Canopy NWA is a non-profit organization that works to connect organizations, businesses, congregations, and individuals to refugees in need of assistance. Their goal is to connect refugee families to everything they need to build a new life in Northwest Arkansas.

After the Trump's immigration ban executive order in March 2017, Canopy approached the University of Arkansas art department about designing a shirt that they could sell during the ban. The result was a 2.5 hour "design slam" in my professional development class.

Since my time was limited, I couldn't spend much time brainstorming. In our briefing, Canopy referred to themselves as an "umbrella," protecting refugee families from hate and discrimination. Furthermore, they mentioned that of the 33,000 refugees removed from their homes everyday, 40% of them are children. This statistic struck me, so I decided to make a design which emphasized Canopy's role in protecting these families. It seemed natural to use their mark as a literal umbrella, shielding a family from hate and turning it into love.