The next time you’re in Target, go to their Black history month section and look for Kah’Milah Ledgester, Trajan Baker and Sharone Townsend. Their work is being sold in Target stores nationwide. The students were the top three top winners of Target’s 2021 HBCU Design Challenge.
For the challenge, participants had to design t-shirt artwork and graphics for the Target 2022 Black History Month campaign. Winners received $3,000 in prize money, an Apple MacBook Pro, a design course and Snapchat’s augmented-reality glasses.
Kah’Milah Ledgester wanted to showcase the beauty of Black women
Ledgester is a senior graphic design student at Florida A&M University.
In her video interview after her win, Ledgester explained how found out about the challenge last March and was inspired to create a design that was powerful and beautiful.
“For my submission, I designed an illustration that showcases Black women and us being beautiful,” she said in her interview.
She added, “I wanted to showcase Black women but I also wanted to give a message and I remember creating something, adding colors and blending different things around.”
The submissions were judged by a group of senior design, merchandising, marketing, and technical experts, including Tawnya Artist, Target’s director of Multicultural Product Design and Advancement.
“Her lovely illustration with its color, texture, and layout held universal appeal. We are so happy to have it as a part of our winning designs,” Artisst said.
Alicia Hope, a visiting assistant professor of Graphic Communication, congratulated her student saying, “Kah’Milah’s creativity and love for design inspire me as well as her peers. Watching her evolve into this amazing graphic designer is pretty awesome.”
Ledgester showcased her design during FAMU’s homecoming festivities and gave away free bags with her work.
She spoke RoyalTee Magazine affiliate, Rattler Girls Rock.
“I’m a Rattler Girl who rocks because I’m willing to put myself out there and I’m a creative artist,” she told RGR.
The two other HBCU winners were Sharone of Bowie State University and Trajan Baker of Hampton University. Their work is also on display in Target.
Watch Ledgester’s interview below:
[vimeo 643345731 w=640 h=360]
Graphic Design Student Wins HBCU Design Challenge from FAMU SJGC on Vimeo.
Trajan Baker wanted to show unity and growth
Baker is a junior architecture student at Hampton University and has his own creative business. His ‘We Rise’ hoodie is suppose to symbolize unity, growth, and opportunity.
“It’s meant to demonstrate how we as black people have pulled ourselves up from everything we’ve been through in the United States of America. If you look at the top of my design you see something blooming and that represents our prosperity. The fist is the black power fist,” said Baker in a statement posted on Hampton’s website.
“I feel very proud to represent my HBCU, Hampton University. I feel like this is our design as a whole. I’m taking the tools that I’ve learned from Hampton and I’m applying my own artistic creativity to produce work. Being able to showcase my art to the world and just being acknowledged, you’ll always remember Hampton University. It feels great.”
Baker, 20, also creates custom designs on hats and denim jackets. He showcases his work on his Instagram.
“If you have a passion, if you have something that you want to pursue, put the time into it and really continue to develop it and become the best at it that you can be and the sky is the limit,” he said.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CYhmkqbpZpv/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Sharone Townsend was inspired by the diversity of the Motherland.
Townsend is a senior at Bowie State University. His t-shirt design is inspired by African print.
“My goal was to illustrate different colors coming together,” said Townsend. “I thought it would be cool to have some of the hands brown, with the red, black and green and the African print behind it.”
Townsend is set to graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in Visual Communications & Digital Media Arts with a concentration in Fashion Design.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CZPnuN5uO4r/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
