Brand — Jessica E. Boyd

BINAMU

I led logo and visual identity design in 2024, when BINAMU was originally envisioned as a card game intended to inspire connectedness and conversation across the African Diaspora.

After the brand was reimagined as a digital magazine exploring Black migration, memory, art, joy, and resistance, I was invited to return in 2026 to lead art direction and editorial design.

CAPABILITIES

Logo + Identity Design
Art Direction
Digital Collage
Editorial Design

Text on a dark red background that says 'Blame' in large orange letters.

BINAMU Logo

Two young children in traditional African clothing stand in front of a vintage microphone with a cloudy, leafless tree in the background against an orange sky.

“Cracking the Cipher: Why Our Children Must Inherit the Code in Black Music”

A woman with styled hair and a pearl necklace, smiling with her eyes closed, surrounded by flying cranes, with a historical map of Tennessee in the background.

“I Left [Big City] for the South and Found a Different Version of Blackness”

A collage of diverse elements including a woman with a serene expression and outstretched arms, a man in traditional African attire dancing, and a videographer recording, set against a cityscape with high-rise buildings and a dark purple sky with a city map overlay.

“The New Black Renaissance Isn’t Happening in One City”

A man wearing a straw hat and sunglasses driving a vintage silver car, with white magnolia flowers in the background and a red textured backdrop.

“How Black Migration Is Reshaping Local Culture Across America”

A woman with dramatic makeup and long white nails holding her face, with a large wooden African mask and various vintage coins, a ship's wheel, and a compass in the background.

“Museums Spent Centuries Profiting From Black History. Now Communities Want More Than Apologies.”

Black Mary Paper Co.

Though the founders shelved this brand pre-launch due to the wide-scale unpredictability of 2020, I led brand strategy, logo and identity, packaging, and merch design for Black Mary Paper Co. The concept was a greeting card and paper goods brand inspired by the true story of Mary Fields, also known as “Black Mary,” the first Black woman star route worker for the U.S. postal service.

CAPABILITIES

Logo + Identity Design
Art Direction
Merch Design
Packaging Design

Collage of various Black Mary Paper Co. logos and designs on a black background, including text and stylized illustrations of a person with a headwrap.

A round black sign with white text reading 'Black Mary Paper Co.' hanging from a black metal arm attached to a brick building. The building has a wooden awning and other colorful building facades visible in the background.

A white tote bag with black face illustrations and orange starburst patterns hanging on a red car door handle.

A graphic art print of a Black woman with a headwrap on an orange background, placed on a teal fabric surface.

Person wearing a white sweatshirt with a design resembling a postage stamp featuring a stylized portrait of a woman and the words 'Black Mary Paper Co.'

Person wearing white pants and black sneakers, carrying a black tote bag with a graphic of a person's face with an orange hat on it, standing on a cobblestone surface.

Multiple white paper envelopes with the text 'Black Mary Paper Co' printed on the flap, arranged overlapping each other, with small orange starburst symbols scattered around.

Close-up of black paper box with orange and white text. The box features the words "Special Delivery" and "Black Market Paper Co." along with a small illustration of a person's head with a turban.

International African American Museum

In my role as Communications Manager for the newly opened museum, I championed stricter brand governance and led the consolidation of the design function from organization-wide to the marketing department. This responsibility required stepping in as an ad hoc graphic designer, collaborating cross-functionally to create everything from signage to apparel to countless other assets intended to elevate the museum’s brand and guest experience.

CAPABILITIES

Art Direction
Print + Digital Design
Editorial Design
Apparel Graphic Design
Signage & Wayfinding

Black t-shirt with white line drawing of a modern building, palm trees, and text about an African American museum grand opening in Charleston, South Carolina.

Close-up of a person wearing a gray blazer and a black t-shirt with white printed architectural drawing and text for the grand opening of the International African American Museum on June 27, 2023, in Charleston, SC.

Grand Opening Commemorative T-Shirt Design

More IAAM design samples coming soon.

HBCU Prep School

When first-time author Claudia Walker set out to release The ABCs of HBCUs under her publishing company, HBCU Prep School, she desired an illustrator and creative partner with lived HBCU experience.

With our shared background at Spelman College, I was selected to lead art direction, logo and identity design, and provide digital illustration and book design that seamlessly reflected the beautiful and diverse nuances of HBCU culture. I also led creative for Walker’s second release, The ABCs of Black Wall Street.

CAPABILITIES

Logo + Identity Design
Art Direction
Digital Illustration
Book Cover + Layout Design

The image shows multiple copies of a book titled 'The Arts of' with illustrations of children in graduation caps on the covers, overlapping each other.

Back cover of a book titled "The ABCs of HBCUs" with a red background, white title text, and small illustrations of children sitting or standing on the title. The description highlights the book's focus on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, their history, and cultural significance. The barcode, ISBN, and price are also visible.

Four people are sitting in a row at a bar or counter, each wearing yellow and blue clothing, with a red patterned background.

Illustration of two diverse women, one with curly hair and the other with braids, standing behind a podium with a microphone, against a blue background with geometric patterns, representing women empowerment and leadership.

ACCOLADES

The fall 2020 release of The ABCs of HBCUs was a breakout success—selling 1,000 copies in its first month, far surpassing the typical lifetime sales of 250 copies for self-published children’s books**.
Both The ABCS of HBCUs and The ABCs of Black Wall Street were instrumental in HBCU Prep School winning the $25,000 Build Black Shopify Pitch Competition, as well as business mentoring from entrepreneur and Shark Tank investor Daymond John.
Each title landed retail placement on Macys.com and Bloomingdales.com, as well as in over 1,900 Target stores nationwide during Black History Month 2022.
The books also earned recognition on “best of” lists by Essence magazine and the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, as well as major national media recognition in Forbes and others.

Shondaland

In 2021, I was commissioned to create digital illustrations for two editorial storytelling series at Shondaland.com.

CAPABILITIES

Art Direction
Digital Illustration

“The Good, the Bad, the Ugly in Online Communities”

“Power of Adaptability: We're All Doing Things We Didn't Expect”

Power Series Main Art