Ameer Suhayb Carter

Anyway, outside of my terrible rendition of The Fresh Prince, I was an inquisitive and attentive kid (or that's what my mom would tell you). She loves to tell a story from when I was 6 months old: I was learning words and numbers, and I had about six cookies lined up in front of me. My parents wanted to see if they could trip me up, so my dad set a diversion while my mom took a cookie and realigned the rest so it looked like nothing was missing. I returned my attention to the cookies... and something was amiss.

My parents gasped as I went to count them (like, "Holy sh*t, he's counting?!") and I looked at them like, "Yo, I know you took my cookie." I guess I was aware of my surroundings very early on. I probably butchered the story (sorry, Mom), but I can see why she likes telling it.

My childhood was like any other kid's in middle-class America—except I'm Black and Muslim. In that sense, there was no Christmas; my parents were always looked at weirdly when we went out, and I caught on to microaggressions, feeling their pain as if it were my own. As an older brother, I felt a great responsibility to be a role model for my brother and my cousins. There's a good deal of nuance, but overall, I wouldn't change it for the world.

I wanted to make comic books as a kid (my friend Nikolas Draper-Ivey has seen my work and wants me to draw so bad, but I haven't given in yet!) and that led me to DeviantArt. I saw that they used Photoshop, so I found a pirated version to learn about lighting, composition, and color. I soon found a book about web design in a library and Googled tutorials on how to make good-looking websites. That was the start of my self-discovery; I ended up on psdtuts and jumpstarted a semblance of a career in design.

On the other hand, my parents got me involved with the UArts program in Philadelphia. My dad's friend (a painter) gave me pointers; a mentor from Singapore, Mark 'SBTG' Ong, gave me one of my first hard lessons on follow-up and passion; and my old mentors from the UPenn program Ase (Abdi Farah, Hayling Price, Anand Jahi, Isaiah Greene, and more) always told me to pursue art. I wouldn't be here without them, my family, and my friends. I had the natural inclination; they ensured I took it seriously.

Currently, I work as the Senior Mobile UX Designer for HCA's IT&S division in Nashville, TN. My job consists of developing groundbreaking medical applications for HCA's hospitals and clinics across iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Apple Watch with an operational and enterprise focus. I also took the lead in creating an open-source Mobile Design framework that is currently being deployed enterprise-wide.

Before this, I was all over the place:

• Interned at R/GA under the Nike client and helped launch six campaigns (including KD, Kobe, and LeBron sneakers).
• Started a design firm and launched 12 startups in partnership with DreamIT Ventures.
• Built an app featured in 95 countries (and failed miserably).
• Worked at Audible and launched Audible Channels.

Working with Nike and developing the narrative for their World Cup campaign was awesome, especially as an intern. Also, launching a startup and failing. I learned so much from that experience; it’s been single-handedly responsible for my upward mobility in corporate jobs. Going from intern to Senior Designer in two and a half years is pretty lit.

I’m a young dude. I’ll be 23 on Friday, February 10th, and it’s hard to be taken seriously sometimes. I like to dress comfortably. I wear dreadlocks with shaved sides. I embody a punk rock vibe that turns some people off.

Yet, I run a design team and I’ve built companies. I feel like a seasoned vet, but the timeline looks "wrong" to others. I’ve had trouble finding the balance between personal expression and professionalism. At first glance, I look like a struggling artist, but when I speak, the conversation changes. Sometimes it doesn’t, though. I’ve had to enlist white friends to help me negotiate with business partners because sometimes that’s the only way I’ll win business. And it f*cking sucks.

I am a design advisor for the Nashville Entrepreneur Center and work with the Project Music and Project Healthcare cohorts. In Nashville, this is a huge deal. There aren't many Black mentors, so we are working to bring more visibility to the EC and attract People of Color (POC) to pursue their business goals, creating an economic framework for success they can follow.

It’s all about the environment. If you’re with people who speak to you culturally, it’s amazing. At Audible, the design team were "the homies." They were 7–10 years my senior, but they spoke my language. POC have to painstakingly find an environment that speaks to us; if not, we’re going to be miserable. Since I started, it’s been a volatile ride emotionally.

Perspective. You see the world differently. Most design work is anthropological. Human factors, ergonomics, visual acuity, and spatial awareness all have one thing in common: people. Being able to see the person, the touchpoint, and how they interact with the larger picture is fascinating.

1. More than just recognition: We are the bedrock of culture. We need more of us in current companies, but we should also be forging our own. I’d love to see POC studios as big as R/GA or Wieden + Kennedy.

2. Hiring practices: It’s annoying when you’re the only Black person on a team and you have to argue the value of a candidate who looks like you. We don't have enough of us in recruitment or leadership to make critical decisions. The way companies seek talent is outdated.

We have to be mobile and show it to them! I remember volunteering at an inner-city middle school. When we told the kids what we did, they lit up. They didn't realize you could make money drawing or making clothes. They assumed those careers were for "rich kids" or "white people" until people who looked and talked like them said it was possible. We just have to go out there. Every designer should volunteer.

Collaborate with your peers. Challenge everything and everyone. Break the rules. Listen to your gut. You can't bring your whole squad with you on the journey, and it sucks leaving people behind, but you have to forge forward. Give back. Be a voice. Be a "positive social contagion."