for the love of blk

Podcast Identity Design + Portrait Illustration
Host: Jeffreen M. Hayes, Ph.D.

 

I created the podcast logo and visual branding for for the love of blk, a project by curator, scholar, and cultural worker Jeffreen M. Hayes, Ph.D. The podcast carves out space for deep reflection on Black thought, presence, and possibility—accompanied by extended essays on related topics and guests.

 

At the heart of the identity is a digital portrait I illustrated of Jeffreen, drawn from a photograph by Milo Bosh. Every element of the illustration was intentional—from the soft rendering of skin to the hand-drawn hair follicles, which I drew individually to reflect both reverence and care. The color palette blends references to the Pan-African flag and the Dominican flag—acknowledging diasporic complexity and centering Blackness lovingly. A red heart curves behind her like a second shoulder, grounding the visual in intimacy and resilience.

 

The typography plays with structure and spacing, giving weight to the title's rhythm while reinforcing the podcast's ethos: a Black space for Black thought, tenderness, and otherness.