Black Trans Advocacy Coalition

Brand Development | 2020

This nonprofit organization is an advocate group for one of the most maligned minorities in the United States today, black trans people. I approached this group after seeing them going around on instagram, because their currently logo and branding are in need of a lot of help. This is a pro-bono project.

It was important for them to keep the face of the person from their current branding. I redrew the silhouette to be recognizably black, but live in a gray area between masculine and feminine. They are looking forward with their chin up, peaceful but powerful.

The silhouette forms the centerpiece of the new identity. A flexible logo system was designed around it, with expansions for local and regional groups in the subhead.

White, pink, and light blue—the colors of the trans flag—are matched with a deep navy for contrast and grounding of the identity.

I developed the squircle (which has since become my favorite word) as a holding shape for the silhouette and the secondary icon, a large and funky stacked BTAC monogram. This is evocative of their current branding, and will be used as a supporting mark.

Because so much of their messaging is on social media, typography was very important to get right. The black trans community is not a monolith, and I wanted to create a playful system that was robust and diverse in its ability to deliver a focused message at a glance. By changing color, type, and weight, the system can easily evolve from one post to the next.