4 Vibrant Color Palettes to Inspire Your Brand Identity

Black History/Futures Month goes by so fast, but we like to highlight Black people all year round. Here are 4 color palettes inspired by Black trans and nonbinary creatives and their inspiring work.

1. “Retro Revisited” for Black Trans Femmes in the Arts

Black Trans Femmes in the Arts is led by Jordan Jay and Gia Love. I found out about this group during the historic march on June 14, 2020 for Black trans lives. I was there, masked up in a crowd of 15,000 demonstrators all dressed in white, to demand both justice and opportunities for Black trans people. BTFA Collective is on a mission to “create spaces for the production and preservation of Black trans art and culture” through programs that gather and support Black trans femme artists.

About The Palette: For BTFA Collective, I wanted to create a palette that is not afraid to be bold. This palette is energetic, warm and even a bit playful. There’s a reinventive quality to it as well; it’s both retro and current, which is a nod to how Black trans people have been here and still here creating the culture.

Hex Codes: #F291BF, #D9B504, #F29F05, #F23C13, #AF9CC4, #F7F3FF

2. “Earth & Fire” for Linda Labeija

Linda Labeija is a “walking revolution” from the Boogie Down Bronx. She’s got a way with words and a powerful presence that transcends her work as a poet and activist. Her works explores what it means to be a transgender woman of color and she does this consistently through a number of avenues. I first met Linda in 2019 when I was twerking (trying!) alongside her skillful lyricism in Nia Witherspoon’s Priestess of Twerk (we got range), but she’s been a mainstay of New York’s drag and ballroom scene long before our work together.

About The Palette: For Linda’s palette, I wanted to create something equally as steadfast as fierce, so I opted for both an earthy brown and fiery tones. The theme overall is quite tropical, a reference to Linda’s Caribbean heritage, but the cool black and white is straight-forward and no-nonsense.

Hex Codes: #FFFFFF, #1A172C, #5B2500, #EB522B, #EB883D

3. “Florescent Algae” for Akwaeke Emezi

Akwaeke Emezi is an Igbo and Tamil artist and author from Nigeria living in the U.S. who wrote the award-winning novels The Death of Vivek Oji, Freshwater and PET. They identify as ogbanje, an Igbo spirit that’s born into a human body, and trans, and their work exquisitely explores the liminality of their experiences in and out of their body. Every queer and queer adjacent person I know is currently reading one of their books and loving it, and if you haven’t already, you might want to hop on that train.

About The Palette: This palette is my interpretation of what it’s like to be in the flesh and out of the flesh at once. It’s hi-visibility and in the muck. There are only 2 colors in this palette but they make a bold impression due to their incongruity, and that’s the kind of beautifully weird space Akwaeke’s work inhabits.

Hex Codes: #FFF800, #605B00

4. “Bright Ting” for Aaryn Lang

Aaryn Lang writer, public speaker and media personality championing social, economic and political wellbeing of Black trans women. She is one of the key leaders in centering trans people in the Black Lives Matter movement since the beginning. She served as a leader organizer in Black Trans Liberation Tuesday which commemorates the lives of Black trans women and aims to prevent more deaths.

About The Palette: For Aaryn’s palette, I chose complementary colors, blue and orange that exude confidence and coolness. Aaryn’s work challenges social constructs in a way that heals us, so this palette, like her work packs a punch, but goes down like a nutrient rich blueberry smoothie.

Hex Codes: #5630F3, #F96907, #EAE6FF

I hope this list was inspiring to you. Please check out and support these creatives’ work.

If you’d like to learn more about creating a color palette for your brand identity, check out our course: Design Your Own Brand Identity.