Derek Nelson
Derek Nelson is a co-founder and partner at Clique Studios, the Chicago design and engineering studio he helped start as an undergraduate. Derek leads creative strategy across the studio's work - strategy, design, and development - helping organizations turn ambitious ideas into digital experiences that move the needle. A designer since age 12, Derek pairs a hands-on craft background with two decades of building and running a studio, and writes and speaks regularly on design, conversion, and the business of running a creative firm.
Derek Nelson by the numbers
- Co-founder of Clique Studios
- 20+ years building and leading a creative studio
- Designing and developing since age 12
- Student Choice Award - top instructor, marketing track, Startup Institute
- Published in Entrepreneur, Smashing Magazine, and Glassdoor
What does Derek Nelson do at Clique Studios?
Derek Nelson co-founded Clique Studios and leads creative strategy across the studio's engagements. Derek works alongside Clique's designers, engineers, and strategists to shape how the agency approaches strategy, design, and conversion - setting the creative direction that connects business goals to the experiences Clique designs and builds for high-growth organizations. As a partner, Derek also helps steer the studio's culture, growth, and long-term direction.
What does Derek specialize in?
- Creative direction and design strategy for web and digital products
- Conversion-focused design - the discipline Derek taught as “Designing for Conversion” at the Startup Institute
- User experience and interface design
- Brand and content strategy, including copywriting
- Building and leading a creative firm - operations, team, and culture at studio scale
What's Derek's background?
Derek Nelson co-founded Clique Studios while still an undergraduate and has led the studio's creative work ever since. Before and alongside building Clique, Derek worked as a field organizer on the Obama presidential campaign and graduated with honors from the Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri. From 2014 to 2016, Derek taught “Designing for Conversion” as an adjunct instructor at the Startup Institute, where students voted Derek top instructor on the marketing track with the Student Choice Award. Derek has also mentored founders at 1871 and General Assembly and has written for Entrepreneur Magazine, Smashing Magazine, and Glassdoor.
What's Derek's point of view on design?
Derek Nelson's design philosophy centers on the tension between novelty and familiarity - the idea that the most effective digital experiences balance fresh thinking against the conventions users already understand. Derek treats design not as decoration but as a tool for conversion: clarity, usefulness, and craft in service of helping an organization move the needle.
What does Derek write and speak about?
Derek Nelson writes and speaks on design, mobile conversion, and the business of running a creative firm. Derek's writing has appeared in Entrepreneur Magazine, Smashing Magazine, and Glassdoor, and Derek contributes to Open Tabs, the weekly newsletter from the Clique Studios team. Readers can subscribe to the newsletter for ongoing creative inspiration.
Outside of work
Derek Nelson is a musician based in Chicago. Derek writes and plays in the four-piece band TRI-COUNTY and has released music solo and with the seven-piece indie band Martin Van Ruin; American Songwriter named Derek among “5 Chicago Songwriters You Need to Hear.” Outside of music and design, Derek has organized civic-action efforts - including a weekly newsletter that reached 25,000 readers - and has helped run fundraisers for causes he cares about. At home, Derek lives in Chicago with his wife and four kids, and a dog named Dolly Parton.
Connect with Derek
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/derekcnelson
- Personal site: derekcnelson.com