Love, RUNWAY: Building Brands with Love by Jamica El

LOVE, RUNWAY is an ongoing series of original written works by members of the RUNWAY team to remind ourselves and each other of the love we share for our work, our communities, and our people. To continue developing the muscle of reimagining what the world would look like if the economy loved Black people we write love letters to different points in humanity's timeline. We hope these stories will help others connect with our purpose and showcase the richly textured humans behind our work.

I’m writing from the year 2024 where I serve as the Creative Director of a financial innovation firm called RUNWAY. I work with a formidable team of Black and Brown financial activists, organizers, creatives, and entrepreneurs who are charting new paths toward Black liberation–a liberation I hope you are now living in ways I could only dream of.  The shadow of systemic racism in finance has unfailingly loomed large, draining wealth from Black communities over generations. It must all sound like a dystopian tale from where you stand now.

My mission is to help Black creatives build lasting legacies and take up more space in the world. As a conscious storyteller, I have to carefully navigate the delicate balance of modern marketing–both embracing and rejecting tools that often drive the harmful impacts of capitalism on people and the planet.  

While RUNWAY is known for helping Black businesses access capital, the side quest story I’ve been so eager to tell is about something else we do consistently well: build brands. But we don’t build brands just any old way; we build brands the RUNWAY way—with love. What’s love got to do with it, you ask? (Wait… are y’all still listening to Tina?) Well, infusing brands with love offers a much-needed antidote to conventional marketing practices that are grounded in the extractive and exploitative values of capitalism.

I came to RUNWAY in 2018 to launch the organization’s Instagram channel, a project that evolved into a deep exploration of  values and goals. That exploration culminated in a 2019 rebrand in collaboration with two RUNWAY entrepreneurs—Ivellisse Morales of bombilla® and Aaron Joseph of Identafire—and later Megan Totah Design. 

In the year 2020, early in the COVID-19 pandemic, society seemed to be unraveling before our eyes. As the pandemic took hold, Black communities were hit with compounded crises. Our businesses, already marginalized by systemic inequality, faced devastating economic fallout, with many struggling to survive. The video-recorded killing of George Floyd in May ignited global protests against the relentless violence of police brutality and systemic racism. This moment underscored the urgent need for radical economic justice and transformative justice practices that recognize the full humanity of Black people and dismantle oppressive systems. We started to engage the deeper questions of what it meant to tell the story of RUNWAY at that particular time. We sat in Afrofuturist space, appreciating the ability to read time in a nonlinear way, and incorporated a lot of that into the branding of RUNWAY. I became Creative Director after that. 

Marketing often reflects capitalist frameworks that are aggressive and manipulative. We are bombarded with non-skippable ads and corporate jingles that infiltrate our young people’s minds. Things are constantly being sold to us. They want us to buy this thing, and if we don’t, we’re somehow empty or not enough. 

When I think of building brands with love, I start from a place of abundance, not deficiency–the idea that we are whole to begin with.. Less attention, more intention. I think about what it looks like to tell the story of an organization and its work outside of the consumerist lens. It’s about showcasing organizations authentically–the people behind them, the dynamics of the workplace, and the culture they aspire toward. What stories achieve this, and what are some of the design decisions that come from this place? 

Building brands outside of the dominant framework while still borrowing some of the traditional tools has allowed me to think less about go-to-market and more about going to community. 

At RUNWAY, we focus on connecting with communities rather than just marketing. Our success in telling compelling stories without relying on financial jargon is a testament to our approach. We help people engage with RUNWAY’s mission, answering founder Jessica Norwood’s provocative question: What does an economy that loves Black people look like?  

It took me a few years to wrap my mind around the financial intricacies of what we’re actually doing here. I had to find my own cheat codes for how to connect with people in this space. Sometimes it simply takes that long. It’s important not to confuse that learning curve with imposter syndrome. You belong everywhere you are. 

I learned that clear, relatable language was key. I was easily able to connect with the term “friends-and-family capital.” It’s clear, just like “believe-in-you money” is clear. I’m able to apply a certain artistry—as Black people do—to make our messages land right away. This is why representation matters. You can’t land it if you don’t have a shared language. 

We talk about shared language all the time in our work. We’re always trying to align on language. It’s so important. We constantly come back to these moments: What kind of capital are we talking about? And what does that mean for the everyday person? What will capture that person, land the plane, and make them want to spend more time with us? I try to design through that lens—I think it’s my favorite part of the work. 

Building brands with love and creating a shared language are both radical acts of reclaiming our narratives. By centering our stories in truth and community, we disrupt the harmful frameworks that have long oppressed Black people. This work is as much about securing capital for Black creatives as it is about ensuring that our voices, legacies, and dreams take up space in a world that often seeks to erase them. I hope the work we’ve done, the connections we’ve nurtured, and the love we’ve poured into every effort have paved the way for the liberated existence you now live. This is the future we fought for, one where Black liberation is no longer just a dream but a reality you breathe every day.

Jamica El (All Pronouns) is a digital strategist, multimedia artist, and technologist living and loving in Washington, DC. Her work is fueled by her mission to help Black creatives craft sustainable legacies and take up more space in the world.