We want to give diverse creative professionals in higher and more visible positions a platform to share their experiences – in hopes of motivating and inspiring other BIPOC creatives in our community.
Each speaker will present their personal experience navigating their career path as a Creative in Color. They will share any adversity they may have faced and how they overcame it. We want the audience to be inspired but also informed. This series is where creativity will meet inclusivity and invoke change for the better.
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Shantanu Suman is a creative professional with over nineteen years of diverse experience. He has held various roles throughout his career, including Creative Director, documentary filmmaker, small business owner, and educator. Over the years, Shantanu has collaborated with many clients, from small startups to renowned global brands such as Kohler Co., The Wing Luke Museum, Frost Museum, and Wired Magazine.
His advertising work has earned him several accolades, including the Cannes Silver Lion, D&AD in-book, Clio bronze, and Asia Pacific Adfest awards. Furthermore, his design projects have been recognized by esteemed publications such as Uneven Growth – Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Communication Arts Design/Advertising/Typography Annuals, Type Director’s Club, Graphic Design USA, Print Magazine, LogoLounge, CNN Travel, Designboom, and Creative Review. Since establishing himself in the United States, Shantanu has drawn inspiration from his Indian heritage, incorporating Hindi typography into his work to make the Devanagari script influential and relevant in today’s design landscape.
In 2016, Shantanu joined Ball State University as an educator, where he currently works as an Associate Professor of Graphic Design.
Event Timeline:
6:30pm - 6:50pm - Network
6:50pm - 7:00pm - Introduction
7:00pm - 7:45pm - Speaker Talk
7:45pm - 8:00pm - Q&A
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Why Creatives in Color?
From our perspective, the Indy creative community lacks BIPOC representation. However, we know diverse creatives are out there, and we want to provide a safe space for all creatives to gather and share their experiences (similar or different). By curating a space where people can come together and spark healthy dialogue, we hope to make the Indy community more diverse and inclusive.
We hope that having underrepresented creatives speak about their career experiences will allow other BIPOC creatives to feel supported and more connected with our community. We worry that people of color might think they don’t have the opportunity to succeed in our creative industry. By spotlighting designers of color who are successful and pushing norms in our community, we hope young BIPOC designers will feel they have a place in our community and a support system here.
