Visualizing Community Wealth: The Creative Journey Behind The ROOTED Fund
All RUNWAY ROOTED Fund Imagery: Megan Totah Design
As with most things that move into motion at RUNWAY, the visual direction of The RUNWAY ROOTED Fund began with the practice of deep imagination. How do we capture what the ROOTED Fund stands for–Black community wealth and power building; a vessel of restitution; closing the racial wealth gap; etc.– and make it hella beautiful?
We needed to take a step back and think about it more holistically. What we reflected on was this: The ROOTED Fund is part of a larger movement to transform finance for people and the planet. It really takes an ecosystem of community builders, values-aligned wealth holders, financial activists and innovators, and creative entrepreneurs to radically shift financial policies and practices towards collective repair.
Crafting imagery that embodied this ethos required a creative approach that mirrored the innovative spirit driving our work forward. Here are the primary elements that informed our visual narrative for The ROOTED Fund and what they represent:
Mushrooms & Mycelium
The economic inequities we are seeing today require initiatives that prioritize community wealth and prosperity over individual gains. Historically, Black communities have been the sites of total extraction and racialized harm–socially, economically, politically, environmentally, and culturally. How do we compost generations of harm into something sustainable and generative?
At the heart of our visual narrative are mushrooms and mycelium networks. Mycelium networks, often unseen yet essential for the vitality of the natural world, mirror the bonds that bind our communities together. Just as mycelium facilitates the exchange of nutrients between plants, the Fund facilitates connections between Black entrepreneurs, values-aligned investors, and community partners. Through these networks we help create pathways for building community wealth and prosperity.
Black Creatives, Community, and Nature
Black creatives are the biggest exporters of culture around the world, and are on the frontlines of change and community power building. By centering Black artists, entrepreneurs, and creatives in the imagery, we call attention to the innovation, excellence, and joy of Black creators and their communities. What you recognize in the gazes of the individuals in the imagery reflect a quiet confidence, curiosity, and sense of wonder as they are situated in various elements of the natural world. In an era marked by environmental degradation and climate crisis, this symbiotic relationship underscores the importance of building sustainable, resilient communities that are deeply rooted in their ecosystems.
Emergence
“Emergence” may not be something you can actually see in the imagery, but it is certainly felt. The sense that something is bubbling and coming to the surface–that whatever is rooting into the soil is beginning to sprout. The RUNWAY ROOTED Fund not only represents emergent infrastructure that’s meant to dismantle systemic barriers so that we can actively heal, repair and restore resiliency within the Black community, it represents the possibilities of what can happen when community comes together to build power. It is by building community power and wealth that we can begin to collectively free ourselves.
Scale & Scope of Imagery
We wanted the elements in the imagery––e.g. the beautiful Black creatives immersed in natural features, mushrooms, skyscrapers, a figure leaping among the stars––to all be depicted at the same scale to establish a unified visual language that communicated equity, accessibility, and shared value in the world we’ve built.
Keeping objects at a consistent scale can enhance clarity and comprehension, particularly when conveying complex ideas or narratives. Viewers can more easily understand the inherent relationships between the different elements in the image.
