BSU T-shirt Design

For this project, I was tasked with creating a t-shirt design for MiraCosta’s Black Student Union. Our goal was to create a t-shirt that evoked the spirit of Black joy

I drew inspiration from the typography of the Blaxploitation film movement. During the early 1970s, the combined momentum of the civil rights movement, the Black power movement, and the Black Panthers spurred black artists to reclaim power over their image. The genre emerged as one of the first in which black characters and communities were protagonists; rather than sidekicks, supportive characters, or victims of brutality. Institutions like UCLA provided financial assistance for students of color to study filmmaking.

In the context of designing for one of MiraCosta’s first student organizations, I felt it was important to lean into the history of depictions of celebrating Black identities.