Anything But Ordinary: The Evolution of The Designzer

Trivia Question... What stays awake while you are asleep?

As a business owner, your brand never sleeps. Even when you’re resting, your brand is alive, communicating who you are and what you stand for. That’s why Ashleigh Beverly, Founder and CEO of The Dezignher Creative, believes that strong branding must be rooted in your company’s mission, vision, values, and purpose.

Ashleigh is a graphic and brand designer serving both new and established businesses with comprehensive brand development — from brand voice and messaging to visual identity and event branding. Her signature approach is bold, colorful, and rooted in her slogan, "Anything But Ordinary." Her designs don’t just look good — they develop relationships, engage conversation, and inspire.

Many clients come to Ashleigh thinking they only need a logo. She gently expands their perspective, teaching them that their logo is just one artifact of a much larger brand ecosystem. She guides them in clarifying their voice, values, and the emotional experience they want their audience to have. From there, she builds their visual world — colors, fonts, patterns, messaging, and overall cohesiveness.

For businesses hosting events and conferences, Ashleigh brings the brand to life from top to bottom: color palette, fonts, signage, badges, social media graphics, t-shirt designs, speaker slides, and many other details attendees don’t immediately notice but instantly feel.

What inspired Ashleigh to become an owner, and how did she get started?

Ashleigh’s journey as an artist began in childhood, sketching and decorating anything she could get her hands on — paper, lamps, clothing, canvases. By 18, she knew one thing for sure: She didn’t want to sit at somebody else’s desk. She wanted to create her own.

At Florida A&M University, she explored different majors — business, public relations — searching for the thing that made her heart sing. She found it in graphic design, a major that perfectly aligned with her natural gifts. In between classes, she would hang out with her classmates in the lab. The design lab quickly became her creative home, a place of support, collaboration, honest feedback, and community.

One day, a peer came to the lab to ask her if she knew how to design a book flyer.

“No,” she said.

“I’ll pay you,” he replied.

“I’ll learn,” she promised.

From there, Ashleigh dove into research, studied the seven design principles, analyzed flyers from parties and events on campus, and practiced relentlessly. She became known as “The Flyer Girl,” and she later expanded into posters, banners, and book covers. Her work gained momentum — and so did the demand. The demand allowed her to establish a service that earned her money to support her needs and wants as a young adult and student.

Ashleigh knew she had an eye for art, but didn’t fully grasp its depth or all the places it would take her in the future. But she persisted. Ten years ago, she registered her business. What began as passion and curiosity grew into a calling — one that now sustains her full-time and continues to evolve.

What impact has ownership had on Ashleigh's life, family, and community?

For Ashleigh, being a business owner is deeply fulfilling. Being of service to family, friends, and community has been extremely rewarding for her. She loves serving others, especially new business owners whose excitement and vision fuel her own joy. It means everything to her when clients share how her work elevated their confidence, expanded their business, or helped them finally “see” themselves as the brand they’ve always imagined.

Ashleigh is particularly passionate about ensuring that Black-owned businesses have access to high-quality, engaging, top-tier branding—the kind that reflects their brilliance. She understands that some Black and Brown leaders often struggle in this area of business. She uses her gifts to help these businesses achieve the visibility they have earned and deserve.

Seeing her designs out in the world and hearing people say, “I knew that was your work!” are legacy moments for her. She also delights in inspiring those around her — from family members to co-workers — and being someone people can trust for honest, constructive feedback on their heartfelt work and ideas.

What fears or challenges did Ashleigh have before becoming an owner, and how did she overcome them?

In the past, Ashleigh experienced challenges working in corporate environments that prioritized volume over meaning and offered minimal support. While her work was always high quality, she believes that enormous opportunities for innovation were stifled due to the culture of cramming.

Remembering her dream and desire to create her own desk, Ashleigh began to explore the path to full-time entrepreneurship. This pushed her to ask herself the hard questions:

Will this work?

Will people see the vision?

Will I be a starving artist?

Is this needed?

As a designer, putting your heart into something and having people judge it can be intimidating. Early on, Ashleigh centered herself by creating what she loved — and naturally began attracting clients who shared a liking for her design style. Group work sessions and passion projects also helped her refine her craft and stay connected to creative joy.

Ashleigh continues to remind herself, this is a journey, not a destination. She utilizes prayer, therapy, continued learning, and giving herself space to detach on weekends to ensure her continued growth. These practices keep her grounded and confident as she navigates the world of entrepreneurship.

What advice would Ashleigh give someone who’s never owned an income-producing asset but wants to start?

Ashleigh’s advice is honest, heartfelt, and practical:

• Do it for you. Choose something you’re genuinely passionate about rather than something to make money. When you do something that matters to you, you will do it even when you don’t feel like it.

• Do work that feels valuable. Offer something people need and would pay for, but that you love enough to do for free. The money will come when there is a need, and when you do your best to help others.

• Think long-term. Choose a path that’s sustainable or has room to pivot. Ashleigh started with a desire to design album covers and magazines. Although these are no longer as popular as they once were, her role and the services she provides are still needed.

• If leaving a job, build your foundation first. Save your money and establish something solid.

• Market yourself. Don’t be afraid to share your work and test ideas with friends and family.

• Release perfection. Put out high-quality but imperfect work — improvement comes with time.

• Always keep learning. Students should go beyond assignments; professionals should use passion projects to stay sharp and go beyond the scope of their work.

• Protect your art. Trademark, copyright, license, watermark, and develop good contracts — treat and protect your work like the asset it is.

Work with Ashleigh

Ashleigh has partnered with individuals, small businesses, non-profits, for-profits, educational entities, film & entertainment companies, and more. She works with new and established companies of all sizes and experiences, providing services for launching, reinventing, rebuilding, and rebranding. What sets The Dezignher apart is her ability to immerse herself in the client’s vision — even when they can’t fully articulate it — and bring it to life with top-level precision and creativity.

She supports clients with:

• Brand development and refinement

• Logo design and refresh

• Social media

• Print & publication design (pitch decks, brochures, annual reports, etc.)

• Branding for small or large events and conferences

• Brand strategy consultations

If you’re unsure where to begin or what your brand needs, Ashleigh can guide you from confusion to clarity with grace, insight, and expertise through her industry audit consultation to assess where you are and where you would like to be, and then work with you to develop a plan for how she can support you in achieving your goals.

Connect with Ashleigh

• View her outstanding portfolio of work: https://abeverly.myportfolio.com

• Schedule your branding audit: https://abeverly.myportfolio.com

• Connect with her on social media, Instagram & Facebook: imthedezignher