The artist envisioned placing a design from one of her works directly onto the tote bag.
Portrait of Maya no. 10, the painting we ultimately selected, embodies the artist’s voice; the work is evocative, sensual, and adamant about black femininity. By placing a crop of the painting directly on the bag, we brought some of this evocativeness and sensuality to an object that enthusiasts can wear and use.
Crop
We focused on Maya herself in the crop displayed on the tote bag. The bag captures her full head of hair and emphasizes her breasts and posture.
Full Bleed
In order to further emphasize the subject of the painting, we pursued a full-bleed design, where the painting covers all visible sections of the bag. Although the painting would not have stretched tall enough to cover the handles of Loqi’s tote bag design, we used generative fill to extend the top of the painting and fully cover the handles of the bag.
Zipper Pouch
For the included zipper pouch, we cropped the painting around one of Maya’s breasts –– an evocative yet intimate selection that fit nicely within the dimensions of the pouch.
Internship
This bag was designed as part of my summer 2024 internship with Mickalene Thomas. The bag was released to the public in early 2025.
“Portrait of Maya no. 10”
“Portrait of Maya no. 10”
Portrait of Maya no. 10
2017