Meet Derek Jones | Designer, Programmer, and Consultant

We had the good fortune of connecting with Derek Jones and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Derek, what inspires you?
My main inspiration comes from two sources: music videos and high fashion. I love music videos and can watch them for several hours at a time on YouTube. They say so much about the trends of the moment. The video transforms the music into something greater than itself with commentary on contemporary style and culture. Also, the designers often employ the latest technology demonstrating new applications or maybe a trend that has been overused. I’m not huge on clothes, but I think it is important for all designers to look at fashion and couture. I believe that fashion speaks to the trends of the future. I make it a habit to flip through an edition of Elle every once in a while to see styles that are yet to come. I think the combination of these two sources keeps me on the cutting edge.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Work life balance was my main goal to achieve in 2022. It’s getting better, but I think it can always be better. Time is precious, so I’m learning how to give myself more time while still paying the bills. Being my own boss helps a lot, but I’ve got a long way to go.

Work life balance is the holy grail of being an independent artist. Last year I made about the same as pre-pandemic, but I was able to have more time off. This is an important step. Unfortunately, I learned that moderation is key. I spent a lot of time and money doing the things I missed doing and left the company hanging a few times. It’s a two-way street. You got to remember your goals on both sides.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My go to excursion for visiting guests is the Sunset Boulevard tour. I think you can see a lot of LA just by driving the length of that 20 plus mile road and making stops along the way. I usually start in DTLA and go all the way to the Pacific Ocean. You really get the idea of the scale and complexity of LA. It isn’t just Hollywood, but of course we’ll have a detour there too.

For additional fun, I’ll take them to a night out in DTLA with dinner at Maccheroni Republic and dancing at Precinct across the street afterwards.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Growing up, I mainly performed on the stage rather than designing for it. In college as a theatre major, I applied to work in the Scene Shop for work-study, and since I was also a physics major, my professors thought I would be good at lighting and electrics. I knew little about that field, but it turns out they were right. My mentors pushed me to not only work hard in the classroom, but also with them on their outside projects and soon, to develop projects of my own.

Because of that, I immediately went to grad school and worked professionally while I was there. After school, I was a freelancer for many years and ping ponged between design firms and locations such as DC, New York, and eventually LA. I found my time as a free agent just as informative as time working with offices. Ultimately, I realized that I have what I takes to do bigger and better things my way.

Almost 15 years from the beginning, I decided to go official and formed a Panda Roja LLC in January 2022. It’s a little different from being a sole proprietor, but so far in the last year, it has been worth it. I would not be where I am not without that initial insight of my college professors. And happily, many of my mentors and I still catch up on social media.

Website: www.pandaroja.com

Instagram: @pandarojadesign

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derekwesleyjones/