Today we’d like to introduce you to Jada Johnson.
Hi Jada, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I think my story really starts with the fact that I’ve always had a creative spark. As a kid, I was drawn to anything that allowed me to make something—art, dancing, singing, music, or photography. I didn’t necessarily know what career that would turn into, but I always knew I wanted to create.
I graduated from high school in 2020, right as the world shut down because of COVID-19. I started college during an incredibly strange and isolating time, and one of the ways I found my footing was by starting my own YouTube channel. It became a creative outlet and a way to document my life, but it also introduced me to storytelling, editing, content creation, and the idea that creativity could actually become a career.
My biggest turning point in college was joining a student-led magazine. What started as an extracurricular became one of the most formative experiences of my university years. I met some of my closest friends and discovered how much I loved being behind the scenes—photography, videography, creative direction, production, project management, and bringing an idea from a conversation to something tangible. It was the first time I really began to understand where my creative strengths could take me.
I also spent time working at Soho House, which gave me a completely different kind of education. I was young and experiencing the professional world with fresh eyes, and I learned so much about hospitality, networking, events, people, and how creative industries actually operate. It also gave me my first real glimpse into the film and entertainment world and made me want to keep exploring it.
After graduating from Texas State University in 2024, the story became a little less linear—which, honestly, I think has been one of the most important parts of it. I worked across communications and finance, worked at a bar, freelanced in media production, participated in a film festival, and took opportunities that allowed me to travel and create. I even flew to another continent for a music video production. Traveling simply because I wanted to see more of the world also changed the way I looked at creativity; being exposed to different places, people, architecture, fashion, and art made me appreciate how much inspiration exists outside of my own perspective.
Now, I’m about eight months into a brand content management role at a startup, where I work across multiple brands and handle everything from content strategy and videography to editing, creative direction, and production. I’ve had the opportunity to be on full-scale production sets and continue learning what it takes to turn creative ideas into work that actually exists in the world.
Looking back, none of the chapters feel completely disconnected anymore. YouTube taught me storytelling. The magazine taught me collaboration and creative production. Soho House taught me people, networking, and events. Freelancing taught me independence. Traveling taught me perspective. And every job in between taught me something about the kind of creative I want to become.
I don’t think I’ve arrived at a final destination yet, and that’s probably my favorite part. I’m still figuring out exactly where this creative career will take me, but I know I want to keep creating, producing, collaborating, and telling stories that make people feel something.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely not. If anything, the road has been pretty unpredictable.
I graduated high school and started college during COVID, which meant entering adulthood and university in a time when so much of the world felt uncertain and disconnected. Starting my creative career afterward was its own kind of uncertainty. There isn’t really a straightforward roadmap for building a career in creative industries, and I spent a lot of time figuring things out as I went—taking different jobs, freelancing, saying yes to opportunities, and sometimes wondering whether I was actually moving forward or just moving.
One of the biggest struggles has been learning that a creative career doesn’t always look the way you imagine it will. There were periods after graduation where I felt like I had to take whatever opportunity was available, even when I wasn’t sure how it connected to the bigger picture. I’ve had jobs that taught me what I wanted to do, but also jobs that taught me very clearly what I didn’t want to do.
I’ve also had to learn how to advocate for myself. In creative work, it’s easy to get caught up in wanting to prove yourself, especially early on, and to feel like you have to say yes to everything. Over time, I’ve learned that knowing your value, setting boundaries, and being intentional about the opportunities you take are just as important as having the creative skills themselves.
There have definitely been moments where I’ve questioned whether I was on the right path. But I think the uncertainty has ultimately made me more adaptable and resilient. Every seemingly random chapter has given me another skill, another connection, or another perspective that I now carry into my work.
So no, it hasn’t been smooth, but I don’t think I’d want it to be. The twists and detours have shaped the creative person and professional I’m becoming.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My work lives at the intersection of storytelling, visual media, and creative production. I’m a brand content manager and multidisciplinary creative with a background in videography, photography, editing, creative direction, and project management. A lot of what I do is taking an idea—sometimes it’s a very loose one—and figuring out how to turn it into something visual, intentional, and engaging.
