CLEVELAND — When you look at the job openings in the graphic design industry, there are many, but when you look at the diversity— it's lacking.
One Cleveland organization is working to change that by helping more Black and brown students advance their creative careers.
In their own creative bubble are Alaina Battle and Francisco DeJesus
"My long-term goal is to have opened up my own photography and design studio," said Battle, a student at designExplorr.
"I had a lot of experiences within design, but I never thought about it as a career choice," said Francisco DeJesus, another student at designExplorr.
Though their artistic paths are different, their struggles to find a place in the creative industry are the same.
"Growing up, it's like, we always saw like the same faces on TV, and then when we thought about a specific field, it was always a certain face," said DeJesus.
"So while I was in school, whenever we discussed with designers, we had like a handful of Black or brown designers, and then for those 16 weeks, most of the designers were white," said Battle.
Then Jacinda Walker came into the picture. She's the founder and creative director at designExplorr.
"So designExplorr is a social impact organization whose mission aims to increase diversity and design disciplines," Walker said.
Through her organization, Jacinda works with people like Alaina and Francisco to give them creative freedom and help get their careers started.
"The experiential center is for 18-to-26-year-olds. Those are our college students who are looking to develop portfolios, learn more about the career," Walker said.
They also partner with other organizations like Urban Strategies, where Juleian Curtis is the project manager, and he works with the students to utilize their skill sets.
"In many cases, these young people are really influencing the foundation of the design process of lessons missing from my space," said Juleian Curtis, senior project manager of Urban Strategy.
Walker told News 5 she remembers being the only Black designer in the room, and that's why she founded the organization.
Walker said that according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics study in 2022, only 4% of 1.2 million designers were Black or brown, which is discouraging for any student.
"I feel invisible; it makes me feel not seen, not heard or even thought of to have 4% of designers be Black or brown," Battle said.
At designExplorr, they overcome it by reminding each other about the importance of their work.
"I can be who I am when I step into this office, and then I'm not just used as a token in your organization to say, 'Oh, I have this one black designer,'" Battle said.
"As a designer, to be a different face so that way I can translate and I can actually communicate to others that I'm almost positive, not many can," DeJesus said.
The organization, designExplorr, also helps high school students. For more information, CLICK HERE.
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