Black Excellence by Renee McKellar

Day 5 — Poster posted on February 4, 2023

Renee McKellar

Pronouns: She/Her
Located: Saugus, CA

Tell us about yourself:

I’ve been using photoshop since I was in the 5th grade. Art and design is my life. I always wanted to help bring change to my community and I have learned to do so using design.

What is the inspiration behind your poster design?

My inspiration was one of my beautiful spiritual female friends who does hair. Her aura and everything about her represents black excellence.

Why do you love being creative?

Being a creative allows me to be expressive in ways that my words can’t. Sometimes I can’t convey a message enough with just words, certain colors and textures

Tell us about your experiences in the design world…

Being black in the design world is still very hard. Sometimes you end up in positions being the token black person of the office. One company that I would like to say made me feel comfortable is a black network. They are truly a design TEAM! It was such an amazing experience working with black creatives and my first time seeing and working with a black female creative director. I’ve been inspired deeply since.

How can we create a more inclusive design world and ensure that Black people are represented?

We need more black creatives in higher positions. We get designed about but we’re never in the room making the design decisions and it shows.

In general… How can we make more equity or equality for us?

More black owned design firms. Black creatives need better access to one another, I just feel like it’s not where it is for other groups.

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