be hella well x State of black design
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Thursday, Feb. 18 -
Friday, Feb. 20, 2027
Stakes Is High is a pop up event in partnership with the State of Black Design, Be HELLA Well, and the d.School at Stanford University. It gathers designers, students, educators, community partners, and creatives at Stanford University and the d.school for three days of community design, career exploration, and collective wellness. The program includes studio workshops, community activations, a record shop pop-up experience, and more across the d.school and partnering locations on campus. See the schedule here.
Registration Opening Nov 6, 2026
Meet our Partner
What is “be hella well?”
Be HELLA Well was a community design residency, held March 11-13, 2026, at the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, known as the d.school at Stanford University. The event was co-led by Omari Souza, founder of State of Black Design, and Milan Drake, Community Design Lead at Stanford’s d.school. After d.school students attended State of Black Design in 2023 and 2025, they asked for a Stanford version of that experience, with clearer pathways into design careers and a community that affirms wellbeing.
past programming
Students took part in full-length design sprints, studying album covers as design and examining the visual language, color choices, typography, and styling that Black artists used to express identity through art. Students engaged in conversation with a panel of media practitioners from 510 Media (Oakland), imagined a Community Design Lab at Stanford, and designed the outline of a community journal and conference proceedings. On Friday night, Radiant Concert Night turned the d.school design studios into a Tiny Desk environment with a DJ set and a live performance by Reuben Vincent, hip hop artist from Charlotte, North Carolina, signed to 9th Wonder's Jamla Records in 2016 and to Roc Nation in 2021.
about stakes is high
Stakes Is High brings the cultivated network of Black designers from State of Black Design together with the d.school and the Be HELLA Well community for three days, in a room with people, to name what is at stake in the classroom, the community, and creativity. Book a Living Library conversation with an industry professional, join workshops and panels, help write a shared conference manifesto, and more.
Learn more about the pop-up here.
