Kyra O'Kelley
DESIGNER & ILLUSTRATOR

When Terrence Moline contacted me about this project, I couldn’t have been more excited! As a young black designer searching for her creative voice and finding her footing, I looked forward to the opportunity to contribute to a platform specifically by black designers, for black designers. My task was to illustrate African American Graphic Designers, or AAGD, in a way that honors black American history while looking to our future. 

 

Thus, I set to work considering what elements to include in this illustration, the typestyle of AAGD, and the piece’s overall composition. Terrence and I collaborated on its ideation, constantly shooting ideas back and forth. As I sat down to sketch, the ideas we discussed began to form before me. 

 

I initially sketched, and later refined, a graceful sans-serif typeface for AAGD that constrasts well against the floral illustrations and designs surrounding it. For the illustrations themselves, I used cotton buds, African violets, Impala lilies, African daisies, and Indigo leaves for inspiration. All of these flowers hold significance to African American history or present meaningful symbolism. For the abstract designs surrounding the flowers, I was inspired by West African basket weaving and fabrics.

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Client/ African American Graphic Designers, via Terrence Moline

Materials/ Pen and ink

Year/ Fall 2018