Black Lives Matter is Not a Design Challenge.
If you’ve come here to be fragile, please check that at the door, or leave.
If you’ve come here to listen and learn like you vowed you would, welcome. Thank you for following through and making time and mental space for this.
As an Afro-Latinx designer, I follow a lot of other designers, artists, illustrators, calligraphers, and agencies on Instagram. It helps me keep up with visual trends and allows me to support my peers and their accomplishments. Some days, it serves as a visual version of a news feed when pop culture events are happening.
But this month, and this week especially, there’s been a tingling ache in my fingers as I scroll. There’s been a rock in my stomach. Social media makes it too easy to experience FOMO, especially when there’s a new challenge (e.g. Inktober, Mermay, 36 Days of Type — just a few I’ve put off each year) meant to get your creative juices flowing and show off your style. There’s a lovely sense of creative community and fun there. However,
Black Lives Matter is not a design challenge.
George Floyd is not a portrait exercise.
You are not the next Shepard Fairey. This moment is not about you.
Yes, you could read this and fume and justify why your art and intention are different, but…
