Get (Un)Comfortable: Process Book

cornish college of the arts 

2021 design bfa capstone project 

written and designed by jelissa may prado

the process book for 

Get (Un)Comfortable: Systemic Racism in Design 

a workbook for white designers 

written and designed by jelissa may prado

Copyright © 2021 by Jelissa May Prado 

Written and Designed by Jelissa May Prado 

jelissamay.design@gmail.com 

Seattle, Washington 

Scanning, reproducing or copying of this book in any way is 

prohibited unless given written permission from the creator.

table of contents 

introduction 

discovery + ideation 

visual identity 

the book cover 

final outcome 

retrospective 

02 

04 

14 

26 

32 

42 

01

02

get (un)comfortable — process book 

This project has become a gift to my 18 year-old self. It’s 

something that I wish existed when I started my journey 

as a designer of color. Although the target audience for 

Get (Un)Comfortable is white design students, teachers 

and professionals, it has been created with the intention 

to make the field a more understanding, welcoming and 

proactive place for the BIPOC artists and designers that 

will come after me. We need them. 

03

04


section title 

05

an anti-social-media-campaign project 

This past year, white people have become more aware of 

the discrimination and brutality that Black, Indigenous 

and people of color experience everyday in this country. 

People and companies have made social media posts 

standing in solidarity with the Black community, along 

with including them in their feed more often. However, 

in most cases this has become performative. Activism 

has become “trendy.” People are doing this to make 

themselves look better online, rather than putting in 

work behind the scenes to make genuine changes with 

their own thinking and behaviors. There’s a lot of saying 

and not doing. The same is true for Cornish, as well as 

other art schools in America. Art, design and college as 

an institution has a history (and a current presence) of 

racism that is rarely addressed by the white people that 

dominate it. I decided to fill this need. 

06

Initially, I intended to create and design a book that simply 

presented the information. When we went through our 

first round of panel reviews for our project proposals, it was 

suggested that I consider including reflection prompts 

to make the experience more engaging. This direction 

would be more dynamic and lean into the market of self 

improvement journals that have been gaining popularity. 

It would not only introduce white designers to the effects 

of systemic racism on the field, but also give them work 

to do on their own. The analog approach would provide 

a break from our countless hours being on a screen, as 

well as social media or having to download another app. 

get (un)comfortable — process book discovery + ideation 

07

08

workbook content 


As this project became more and more real, the more 

intimidated I got to actually start it. How could I even 

begin to explain this huge systemic issue to people? 

Let alone write, research and design a whole book in 

one semester. Pair this with the emotional toll of the 

pandemic and I was overwhelmed. Nothing like this 

really existed yet and I wanted it to be perfect. With the 

deadline slowly approaching, I needed to decide what 

to focus my research and writing on. I did this through 

the mind map to the left. I started with the question, 

“What do I want people to know?” 

09

workbook sections 

Once I decided what to focus my research and writing on, 

I grouped these topics into different sections. In the 

final version of my writing, they are titled Dear Fellow 

Designer, Let Me Introduce Myself, “Design,” Socioeconomic 

Barrier, (Dis)Connections, Conclusion, and (Re)Sources. 

The book begins with a letter to the designer in which I give 

an overview of the issue at hand. This is followed by introducing 

myself to help provide a more personal aspect 

for the reader to understand and connect with before I 

delve into the research. First, “Design” is meant to open up 

our view of design history and what is even considered 

design. The next section discusses the socioeconomic 

barrier that prevents BIPOC from easily pursuing design. 

We see how this barrier affects the diversity of the field 

in (Dis)Connections and understand the importance of 

inclusion. The book is concluded with a recap, closing 

statements and opportunities to continue research once 

the reader has made it to the end. Throughout the book 

are places for both research and reflection. 

10


11

title breakdown 

get (un)comfortable: systemic racism in design 

A play on the phrase “get 

comfortable” when you’re 

telling someone to get 

ready to listen and learn; 

but the topic of racism can 

be uncomfortable to talk 

about when you’ve never 

experienced it firsthand 

or if you refuse to believe 

it exists. The intention is 

to get people to be more 

comfortable with being 

uncomfortable. 

No aspect in our lives 

has been untouched or 

unaffected by racism and 

design is no exception. 

12

a workbook for white designers 

This book not only presents 

information, but also 

provides opportunities to 

research and reflect — it 

is created specifically for 

white designers. 


13

14


section title 

15

16

leaning into “getting uncomfortable” 

I decided for the book to be uncomfortable not only 

conceptually, but also visually. I chose for the visual 

language to challenge design standards, as well as the 

style of my own work. We’re taught to stick to a grid 

and to never stretch our type. This book breaks those 

rules. Initially, the dimensions of the book were going 

to be 5.5" × 8.5" — a common size for non-fiction books. 

