ABOUT ME
GRAPHIC & UX/UI DESIGNER . BRAND STRATEGIST .
I didn't start out planning to become a designer. My journey here has been anything but straightforward, and honestly, that's what makes my work different.
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I'm Kajanuary Morgan Hodge, a UX/UI designer based in Gulfport, Mississippi. Before I ever opened Photoshop or learned what a wireframe was, I spent 21 years in the U.S. Army as a Unit Administrator. People sometimes ask me what the military has to do with design, and the answer is: everything. When you're managing personnel records and coordinating operations where mistakes have real consequences, you learn fast that systems have to work for the people using them. You can't just make something look official and call it done. It has to function. It has to make sense. Those five years taught me to sweat the details and think about the end user, even if I didn't call it that back then.
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In 2020, I started Involving Memories, my own branding and creative services business. Running this company has been one of my best teachers. Clients don't care about your design theory or how many hours you spent picking the perfect shade of blue. They care about whether your work helps them connect with their customers. I've learned to listen more than I talk, to ask questions before I start sketching, and to remember that a gorgeous logo that doesn't communicate anything useful is just expensive decoration.​
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​Right now I'm finishing my Associate's Degree in Graphic and UX/UI Design at Bryan University. This is actually one of my last two classes before I graduate, and the timing feels right. The coursework has given me the technical foundation and vocabulary to do what I was already doing instinctively. I've studied typography, color theory, user research, accessibility standards, all of it. But more than that, I've learned to articulate why certain design choices work and others don't. Theory and practice feed each other in ways that make both stronger.
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What gets me excited about design is its potential to solve real problems. I'm not interested in making things pretty for the sake of pretty. I want to redesign the confusing app interface so people can actually find what they need. I want to create brand identities that help small businesses compete with bigger players. I want to build websites where users don't have to think too hard about what to click next.
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I work mostly in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) and use Figma and Adobe XD for digital work. But the tools matter less than understanding people. What frustrates them? What makes them trust a brand? Why do they abandon a checkout process halfway through? That's where the interesting work happens.
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I've received recognition including Leadership Excellence in 2021 for my military service and Creative Visionary in 2023 for my design work. But what really matters is when a client tells me their new branding helped them land customers they couldn't reach before, or when someone says an interface I redesigned actually makes sense now.
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Looking forward, I want to work on projects that matter. Help businesses tell their authentic stories. Design digital products that genuinely improve how people get things done. Create brand identities that connect with communities in real ways.
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Let's make something good together!