California Wellness Foundation (Cal Wellness) partnered with agency RALLY, to raise public awareness and deepen the understanding of the impact and burden of HIV/AIDS and STIs on Black women in California, it was obvious that previous approaches around sexual health and sex education were not going to cut it. They created focus groups and concluded that Black women were feeling the burden of stereotypes and structural racism. The realization was that a direct sexual health message from a non-trusted institution in this climate would fall on deaf ears. RALLY reached out to me because they wanted Upspoken, to continue to promote sexual health via a platform for Black women about relationships, love, and sex.

I created from an authentic point of view — as a Black woman first, designer second. I presented RALLY with branding that we identify with. My work included logo, iconography, UI/UX design, social and print collateral and overall brand identity.

Upspoken is about meeting Black women where they are.Black women are lifting up their voices on social media to showcase their uniqueness, speak on issues that are important to them, and organize with each other to build community, solidarity, and strength. Common content themes and trends included: strength, beauty, and empowerment. The Upspoken platform, including its website and social media, uses all of these entry points to connect with Black women first, following up with public health information second so that it can be received.