Our History

Blk + Brwn Book Designers is a collaborative community formed to diversify the publishing industry by educating Black and Brown creators on book design roles through community gatherings + workshops.

Our goal is to diversify entry-level to leadership design roles with opportunities and resources across cover & interior design, advertising & promotion, illustration, and Art Direction.

BBBD was founded in July 2020 by Dominique Jones. Being the only Black book cover designer on her team, she decided to create a space for others like herself. According to the AIGA 2019 Design Census, only 3% of all designers work in publishing. Out of 9,429 designers that took part in the survey, 71% identify as White/Caucasian, 35% Asian, 8% Hispanic, 5% Multi-racial, 3% Black/African American, and 0.2% Native American/First Nations. After reading the survey, she persisted in building a community of designers seeking connection and a safe space to talk about the industry while inspiring one another.

Ethnicities include:

  • Black / African American

  • Native American / Indigenous American

  • Middle Eastern / North African

  • Hispanic / Latino

  • South Asian


Although we do not discriminate against all who want to participate, our mission and focus relies on people who self-identify as being part of a Black or Brown community. Here are other design communities, like us:

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