Kansas City Digital Media Lab (KCDML) is a hands-on learning environment that uses storytelling, robotics, digital media production, and other maker activities to engage youth. A program of the Kansas City Public Library, KCDML helps local teens make connections between their interests and future academic or professional opportunities.
For the 2021 Black History Month commemoration, the KCDML team came up with an idea to highlight the stories of Black figures past and present through video. Throughout February, KCDML organizers and teen creators produced a series highlighting notable African Americans and their achievements. In this "Live Museum" concept, several Library staff and community members selected and researched prominent Black figures they admire, and recorded online “exhibit” testimonials about their respective honorees. Videos were released weekly on the KCDML Facebook and YouTube accounts. The theme “The Journey Continues” underscored the ever-changing impact of our collective past and today’s ongoing efforts to ensure equality, justice, opportunity, and freedom for all.
I worked with the KCDML team to develop a visual identity for the series, designing a wordmark, color palette, and series of graphic backgrounds that were incorporated into the footage of Library staff or other guests who spoke about their selected Black History figure. I also created a series of stylized "cover images" of the featured Black History subjects for the beginning of each video.
A basic style guide I organized was given to the teens working on the videos as a way to offer some suggestions on visual framing.
The core colors used in the project came from the Pan-African Flag, which traditionally includes horizontal bands of red, black, and green, and have a history of symbolism and meaning that the team members involved in the project wanted to draw upon.
A few of the completed videos the KCDML team produced:
