Graphic Design
/
Merchandise · Apparel · Cultural Storytelling
Project 04 / 08
CBUS Soul® · An Experience Columbus Platform
CBUS
Soul®
Merch
Stories
Music
Food
Events
Culture
A wearable and collectible merchandise collection for the 2025 CBUS Soul® summer season — rooted in Columbus’ Black history, neighborhood pride, creative expression, and cultural memory. Merch that tells stories, sparks recognition, and builds pride.
Client
Experience Columbus
Columbus, Ohio
2025 Summer Collection
Worn in the City
Retail Launch
Client
Experience Columbus
Role
Lead Designer · Layout Designer · Creative
Applied Skills
Art Direction
Merchandise Design
Apparel Layout
Brand Storytelling
Cultural Research
Typography
Visual Composition
Concept Development
Community-Centered Design
Created With
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop
Archival Image Research
Focus Area
2025 Summer Collection · Columbus, OH
01
Background
Extending a Platform Into a Wearable Cultural Archive
CBUS Soul® is an Experience Columbus platform created to amplify the rich, historic, innovative, and forward-moving Black culture that fuels the vibrancy of Columbus. The brand celebrates the city’s Black community through stories, events, itineraries, local businesses, music, food, and cultural experiences that invite both residents and visitors to explore the soul of the city.
For this project, the goal was to extend the CBUS Soul® brand into a wearable and collectible merchandise collection rooted in Columbus’ Black history, neighborhood pride, creative expression, and cultural memory.
Parade on Mount Vernon Avenue — Bronzeville, historically a hub of Black wealth & culture
“Develop a 2025 summer collection that tells stories, sparks recognition, and builds pride around the people, places, and histories that shaped Black Columbus.”
S
Story
Columbus’ Black history as the source material — Bronzeville, Mount Vernon Avenue, and the landmarks and figures that shaped the city.
S
O
Ownership
Neighborhood pride worn out loud — designs that let residents claim and represent the places that raised them.
O
U
Unapologetic
Creative expression at full volume — bold illustration, vibrant African-inspired patterns, and contemporary style.
U
L
Legacy
Cultural memory carried forward — archival references honoring generations of achievement and belonging.
L
02
Opportunity
Balancing Cultural Storytelling With Commercial Appeal
The opportunity was to create merchandise that celebrated Black Columbus with depth, pride, and authenticity. CBUS Soul® already existed as a platform for exploring Black culture through guides, stories, events, businesses, and curated itineraries. The merchandise needed to operate as an extension of that mission while feeling fresh, wearable, and connected to the community.
The challenge was balancing cultural storytelling with commercial appeal. Each design needed to be visually engaging while honoring local landmarks, historic figures, Black-owned spaces, neighborhood identity, and archival references — without feeling overly literal or generic.
01
Extend the Mission
Operate as a wearable extension of the CBUS Soul® platform — carrying its celebration of Black Columbus into apparel, accessories, and collectibles.
02
Story Meets Sales
Increase customer engagement, enhance brand visibility, and support sales through culturally significant designs — not despite them.
03
Beyond Event Merch
Create pieces more meaningful than standard event merchandise — items that tell stories, spark recognition, and build neighborhood pride.
03
Creative Direction
Pulled From Columbus’ Black Cultural Landscape
The creative direction pulled from Columbus’ Black cultural landscape — using history, neighborhood language, archival references, and contemporary style to build a collection with meaning. Concepts explored iconic landmarks, historical figures, vibrant African-inspired patterns, and themes connected to music, art, fashion, activism, and the evolving Black culture of Columbus.
Each concept was designed to feel like a cultural artifact — part apparel, part archive, part love letter to the city.
01
Iconic Landmarks
The Lincoln Theatre, Mount Vernon Avenue storefronts, and the downtown skyline woven into collage-style illustration.
02
Historical Figures
Archival photography of parades, marching bands, and everyday neighborhood life recolored and recomposed with reverence.
03
African-Inspired Patterns
Vibrant pattern systems layered into portraiture and backgrounds — connecting the diaspora to the city’s contemporary identity.
04
Music & Art
Turntables, soul typography, and album-cover energy — a nod to the sounds that score Black Columbus.
05
Fashion & Activism
Style as statement — designs made to be worn proudly at festivals, marches, cookouts, and everywhere in between.
06
Evolving Culture
Roller rinks, block parties, and forward-moving creative expression honoring where the culture is going, not just where it’s been.
Soul Woman — Flagship Design · Apparel & Retail
04
The Collection
Six Signature Designs · One Soul
The 2025 summer collection organized around six signature designs — each one a different lens on Black Columbus, from archival collage to roller-rink nostalgia. Together they span tees, totes, hats, and retail displays while holding a single, unmistakable brand voice.
A shared palette of soul reds, sunset oranges, golds, and deep purples keeps every drop connected to the CBUS Soul® wordmark.
Design 01
Soul Woman
Design 02
Soul Tour
Design 03
Soul Sun
Design 04
Roll Bounce
Design 05
Soul DJ
Design 06
Soulful
Soul Tour & Soul Sun — Design & Application
Roll Bounce · Soul DJ · Soulful — Design & Application
05
From Concept to Community
Merch That Made It to the Streets
The collection moved from concept boards into real production and retail — including a collaboration tee with Columbus apparel brand HOMAGE and a featured Juneteenth retail launch through Experience Columbus. Designs landed on tees, totes, bucket hats, corduroy caps, and in-store displays.
Seeing the work worn by real people around the city — not just modeled in mockups — was the truest measure of the collection connecting with its community.
01
🤝
HOMAGE Collaboration
The Soul Woman design produced as a collaboration tee with HOMAGE — pairing the collection with one of Columbus’ most recognized apparel brands.
02
🛍️
Juneteenth Retail Launch
A dedicated CBUS Soul® retail display featuring hats, tees, and a Juneteenth sale — putting the collection in front of residents and visitors alike.
03
🏙️
Worn Around the City
From downtown streets to store floors, the designs became a wearable way for Columbus to represent its own culture and history.
Soulful — In the Wild
Soul DJ — In the Wild
06
Full Gallery
The Complete CBUS Soul® Merchandise Collection
07
Impact
More Than a Destination Brand — a Wearable Identity
The merchandise designs helped position CBUS Soul® as more than a destination brand — it became a wearable expression of Columbus’ Black identity, pride, and legacy. The collection created opportunities for deeper customer engagement, community participation, social media storytelling, and brand visibility through apparel, accessories, and promotional merchandise.
By grounding the designs in real people, places, and cultural history, the project transformed merchandise into a storytelling tool that celebrates Black Columbus while giving audiences a tangible way to connect with and represent the CBUS Soul® movement.
6
Signature designs — Soul Woman, Soul Tour, Soul Sun, Roll Bounce, Soul DJ, and Soulful
5+
Product formats — tees, totes, caps, bucket hats, and dedicated retail displays
2025
Summer collection launched with a Juneteenth retail feature through Experience Columbus
1
City — Columbus, wearing its own history, pride, and forward-moving Black culture
Positioned CBUS Soul® as a wearable expression of Columbus’ Black identity, pride, and legacy
Created opportunities for deeper customer engagement and community participation
Fueled social media storytelling and brand visibility across apparel, accessories, and promo merch
Grounded every design in real people, places, and cultural history — never generic event merch
Transformed merchandise into a storytelling tool that celebrates Black Columbus
Gave audiences a tangible way to connect with and represent the CBUS Soul® movement
CBUS Soul® · An Experience Columbus Platform · Columbus, Ohio
CBUS Soul® · 2025 Summer Merchandise Collection
Part Apparel. Part Archive.
Part Love Letter to the City.
The CBUS Soul® merchandise collection proved that culturally grounded design and commercial appeal aren’t competing goals — they amplify each other. By rooting six signature designs in Columbus’ Black history, neighborhood pride, creative expression, and cultural memory, the collection became more than merch: a set of cultural artifacts that invite everyone who wears them to carry, celebrate, and continue the story of Black Columbus.
Merchandise Design · Brand Storytelling · Cultural Research · Community-Centered Design