However, if I were going to challenge the norm this 

needed to be changed as well. I rotated it 90°, making 

the dimensions 8.5" × 5.5" — a size that would now stick 

out awkwardly on a bookshelf. 

get (un)comfortable — process book visual identity 

17

thumbnails 

Before working digitally, I created thumbnail sketches 

for the book cover, title pages and spreads throughout 

the book. I was experimenting and ideating different 

ways to distort the text and pages for reflection. 

18


19

soft black #2D2D2D 

off white #F3F1EA 

sage green #9EB0BA 

taupe #B3A093 

20

color palette discovery 

For the color palette, I chose to go with a soft black and 

off white. These are a step away from the usual pure black 

and white, while still providing contrast as the primary 

colors of the project. I then looked at different variations 

of green — a color I picked for its symbolism of growth 

and harmony. From these six options I went with the 

sage green because of its similar tone to the soft black 

and off white. As a supplementary color, I chose a taupe 

which would complement the sage green’s earth tone. 


21

22


visual identity 

type experiments 

During my type experiments I worked with a serif, sans-serif 

and more embellished serif font. I tested the book title 

with each; using different warp options in Illustrator and 

varying capitalization conventions. Since the book is 

intended for print, the body copy text from Acumin Pro 

wouldn’t be as easy to read compared to a serif. Operetta 

18 has a more embellished serif that becomes difficult to 

read once it’s warped. I went forward with IvyPresto. It 

was still legible to read once warped, has multiple weights 

for headers and body copy, and its serifs make it easier 

to read for print. 

23

IvyPresto Text | Regular 

soft black 

#2D2D2D 

off white 

#F3F1EA 

sage green 

#9EB0BA 

taupe 

#B3A093 

24

final type + color palette 

The visual identity for Get (Un)Comfortable uses a warped 

IvyPresto Headline in semibold for titles and headers, 

and IvyPresto Text in regular for the body copy. The color 

palette primarily uses a soft black, off white and sage 

green; with taupe as an extra option when designing. 


25

26


section title 

27

28 

initial text 

warping 

experiments 

for the 

cover

type + book cover experiments 

Using the title variations in IvyPresto, I experimented with 

possible book covers. I created versions using the sage 

green, off white and soft black as background colors. After 

getting feedback that the type was too warped, I dialed 

back the warping feature to make it more legible. In the 

background, I intentionally left the grid to highlight the 

fact that it’s being broken and emphasize that the text 

has been warped. 

get (un)comfortable — process book the book cover 

alternate 

covers in 

off white 

and sage 

green 

29

30 

back cover

front cover 

final design, 8.5" × 5.5" 

I went forward with the black background for the final 

book cover design. Compared to the off white and sage 

green versions, this one provides greater contrast. As I 

stated before, the grid was intentionally left to highlight 

it being broken with warped and misplaced text. We’re 

taught that “good design” goes unnoticed. Instead, this 

book demands the designer’s attention because it breaks 

rules that aren’t supposed to be broken. I’ve utilized visual 

cues that designers have a tendency to notice and desire 

to fix. (Cool detail: if you scan the barcode on the back 

cover, it reads “jelissa may”). 

31

32


section title 

33

34

about the final outcome 

Get (Un)Comfortable: Systemic Racism in Design is 

currently in a digital format and available to read 

as a pdf. It is nearly 100 pages and intended to be printed 

at 8.5" × 5.5" in the future. 

This project is a culmination of my skills in: 

• Typography 

• Composition 

• Layout 

• Book Cover Design 

• Color Theory 

• Writing 

• Research 

• Critical Thinking 

get (un)comfortable — process book final outcome 

35

36 

front cover + spine


37

38 

front + back cover + spine


39

40 

pages 20 + 21


41

42


In an ideal and pandemic free world, this book would be 

much more expansive in terms of what it covers and I’d 

love to interview BIPOC designers to incorporate their 

own stories in addition to my own. However, given the 

timeframe and the emotional toll this past year has had 

on all of us, I feel proud of what I’ve created. It’s become 

a gift to not only my 18 year old self, but the BIPOC 

designers that will come after me who are struggling to 

navigate a field that prides itself on having empathy, yet 

falls short on its empathy for non-white issues. My hope 

is that this book will help the design field take a much 

needed step in being not only aware of its historical and 

current issue of racism, but also in dismantling it. 

43

colophon 

This book was written and designed by Jelissa May Prado to fulfill 

the Cornish College of the Arts 2021 Design BFA Capstone Project 

requirements. It is set in IvyPresto, a typeface designed by Jan Maack. 

It was created with Adobe Illustrator and InDesign.

Get (Un)Comfortable: Process Book

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