With “Blooming,” we created a visual journey through the heart of ISDAO’s mission. Layered with symbolism, rich textures, and bold African aesthetics, this report reflects the growing impact of the movement, blooming despite adversity.

We were brought in to design the look and feel of the report. Our task? To create a visual language that celebrates ISDAO’s roots in African liberation, honors its grantee partners, and reflects the lush complexity of queer and feminist organizing in the region.

• Infuse the report with African aesthetics that feel rooted, radiant, and bold.
  
• Use collage as a medium of storytelling—layering narratives, textures, and symbols.
  
• Make the report feel like a living document, not a static PDF.
  
• Design layouts that hold complexity without losing clarity.

We leaned into collage not only visually but philosophically. Collage allows for multiplicity, for bringing together fragments—people, places, histories, futures—into something whole and expansive. It’s how many of ISDAO’s grantee partners build their work: piece by piece, story by story.


Each section of the report is marked by distinct visual compositions:


• Grantee spotlights paired with layered visuals to reflect each initiative’s nuance.
• Chapter dividers using bursts of color and hand-drawn icons to create rhythm.
• Custom patterns and shapes inspired by regional fabrics and symbology.

2. African Visual Heritage, Reimagined


We studied visual references from West African textiles, murals, and poster art—borrowing elements of vibrancy, repetition, and spiritual symbolism. But rather than replicate tradition, we remixed it.

• Color palette: Warm, earthy tones mixed with electric blues, ochres, and violets.
  
• Textures: Paper cuts, brushstrokes, and digital overlays.
  
• Typography: Clean, legible sans-serifs balanced with hand-lettered accents.


The result was a visual identity that felt rooted in the continent and uniquely contemporary.

• In Retrospect: Featuring reflection pieces from ISDAO’s Interim Governing Body members, set alongside visual metaphors of seed planting, migration, and resistance.
  
• Empowering the Movement: We used collage illustrations to celebrate grantee partners like Initiative Tilé, Drama Queens, and CHEVS—showing their power, creativity, and impact through bespoke visual motifs.
  
• Creative Initiatives (ASANKA Fund): Illustrated callouts highlighting how art, film, and storytelling are being used as tools for queer liberation.
  
• Data Visuals: We transformed grantmaking figures and impact summaries into vibrant, easy-to-read infographics and charts.

• The report was praised for its bold, fresh, and distinctly African design that honored the soul of ISDAO’s work.
  
• Readers noted that it didn’t feel like a corporate report, but more like a publication made by and for the movement.
  
• It has since become a visual reference for other regional funds and activist collectives reimagining how they tell their stories.