Brand identity & design for artist author poet and activist Cleo Wade

Harpers Bazaar magazine bestowed her the nickname “The Millennial Oprah,” Cleo Wade, an artist, poet, and author, reaches her audience through love and compassion in her poetry and activism. Her work speaks to the power of self-love, the impact of beloved community building, and the importance of social justice.

Branding Cleo’s digital presence means partnering together with her as the designer of her brand, and the team she has assembled, to strike a balance and create strategic opportunity through messaging, imagery, and typographic matrimony that elevates her brand identity.

Cleo Wade Shop

Various prints and apparel made for purchase on Cleo’s website. Sold out.

Real Leaders Pride 2022 shirt for Vice President Kamala Harris

Special edition t-shirt created for MVP Harris in Cleo’s lettering style for the 2022 Pride Parade in California. White version for her and black version for him.

Insecure BLOCC Sweatshirt

Special edition 1-off blue sweatshirt with embroidered letters in Cleo’s lettering style created for Issa Rae’s character for this scene in Season 5’s episode.

Black Women Vote

Design work of a full page ad on Black Women Vote for Phenomenal and Higher Heights in the New York Times newspaper, August 6th issue.

Featuring Gen Z Changemaker @winterbreeanne
Words by @stevie_elem & @cleowade
Photography by @msayles
Design by @adobetrisha

First but not the last t-shirt design

Design for Cleo Wade x Meena Harris First but not the last t-shirt for the Biden Victory Fund, featuring baby Kamala and lettering by Cleo. Produced to raise funds for the Biden campaign.

CW x Gucci Changemakers
Chime for Change campaign

A collection of work featured in various publications include the New York Times Newspaper and Bon Appetit magazine.

The Rock The Vote website was a simple website created to help get Americans registered to vote in the coming elections with access to voting information, voter registration status, getting involved, and committing to vote.

Election 2020

Designs for fundraising with 100% proceeds donated to the Biden Harris campaign.

Affirmation Art And Home

A comprehensive guide to the identity of Affirmation Art And Home, Cleo’s line of products on positivity and love sharing tips. My role covered design and development of the visual and typographic systems from logo design to typographic usage, colour schemes, and product design under Cleo’s creative direction and art.

Where To Begin
Book Design & Tour Assets

Launching her second book, Where To Begin, Cleo made a conscious loving decision to publish this in hardback for one reason and one reason only: to put this secret love note to her readers, from her, on the book hidden under the book jacket. She wrote and rewrote the words on this part of the book about a million times, stripping the book of all other info (title, publisher etc) because she wanted this message to be something that her readers could glance at whenever a little encouragement is needed.

Working with her publishers, I prepared her artwork, designed cover iterations, and prepared all the social tour assets including poetry posters, buttons, magnets, flyers, and social media assets.

Heart Talk
Book & Exhibition Design

Design of the interior pages of her debut book. Worked with the designers at Simon & Schuster 37ink in NYC to lay out her artwork images and typography.

For her launch party at The New Museum, we digitised her painted poem into printed adhesive vinyl letters on the walls for her Heart Talk book.

Letterpress posters

Various 8x10 inch letterpress posters made.
Special edition 11x17 inch risograph poster.

Beverly Center

Colour and type layout editing a series of Cleo's poetry and words of advice on display at the Beverly Center LED screen in California.

Miscellaneous design work

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