Kernel Collaborative is a print magazine featuring art and creative writing that is dedicated to the ideals of care as resistance, joy as a battlecry, and the love behind the fight. It is a community effort submission-based project founded and directed by me and supported by a small team of beautiful people.
Issue 1 is accepting submissions until Aug 31, and has an expected publishing date of late fall 2026.
The Mission
We believe that genuine goodness is a cornerstone of the revolution, that kindness is a beautiful act of subversion, that celebration of the marginalized is a battlecry, and that the acts of care and resistance are often one and the same.
Our goal is to amplify creators who are fighting the good fight. Toppling evil only gets you so far without a foundation of love to rebuild upon. Kernel Collaborative is a fertile space where that love can put down roots.
The Brand
Learning from previous projects (notably my rock podcast), I have observed that my most successful efforts involve following my own heart. For this reason, I included a whopping four hearts in the logo. I asked upwards of twenty people: is this too many hearts? I received mixed opinions, but ultimately, I followed the hearts.
Also, adorable little sprouting plants! Also, noodly patterns! These things speak to my soul (and evidently speak to others, as well).
For supporting imagery, I used my own urban photography and added vivid drawings of plants sprouting from the black & white cityscape where such wilderness is normally not welcome. Each image is cropped in a blobby shape that can be overlayed with other elements to create varied and fun compositions that maintain a unified visual language.
The Website
For a project like this, the website is a central hub for key information, ways to participate, and the many related links out. A sharp, clear design was absolutely necessary as a way to legitimize the project until it has something tangible to show for itself.
Promotion
Social media is a necessary evil in all projects that intend to find an audience. I will tell you: I was not looking forward to it, but creating these posts with a brand I genuinely love to work with has been a pleasure.
