What Is Culture Nerds?

Culture Nerds is a merch brand created by Travis Cochran, video producer, founder, and co-CEO of the HBUC (Historical Black University of Creatives) in Atlanta. The HBUC is a 20,000+ square foot creative studio and arts incubator built around the idea that Black creatives should have a space to learn from one another, grow together, and tell their own stories. In its first year alone, the HBUC produced over 350 productions, including work with Chris Brown, Jimmy Fallon, Nike, Black Enterprise, and the Atlanta Hawks.

Culture Nerds was built to represent that same energy in wearable form. Travis, his peers, and the community of creatives he built the HBUC around are a specific kind of brilliant. Deeply plugged into culture, serious about craft, and operating at a level most people don't see until the credits roll. Culture Nerds was the brand for them.

My Approach

I designed the full visual identity and merch system for Culture Nerds in 2022. The brief was personal and specific: create something that felt authentic to Travis and his world without leaning on generic streetwear tropes. The brand had to carry weight in creative spaces, feel culturally legible without over-explaining itself, and work across apparel and accessories.

The Creative Direction

The identity system lives in two registers. The bold, bubbly block lettering with the brain mark built into the letterforms is playful and immediately readable. It speaks to the nerd identity without irony. The script version is looser, more personal, closer to something you'd see passed around in a sketchbook. Together they give the brand range without losing cohesion.

The tote bag takes it further. The abstract maze pattern is dense, intricate, and rewards a second look. It references the idea that brilliant minds work in ways others can't immediately trace. The taglines on the crewneck, "Creatives Make the Rules" and "Creatives Curate Culture," do the rest of the work in plain language.

Deliverables

Brand Identity: Primary mark, script variant, and icon system built for apparel, accessories, and digital use.

Apparel Graphics: Crewneck and t-shirt graphic design across multiple colorways and mark treatments.

Accessory Design: Tote bag featuring original abstract pattern with brand mark integration.

Tagline and Messaging System: Brand voice articulation built into the visual system.

Conclusion

Culture Nerds is a small project with a specific brief and a clear point of view. It represents the kind of work that doesn't need a big budget to land with precision. Travis Cochran built something real with the HBUC, and Culture Nerds was designed to match that energy on the outside of it.