing social media & physical community engagement through curated media

  • Edit video & design graphics collateral for video cards, print material, and university campaigns

Brand Consulting Various Locations

Video, Photo, Graphic Design, & Brand Strategy Freelance. Sept. 2019 - Present

Nur House | Chicago coworking & community space | Aug.- Sept. 2026

  • Built content & paid advertising strategy to drive new member acquisition gaining 20+ new paid members in 1 month

  • Designed social campaign assets & redesigned physical workspace for a cohesive brand experience online & in person

  • Planned & hosted event with 80+ attendees for current & prospective members to closer engage with brand mission

One Ummah Collective | Multichannel e-commerce supplement brand | 2026

  • Produced 200+ branded product photos & infographics across 20 products, increased average order value by 15%

  • Drafted copy across full catalog & increased search ranking by 10% on Amazon, TiktokShop, Shopify

Seydrah By Fouda | Luxury Consumer Fragrance Startup | Oct.- Dec. 2024

  • Established core branding elements: logo, typography, colors, customer persona, visual cues & collateral

  • Produced technical packaging & label design to suit brand & functional needs while balancing manufacturer constraints

Earlier Clients 

  • Designed UI/UX for 6 websites & 2 apps; developed branding for 12 organizations across packaging, logos, print, & web

  • Directed 10+ weekly instagram videos for UIUC MSA (100k+ organic views), incl. a short film & 25-minute documentary

  • Designed pitch & investor decks for 8 startups used in competitions & investor outreach

TECHNICAL SKILLS, LANGUAGES

  • Skills: Adobe Suite, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Illustrator, Indesign, Canva, Google Suite, MS office, Figma, Keynote, Sketchup, Revit, Autocad, Shopify, Amazon, Replit, Claude

  • Languages: Native English & Arabic | Conversational in Spanish