Looking at Andrea Pippins’ work, you can’t help but smile. It’s not just her colorful style that seems to speak directly to you, but it’s also the mission behind what she creates. From her books I Love My Hair and Becoming Me to posters for the BlackStar Film Festival, from Hallmark Cards to promo spots on TV Land, from brand identities for universities to illustrations for the National Museum of African American History and Culture—it elicits powerful emotions. We talked with Andrea more about what it was like making her books, finding work/life balance, and the importance of telling those untold stories.

Andrea Pippins: I learned a little about graphic design when I saw Halle Berry playing the role of Angela in the film Boomerang. Angela was an art director and artist, and it was my first time seeing a woman of color doing that kind of work. It blew me away, even if it was fiction. But it wasn’t until I started applying for schools that I really learned about careers in graphic design, or what was called commercial art or graphic art at that time. I attended Temple University Tyler School of Art. After graduating with a BFA I worked for several years as a designer at Hallmark Cards, then TV Land/Nick@Nite before going back to school to get my MFA in graphic design. With that degree I taught design courses at several universities over a period of five years. During that time, I was also doing a lot of freelance work and selling artwork. It got to be a challenge managing two full-time workloads so I decided to take a leap and work for myself full-time.