Can you design for a community with whom you have no connection to?

It happened during a summer workshop at Autodesk, where Inneract Project students were tasked with designing lamps inspired by the prompt: “I choose to shed light/shine light on _____.” Barbie had been working at IP for just a few months at that point, and was still pretty new to the world of design.

This Black History Month, Inneract Project (IP) invites you to invest in a world where design is inclusive of Black, Latinx, and underrepresented communities of color.

As a nonprofit organization launched in May 2021, Let’s Hoop had a mission worth promoting—mutual aid and self-empowerment within marginalized communities. They just needed designers to shape the organization’s visual presence. For this, they turned to Inneract Project students!

We recently had the chance to reflect on what 15 years looks like with our Education Committee Lead & Associate Board Member, Ji-hern Baek. Read his interview below to hear about his experiences with IP and what empowering black & brown youth means for the future of design.

Inneract Project Volunteer, Jesse Zachery's talks about his experience and inspiration from Black design mentors and how this has shaped his career.

It’s an all-too-familiar story for Black creatives on their career journey: find your passion young, pursue it as a hobby, and then, as you grow in skill and age, see fewer and fewer folks who look like you on your trajectory, in school and the workplace.

Black Aspirations Matter (BAM) is a group started by five Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) friends and allies who were moved to action by the Black Lives Matter movement in support of the aspirations of Black students.

As Black, Latinx, and underrepresented designers of color, we know that being connected with folks who root for our success can make all the difference in our career journeys. We are excited to announce our partnership with Black Aspirations Matter (BAM), a grassroots, inter-community effort to raise funds for Black college students who are interested in careers in design or technology.

It is our pleasure to release long time designer, educator, advocate, researcher and design strategist, Michele Y. Washington. Michele is a historian and advocate for Blacks in design as well as an all-around, down-to-earth solemn character, full of life and knowledge. Pre-pandemic, we visited her in New York to talk to her about her thoughts on diversity in design, career, and advice for young people.

A Pacific Islander design expert reflects on her experiences in the field and shares advice for her fellow underrepresented designers of color.

We recently had the chance to reflect on what 15 years looks like with one of our long term volunteers, Marcela Carrillo. Read her interview below to hear about her experience with IP and what empowering black & brown youth means for the future of design.

Inneract Project (IP) launched its very first program for high schoolers, IP Studio, challenging students to solve a need in their communities through design. The program intended to help students create a portfolio piece for launching their design career.

For 15 years, Inneract Project has been serving the community with free youth design education programming. As you can imagine, our programs have evolved over the years. What was once a graphic design class is now a series of courses that aim to create a pathway into a range of design careers.