Right now, I work with multiple brands across beauty, wellness, and lifestyle, where I’m involved in everything from content strategy and creative direction to filming, editing, and production. I especially love the production side of my work: being on set, figuring out how a concept should come to life, working with people, and capturing the small details that make a piece of content feel elevated rather than simply functional.
I think I’m known for being able to wear a lot of hats. I can be behind the camera, in an editing timeline, developing a concept, building out a content calendar, or coordinating the moving pieces of a production. That versatility has been one of the most valuable parts of my career because I understand the creative process from multiple perspectives.
What I’m most proud of, though, isn’t necessarily a specific project or title. It’s the perspective I’ve developed and the way I try to move through the world. Thus, influencing the way I approach everything. It’s in how I treat people, how I approach a new project, how I respond when something doesn’t go according to plan, and how I encourage myself to take a bigger leap even when I’m scared. I’ve learned that being creative isn’t just about having ideas; it’s also about being brave enough to pursue them.
As for what sets me apart, I think it’s that combination of curiosity, adaptability, and perspective. I’m not interested in being the person who thinks they have everything figured out. I actually think one of my strengths is knowing that I don’t and being excited about that. I’m willing to learn, to ask questions, to try something I’ve never done before, and to put myself in rooms where I might be the least experienced person there.
At the same time, I have a very strong sense of the world I want to create around myself. I want to make beautiful, meaningful work, but I also want to have a positive impact on the people I work with along the way. I want to be someone who brings both ambition and warmth into a room.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was a girl who genuinely loved her girlhood. I wanted to try everything, and, at some point, I think I wanted to be everything.
I never really felt “normal” as a child, but I mean that in the most positive way. I always had this feeling that I was meant for something more, even before I knew what “more” meant. I didn’t necessarily think I was the most talented or the most capable person in the room, and I actually underestimated myself quite a bit. But I had this strange ability to be scared, do it anyway, and then be pleasantly surprised by the reaction I received. I think I was constantly discovering that I was capable of more than I had initially given myself credit for.
I was the same way with sports. I played soccer, volleyball, and basketball and also did gymnastics, dance, and middle school cheerleading. I don’t know if it was because I was naturally curious or just couldn’t sit still, but I loved discovering what I could do. I never really saw trying something new as a commitment to becoming the best at it. I just wanted to experience it.
That curiosity followed me into the arts. I loved painting, drawing, music, and photography, and I remember walking into theater class without really knowing what I was doing and somehow ending up with lead roles in two major plays. I was never particularly afraid of failing. If anything, I was more afraid of not trying.
I was also incredibly social. I could meet someone my age almost anywhere and somehow become their friend. I had a very big imagination and an even bigger sense of possibility. I think I genuinely believed I could become whatever I wanted to become, and I didn’t spend much time worrying about whether something was “realistic.”
One of my favorite things about myself as a kid was how willing I was to be brave before I felt brave. I remember that whenever I was nervous to make a move, ask a question, or do something outside of my comfort zone, I would count down from ten in my head and then just do it. It’s funny because I think I still use that same instinct today; I just have bigger decisions to make now.
I was creative, energetic, curious, and full of life. Looking back, I think my ADHD played a role in that too. It gave me a mind that was constantly making connections, jumping between interests, and wanting to experience everything. For a long time, I thought I needed to narrow myself down, but now I see that my curiosity is actually one of my greatest strengths.
In a lot of ways, the little girl who wanted to try every class, play every sport, pick up every instrument, and say yes to every creative opportunity is still very much a part of me. I think she is a big reason I became the person I am today. She taught me that I don’t always have to feel ready to take the leap. Sometimes, I just have to be brave enough to find out what I’m capable of.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jadajohnson.journoportfolio.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jadddamarie/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jada-johnson-media/
