Delta Sigma Theta’s Dorothy E. Hayes Was a Trailblazing Black Graphic Designer

At a time when Black women were shut out of the design industry, one Delta Sigma Theta soror carved out a space of her own and then opened the door for others. Her name was Dorothy E. Hayes, and she became one of the pioneering Black graphic designers in America.

Dorothy E. Hayes was born on December 1, 1935, in Mobile, Alabama. She graduated from Alabama State College, the historically Black university in Montgomery, where, as her obituary notes, she was a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

In 1958, Hayes moved to New York City to pursue her passion for design. As the designer and historian Niall Boyddocuments, she studied at the Cooper Union School of Art, earning her graphic design degree in 1967, and she continued her training at other leading New York art schools.

Hayes broke into a field that rarely made room for Black women. She worked as a graphic designer and art director and founded her own commercial design studio, known as Dorothy’s Door, in New York City. She also taught art and advertising design, passing her craft to a new generation.

Her most lasting contribution may have been her advocacy. In 1970, Hayes co-curated the landmark exhibition “Black Artists in Graphic Communication,” which showcased the work of dozens of Black graphic designers and artists at a time when their contributions were routinely overlooked. The exhibition helped document and celebrate a generation of Black creative talent that the industry had ignored.

An innovative artist in her own right, Hayes also created abstract sculptures from Plexiglas, Lucite, and other plastics. As noted in her obituary, her work was recognized by the Fine Arts Museum of the South in Mobile, and she was honored by both the City of Mobile and the State of Alabama.

Dorothy E. Hayes died on July 31, 2015, at the age of 79. From Alabama State College to the studios and galleries of New York City, she spent her life proving that Black designers belonged and making sure the world knew their names.

We at Watch The Yard would like to commend Soror Dorothy E. Hayes for her pioneering contributions to art and design.