Alum Magdi Cook (19) formed her vision for design during her undergrad years. Through dancing and graphic design, she explored how creativity could work as a foundation for a business approach.
“My brand kind of actually started in college, like the concept of it,” Cook said. “For our senior showcase portfolio, we were creating different concepts and I played with the concept of using different, white Christmas lights and doing a photoshoot with long exposure shots — moving them all around and dancing and seeing … the different waves that they would create with the photography.”
As she looked through the photos, she saw themes emerge: dynamic movement and adaptation.
“I was like, this kind of represents me in a brand,” Cook said. “And then after college, I started looking at that a little bit more. How do I wanna tweak my name, my branding? Do I want to keep it?”
It wouldn’t be until she hit the ground in her career that she established her focus for DYNMX.
DYNMX Design is a graphic and web design company Cook launched at the beginning of 2025. Her company approaches design with the following goals in mind: create impact, drive growth and elevate presence. Although the company formally launched this year, Cook has been doing freelance work for years.
Cook knew since high school she had a connection to graphic design. She took a graphic design class during her senior year. She loved the creativity, the movement and the vision that came with it.
She was introduced to Point Loma Nazarene University’s campus by her older sister, and like many other potential students, she fell in love with the view.
Cook decided to follow in her sister’s footsteps but make PLNU her own as a graphic design major. Initially, she thought she might want to use her degree at a large marketing firm or a big design team.
“I knew I wanted to do graphic design, but I wasn’t really sure what that would look like,” Cook said. “I think I always just kind of pictured a more traditional, in-office designer kind of role. But then I also always knew that I wanted to start my own company and do my own thing and have that flexibility and freedom.”
“I think I always just kind of pictured a more traditional, in-office designer kind of role. But then I also always knew that I wanted to start my own company and do my own thing and have that flexibility and freedom.”
“So I kind of was like having conflicting viewpoints as to how my career would evolve over the years.”
Throughout her time at PLNU, she brought with her a love of dancing. She even formed the Breakerz dance club, and so when it came time to create her senior portfolio, she combined both worlds — dance and graphic design.
These two passions helped her establish her brand. Originally, her company name was just her name, but as she thought more about adaptation and movement found in the still shots, she landed on the word dynamic. She tweaked the spelling a bit and landed on DYNMX Design.
“Dynamics stood out to me a lot, not only [connecting to] movement dance, but also design,” Cook said. “I just took the concept and continued to evolve it.”
Even today, she said still plays around with lights and movement in her marketing and branding approach.
After PLNU, Cook worked a series of jobs in the branding/design world. Through working in a variety of different spaces, she quickly learned more about her values and needs in the workplace.
“Through the jobs I had, I realized very quickly that I’m not gonna be able to do a full-time in-office job because this is just too much sitting at a desk for this extended amount of time,” Cook said.
So while juggling her full-time job, she also kept her freelance DYNMX work busy. But, there came a point where the freelance opportunities started calling her to step away from her full-time job.
Although the creation of her branding came naturally through the combined worlds of dance and design, the start of her business didn’t come without risk.
“Making the decision – I’m gonna leave my nine-to-five, I’m going to branch off and do my own thing and take that risk – that was like the biggest hurdle for me,” Cook said.
There were also learning curves in starting something from the ground up.
“Registering for an LLC, getting all the documentation you need and setting up your bank account and taxes and all of that good stuff – that was more foreign to me,” Cook said. “I ended up taking a design course on how to start a business for graphic designers specifically online. That really taught me a lot.”
Although she took the jump into the unknown, she had some structure in place to help her hit the ground running. She secured two 20-hour contracts that would offer her a 40-hour work week. And from there, more opportunities came her way.
“I started getting more clients that were reaching out saying, ‘Hey, we need support,’” Cook said. “And they were willing to pay the prices that I wanted to promote for myself. So I was like, perfect!”
With a little less than a year under her belt, she has goals and dreams for what’s ahead at DYNMX, but mostly she’s celebrating the success in the present.
“I think originally I thought I wanted to grow this business really big and have employees,” Cook said. “As I started looking deeper into that, I think I am kind of happy with where it’s at.”
She shared some key advice for students and designers.
“You’re probably never gonna feel ready to take the leap to do your own thing fully, and you sometimes just have to do that and then the door is open,” Cook said.
“You’re probably never gonna feel ready to take the leap to do your own thing fully, and you sometimes just have to do that and then the door is open.”
She also recommended expanding the job search on spaces like LinkedIn and applying for contract or temporary roles. Cook sees the value in working contract roles and planning out your year with multiple in mind.
But her biggest piece of advice is to prioritize physical and mental health – don’t be afraid to modify the workplace mold to make it work for you.
“A lot of designers, they’ll literally work from nine to five every day without having a lunch break or going on a walk,” Cook said. “I always told myself, ‘Every day, I’m gonna do an hour walk at lunch.’ Like no matter what, if it’s a stressful day, if I have so much to do, I have to work late, I’m still gonna do the hour walk. Just stick to the stuff that makes you feel good.”
