Black Trans Femmes in the Arts
A bold identity honoring the voices driving culture forward.
Client
BTFA Collective (Black Trans Femmes in the Arts)
A community-based arts organization dedicated to uplifting Black trans femme artists through programming, productions, and resource mobilization.
Role
Creative Director
The Brief
BTFA needed a cohesive and bold visual identity to match the power of its mission, supporting and preserving Black trans art and culture. They lacked a formal brand system, digital presence, or visual toolkit to unify their messaging or grow community engagement.
The Goal
Create a full visual identity system and branded experience that felt celebratory, unapologetic, and empowering. The brand had to resonate with artists, allies, donors, and media, standing in stark contrast to the harmful and reductive narratives surrounding Black trans lives.
The Idea
A brand that holds space: visibly and powerfully. To help BTFA celebrate and protect Black trans femmes in the arts, I needed to create a brand system that could do more than just stand out, it had to hold and honor.
Visibility is power. So we made it the design principle.
In a media landscape that too often distorts or erases trans lives, the BTFA brand was designed to disrupt quietly, yet intentionally. We began with logo explorations that focused on adaptability, community, and discipline-specific coloration.
The real breakthrough came from using the logo as a literal frame, allowing it to be filled with portraits of real trans femmes. This integration of image and identity made the brand feel personal and collective at once. We chose not to desaturate or distance the photography, but instead layered on the soft pink-to-blue gradient from the trans flag—preserving the subjects’ full color, vibrancy, and individuality. It was a way to unify visuals while affirming presence.
At launch, this bold look and feel helped BTFA’s social and site stand out not just as a brand, but as a movement, offering a rare, vulnerable, and bold presence in the nonprofit arts space.
From Visibility to Power
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From Visibility to Power *
This wasn’t just a branding project. It was an act of affirmation. We built a visual identity that honored Black trans femmes as they are unfiltered, vibrant, and whole. The result was a brand that didn’t just support a community; it stood with them. As a Creative Director, this is the work that matters most to me: unapologetic, community-driven, and built with purpose.