Objective
Design a series of four posters that visually communicate the themes of Black cultural heritage, representation, social justice, and future possibilities. Each poster must incorporate statistical data, factual information, or key insights related to an important issue affecting the Black community. Through this project, I used graphic design principles to explore how Black design draws from cultural roots, advocates for representation, drives social justice and envisions a forward-looking, innovative future.
These posters were submitted and entered for the Black by Design Symposium and Exhibition, 2024.
Award Winning Poster - Oshun
My first poster correlates to the theme of Black Design Heritage and Innovation because it relates to African mythology and storytelling. My poster graphically illustrates Oshun, the Yoruba river goddess of fertility and love. The crocodile relates to the idea that crocodiles have been seen as mystical, spiritual, related to deities, and powerful creatures since ancient times across Africa. I thought it was fitting to include a crocodile aside Oshun to portray her power and correlation to the river. Black cultural heritage such as these stories have influence contemporary design with the example of Wangechi Mutu. Mutu, is an artist from Kenya who has created the sculpture, Crocodylus, 2020, which is inspired by a prehistoric crocodile and the connections to tales internationally of what crocodiles symbolize, such as the Egyptian god Sobek and the Ganges River goddess Ganga.
Give Black Designers More Spaces
The second poster correlates to the theme of Representation and Empowerment, as it is urging to have more art spaces for Black designers to showcase their art. Many Black artists have rightfully complained about the lack of representation in art spaces and how they are usually a minority part of galleries than their White artist peers. My poster shows a confident individual in a large-scale frame and someone admiring the piece to showcase that Black artists can proudly be allowed to be the main focus in galleries.
Stop Medical Discrimination
The third poster relates to the theme of Social Justice and Activism because I graphically designed a heart and barbwire to show the discrimination Black people face in the medical industry. Black people are 35% less likely than White poeple to receive pain medications because of the false belief that they have “thicker skin” and a higher pain tolerance. The barbwire depicts the pain that Black people face and I designed an anatomical heart with colors often used in African textiles to make the connection of how this relates to Black people in the context of the health industry.
Future is Now
The fourth poster relates to the theme of Future Directions as I designed a vibrantly electric piece based on the Afro-futurism movement about how art related to African culture can evolve in the future, in this case, how graphic design will evolve by including the use of Adinkra symbols.
Sketch Process
