Merit Made Creative

10/15/2026

Design has the power to bring people together.

During the pandemic, when so much of our world shifted online, Merit Made Creative partnered with Give Black Richmond on a project created in community, connection, and purpose.

Give Black Richmond was created to shine a light on Black-led organizations throughout the Richmond region and help address inequities in philanthropic giving.

Our role was to bring that mission to life visually, creating a distinctive brand identity and a cohesive collection of social media graphics that could educate, engage, and be shared across dozens of community partners.

This project is a wonderful example of how a strong visual identity, paired with a thoughtful digital strategy, can help important messages reach more people.

We're proud to have played a creative role in a mission centered on lifting others.

Good design can do good things. 💚

10/08/2026

10/08/2026

The secret ingredient? A little bit of science and a whole lot of heart. 💜

Baking is a beautiful balance of precision and passion. The right measurements, the chemistry of ingredients, and of course, a whole lot of LOVE. Because somehow, things made with love just taste better.

The same recipe went into creating the new logo for Sweet D’s Home Baked Goods!

D’Anne brought the heart, inspiration, and creativity, along with something equally special - thoughtful research and feedback she gathered with each round of designs. (Just wait until you see her data sheets! 💚)

Together, we blended the art and the science to create something as sweet and personal as the goodies she bakes.

Because the best recipes, and the best brands, are made with equal parts intention and heart.

A huge thank you to D’Anne of for trusting Merit Made Creative with her sweet little brand! Give her a follow, and consider her next time you need AMAZING treats!

✨ Ready to cook up something special for your business? With the right creative partner and the right ingredients, we can make something wonderful together.

10/01/2026

Been there. Done that. Bought the T-shirt.

There’s a reason we buy the shirt. Sometimes it’s more than team gear. It’s a reminder of the early mornings, long practices, road trips, big wins, tough losses and the people who were there for all of it.

My son rowed for James River High School for four years, so this is one I know personally. He made incredible memories on the water, and I’ve had a lot of fun creating graphics that capture some of that team spirit.

The creative challenge? Finding new ways to tell the same story year after year. Different styles. Different energy. Same pride.

From collegiate and classic to retro and modern, here are a few of the designs I’ve created for Head of the James.

Because the best team shirts aren’t just something you wear. They remind you where you’ve been.

09/12/2026

Seeing is believing.

From 2021 to 2023, I had the privilege of serving on the creative team for Afrikana Independent Film Festival, an organization dedicated to celebrating Black stories and the filmmakers who bring them to life.

During my time with Afrikana, I created a new logo and helped carry the festival’s visual identity across print, social media, festival materials and merchandise.

One of the things I valued most about this work was being part of an organization that understands the power of being seen. Seeing Black filmmakers celebrated. Seeing Black creativity centered. Seeing stories told through the perspectives and experiences of the people who lived them. Seeing the success and creative possibilities of others can expand our own understanding of what is possible.

Good design can help create a platform for a story. It can draw people in, create connection and help important work reach more people. But the story and the voice belong to the storyteller.

I am grateful to have played a part in Afrikana’s work and proud to have this chapter in the Merit Made story.

09/03/2026

Can you smell the campfire? 🔥

A toasted marshmallow, melting chocolate, sticky fingers…there’s something about a s’more that immediately takes you back to summer camp.

We loved bringing some of that feeling to this “S’more to Give” campaign for Camp Alkulana.

Sometimes, design gets to be pure fun. But the fun still needs to be functional.

Camp Alkulana gives kids from the Richmond area who might not otherwise have the opportunity a chance to experience summer camp time outdoors, new adventures, friendships and the simple joy of being a kid.

Compelling fundraising design has an important job to do. It needs to catch someone’s attention, make an emotional connection and inspire them to take action. For this campaign, that meant creating something playful, memorable and unmistakably camp, while helping tell a much bigger story about why giving matters.

Purposeful design doesn’t always have to feel serious. Sometimes it can make you smile, make you remember…and maybe make you crave a s’more. 🔥🍫

We’re pretty happy when good design can help create s’more opportunities for kids to just be kids.

08/27/2026

A presentation can do more than share information. It can help people see what’s possible.

I had the opportunity to work with The American Institute of Architects (AIA) to create a presentation envisioning a new chapter for The Octagon, a historic home in Washington, D.C.

The vision was to honor the architectural significance of the house while telling a fuller, more inclusive story of the people connected to it, including the enslaved people who lived, worked and helped build it.

My job was to take that big, layered vision and give it a visual voice.

Inspired by The Octagon itself, I used its distinctive geometry throughout the presentation, along with historic imagery, photography, color and typography to connect its past with its possibilities for the future.

That’s what I love about design. Helping important ideas become clearer, more compelling and easier to see.

Made for change makers. 🧡

08/13/2026

Books can be an escape. And sometimes, escape is exactly what we need.

When Worthdays asked me to create the graphics for The Book Link, I kept thinking about the young people who would encounter it - many of them living in a residential setting, separated from their families, undergoing treatment, or simply navigating some really hard things.

The Book Link gives them something simple but powerful: a book. A chance to step into another world for a little while. To see themselves in someone else’s story. To laugh, learn, imagine, or just get a break from reality.

So the design needed to meet them there.

I pulled inspiration from sticker culture. The things teens put on water bottles, laptops and notebooks to say a little something about who they are. Fun. Approachable. A little irreverent. Definitely not institutional.

Books: On. World: Off.
Ticket to: Escape Reality.
Books are my therapy.

The result is bright and playful, but the thinking behind it is serious: when design is created around the people it needs to reach, it can help important work feel more inviting, accessible and human.

And that’s the kind of work I love getting to make.

So grateful to Worthdays for trusting Merit Made Creative with a small piece of this very meaningful project. 💙📚

08/06/2026

No two people have the same handwriting.

It carries our personality, our memories, our education, our culture. It changes as we grow older. It fills birthday cards, grocery lists, love letters, journals, and notes tucked into lunch boxes. It is proof that we were here.

That's why artist Marcia Haffmans chose handwriting as the heart of her latest exhibition, DISCERNING THROUGHLINES. Her installation is built from hundreds of authentic handwriting samples created by women participating in her art offerings inside jails. Each mark on the wall belongs to someone with a story, a family, hopes, regrets, and dreams. Someone whose humanity can be easy to overlook.

The numbers are difficult to ignore. Although the United States is home to just 4% of the world's women and girls, it incarcerates 25% of the world's incarcerated women and girls, and 80% are mothers.

Art can't change those realities overnight.
But it can change what we see.
It can remind us that behind every statistic is a person whose story is still being written.

I'm grateful to have played a small role in supporting this exhibition through the environmental graphics and exhibition text. More importantly, I'm grateful for artists like Marcia who invite us to see one another more fully.

I personally invite you to visit the exhibition in the gallery at Main St. Station, with an opening this Friday at 5:30 p.m, and running through the month of August.

DISCERNING THROUGHLINES
Main Street Station Art Gallery
1500 E. Main St., Richmond, VA 23219
August 1–31
Monday–Friday: 6:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m.
Saturday–Sunday: 8:00 a.m.–8:30 p.m.