I’m Deann.

I grew up swimming. My dad was a scuba instructor and a coach for a small town team, and many of my earliest memories involve hanging around on pool decks in the summer, whale watching with my mom while my dad was out spearfishing, and playing in the shallow end trying to swim far enough to be allowed to join the team.

Maybe that doesn’t sound exactly like a design story. But my journey in the water taught me hard work, dedication, and goal setting. And it showed me the value of the natural world, that curiosity is the most important quality to cultivate. Years later, after burning out and blowing out my shoulders in college in Malibu, I was able apply these same values to my design practice.

Since those early days in the pool, the river, the ocean, I’ve created a purposeful path for myself, even if it has been wandering. I have given myself latitude to change direction, as long as the change was more of a refocusing on my core values. After working for years to become the head of creative, I realized I had lost the permission to create for joy. So I walked away, aimed toward my purpose, and started again.

I will always choose to move toward community, toward joy, and toward projects that better the world. Now at a point where I’d be called “mid-career” (or maybe later), I have wisdom of experience paired with never ending curiosity. I keep my eye sharp, embrace new tools and methodologies, and push myself forward.