These programs were part of a broader expansion of recurring municipal cultural programming under Seren. His administration established the City’s Juneteenth celebration, developed Black History Month into an annual public program and connected Pride visibility with substantive municipal inclusion work.

My role was to determine how that work appeared in public.

Each campaign required its own visual identity, but all three needed to function within the City’s larger communications system. The work had to carry cultural meaning, detailed public information, multiple producing partners, and a wide range of programming without becoming visually crowded or relying on predictable imagery.

Black History Month

The Black History Month Celebration was presented by the City of Cleveland Heights in partnership with Djapo Cultural Arts Institute.

I created a visual system that could support history, performance, education, and community gathering. The campaign needed to feel contemporary while respecting the weight of the subject and the cultural expertise Djapo brought to the program.

The work included campaign art, typography, print and digital promotion, social media graphics, schedules, signage and supporting public information.

Juneteenth Culture Fest

Juneteenth Culture Fest was also produced through a partnership between the City and Djapo Cultural Arts Institute. In 2025, legislation introduced by Mayor Seren authorized Djapo to plan and produce the expanded festival at Cain Park, drawing on the organization’s expertise in African and diasporic dance, music, education and cultural programming.

It was the first year the City’s Juneteenth celebration was held at Cain Park.

I developed the visual identity and communications system for a complex program spanning performances, workshops, vendors, family activities, and a separate evening concert.

The work included campaign art, typography, color systems, social media, posters, schedules, workshop promotion, vendor information, signage, the festival program, and concert materials.

The system had to organize a significant amount of information while preserving the event's energy and cultural specificity.

Pride in the Park

Pride in the Park was presented by the City of Cleveland Heights in collaboration with Pride in the Heights.

The campaign was part of Seren’s broader work connecting public Pride visibility with municipal policy and inclusion. The 2025 program moved between Cain Park and the Cedar Lee District, requiring one identity to connect daytime cultural programming, community resources, and an evening district celebration.

I created a campaign that felt visible and celebratory while still carrying detailed information about performers, speakers, vendors, community organizations, family activities, and multiple event locations.

Across the three campaigns, I did not apply a single municipal template to different subjects.

I was building separate visual worlds for programs with different histories, audiences, producing partners, and emotional registers, while making sure each remained clear, functional, and recognizably connected to the City presenting it.

While this page highlights the City's 2025 cultural campaigns, the gallery also includes related work from previous years and additional cultural events produced during Mayor Kahlil Seren's administration. Taken together, these projects illustrate the evolution of Cleveland Heights' public-facing cultural programming and the visual systems developed to support it.

Project details

Client: City of Cleveland Heights
Administration: Mayor Kahlil Seren
Cultural partners: Djapo Cultural Arts Institute and Pride in the Heights
Venues and districts: Cleveland Heights Community Center, Cain Park, and the Cedar Lee District
Role: Art Direction, Graphic Design, and Communications
Projects: Black History Month Celebration, Juneteenth Culture Fest, and Pride in the Park
Work: Campaign concepts, visual identities, typography, color systems, print and digital collateral, social media, programs, schedules, signage, vendor materials and production design