Graphic Design in Hip Hop’s Pedagogical Legacy

Student Presenter(s)(s)

Naiya Graham

Abstract or Description

Hip Hop is a cultural mode of expression emerging roughly fifty years ago in the South Bronx and has since become a global movement for social change and empowerment. This digital portfolio builds on that legacy by using research-driven graphic design to position Hip Hop as a pedagogical field that is rich in artistic merit, political commentary, and grassroot knowledge production. Grounded in ethnographic methodology, the project draws from the five foundational elements of Hip Hop culture to explore how visual design can promote social awareness, foster cultural appreciation, and interrogate the relationship between environment, identity, and systemic justice. The portfolio examines how color, shape, and form serve as visual symbols that evoke emotion and convey complex cultural narratives. By weaving together research, design, and Hip Hop’s cultural foundations, the portfolio functions as a visual archive, a living testament to Hip Hop’s roles as both a scholarly discipline and a tool of resistance. Methods used include analyzing Hip Hop scholarship, podcasts, and interviews; creating inspiration boards from iconic imagery and branding; and designing logos, posters, and digital assets using marketing strategies to engage communities. This work affirms Hip Hop's capacity to generate its own social curriculum, one that challenges dominant narratives, cultivates critical consciousness, and redefines what education can look like when rooted in culture, creativity, and collective power.

Mentor

Ashley Tate