In 2010, I pondered on the idea in creating The Black American Glossary based on a visualization of Black History Month and the individuals represented within it. Ultimately, the purpose of this site is to emphasize the importance of a history typically only acknowledged during the month of February.

What was a passion project at first slowly evolved into of an ‘informational blog’ of sorts. I first began creating individually separate sites for some of the historical individuals represented on this site. I also wanted to give each individual on this site their own identity the way people would envision them during their lifetime.

Upon studying their historical presence upon the world, I felt it was only right to present them in a way that was both distinguishable and different to other biographical resources available today.

Rather than simply diving into this project (which I did prior to combining all of the separate sites into one), I reassessed what and how I wanted to present as the collective while not compromising on the uniqueness the separate sites displayed.

Research consisted in focusing on both large and small-scale sites (such as Biography, History, and Black History Pages) to balance the presentation and experimenting with various ideas/concepts before designing the current layout.

Since the site was originally individual websites for each person, I needed to figure out how to best present them. From categorization to alphabetically list-based ideas, I’ve went through each iteration slowly building and reassessing what I did and didn’t need.

By outlining my progress (prototypes and spreadsheets galore), I could easily create a valued presentation while maintaining my minimalist vision.

The logo itself has been through numerous iterations based on the site’s style and presentation, though the focus was always on sticking with a minimalist font type.

Inspiration can also be attributed to fonts that either were or would’ve been used during the early or mid 20th century (such as the Civil Rights Movement).

While simply maintaining a monthly (or semi-monthly) schedule for the site can be a challenge depending on other projects, I feel that it’s a requirement for myself in knowing more about my history as an African (Black) American.

The challenges faced are normally cosmetic, though I am always searching for more ways to inform and improve with every iteration and update. Whether its one or thousands of users visiting the site, to me it’s all about the how its presented and represented.