INSPIRE Next Gen
Design Contest
Black Connect’s annual contest helps provide exposure to talented and creative Black entrepreneurs!
Black Connect is dedicated to eliminating the racial wealth gap in America and building self-sustaining Black communities and in order to advance our mission, we spread awareness in creative and fun ways, and our t-shirt design contest is a fantastic tool to ignite deep conversations and collective action while providing an opportunity for Black creatives to showcase their work. Read more below.
About the Contest
The Black Connect INSPIRE Next Gen Design Contest is a crowd-sourced design competition that highlights talented Black designers.
2024 THEME: Money, Power, Respect!
Meet the 2024 Winner
Meet the winner of our 2024 INSPIRE Next Gen Design Contest: Janina Gonçalves! Janina’s creative design will be featured on Black Connect’s official t-shirt for our upcoming 5th Anniversary National WealthBuilding Conference!
Janina is a graphic designer, specializing in branding and social media graphics. With a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing and Graphic Design from Drake University, her approach combines marketing insight with design expertise to create compelling visual content. Her portfolio reflects a commitment to not only enhance brand aesthetics but also to foster engagement and communication through thoughtful design. Janina is dedicated to leveraging her skills to help brands achieve a standout presence in the digital space.
Wear your t-shirt to the BlackOut Party during our 5th Anniversary Conference in NYC and receive a free drink ticket!
Our 5-Year Anniversary T-Shirt was designed by Janina Goncalves, winner of our 2024 INSPIRE Next Gen Design Contest. The design illustrates Black Connect’s conviction that economic independence, achieved through business ownership, is the foundation of not only Black wealth, but also civil rights for Black Americans and your purchase helps us spread an important message and provides financial support to the organization.
Cotton/spandex black t-shirt. Short sleeves. Unisex sizes S - 3XL. T-shirts ship beginning May 1, 2024
Black Connect’s Design Contest Brings Awareness to the Lack of Diversity in Graphic Design
If you are a business owner or entrepreneur, you have likely been inundated by offers from graphic designers to design your logo, revamp your website, create flyers, business cards, posters, and every other piece of marketing material conceivable.
It may come as a surprise to know that despite the seeming proliferation of Black graphic designers, the field of professional graphic design is approximately 86% white. Racial diversity has been an issue in the graphic design community for over 20 years, yet the gap in representation and opportunities for Black Americans remains.
How Do We Fix It?
Black designers are operating from a deficit in many areas including exposure, education, and inclusion. Like most issues impacting the Black community, the solution to closing the gap in graphic arts is multidimensional. Awareness, opportunities, mentoring, and more, is needed to bridge the divide.
Black Connect is taking a step toward creating public awareness and exposure with an opportunity for Black graphic designers to demonstrate their professionalism, talents, and creativity. Our national INSPIRE Next Gen design contest allows Black designers to win prizes and have their work featured across Black Connect’s merchandise, website, and social media channels.
GET INVOLVED!
==> Tell a friend, share on social media, tag a designer, vote in the contest and purchase a t-shirt!
We work with businesses and organizations of all sizes to create a custom sponsorship package. Contact us for more information.