Kimberly Shrack portrait by Heather Lewis
Every April 11, the beautiful butterflies of Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority, Inc. celebrate Founders’ Day. To mark the occasion, we’re sharing this interview with Kimberly Shrack (Upsilon, SP06), who designed the ONE Future Foundation’s logo and worked with the Board to refine the branding and color scheme. In addition to her design work, Kimberly, a proud butterfly from the Upsilon chapter who became a member in Spring ‘06, is also an author-illustrator whose debut picture book from Simon & Schuster is slated for release this fall.
Q: Let’s start with the basics – tell us about yourself and your TNX history!
Kimberly: I’m Kim! I’m an author-illustrator of picture books, and my family and I recently moved to the Seattle area from Indianapolis. My freshman year at Indiana University, I had a class with Upsilon Chapter Founding Butterfly Nilaja Neely (now Montgomery) who told me all about TNX. I met the rest of the chapter, and quickly realized this was an organization I desperately wanted to be a part of. I was an active member all through my time at IU, (including the year our small but mighty chapter beat out every other sorority on campus to win Greek Chapter of the Year!), and count my Upsilon sisters as my best friends and biggest support system to this day.
Q: How did you become Hoopla! Letters, what got you started down this career path, why do you do the work you do, and what are you up to these days?
Kimberly: It’s been a very winding road! The short(ish) version is that I studied art in undergrad, but ended up in a career in public relations. I was doing calligraphy on the side, and after some time gained a bit of a following in Philadelphia, where I was living at the time. Wedding calligraphy led to calligraphy art led to art licensing, and I eventually left PR to pursue Hoopla! Letters full-time. I was teaching lots of in-person calligraphy classes, and was preparing to head out to LA to teach my largest class ever (150+ people!) when we heard about this thing called COVID. You know what happened next.
Just like that, my business screeched to a stop and I was 3 months pregnant at the time. I wasn’t booking classes, didn’t have art shows to sell my art at, and was about to have a toddler and a newborn to take care of. It was time to pivot and I knew it. I was extremely privileged to be in a situation where my spouse’s income could cover us for a while, so I started to explore other avenues to use my artwork that wouldn’t require so many in-person events. I turned my attention from calligraphy to illustration, where I knew there would be more opportunities.
I began to find some success in surface pattern design, but found I really loved illustrating characters. After many years and many, MANY more nos, my first picture book SPOOKY SCOUTS was purchased by McElderry Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. It will publish on August 25, 2026, and is currently available for pre-order!
Q: What did you think when the ONE Future Foundation Board approached you to take on the Foundation’s logo design? How did that process happen?
Kimberly: I was very excited – it was a definite yes! It’s not hyperbole to say that joining TNX has been one of the most impactful decisions of my life, and to be a part of this incredible new venture was something I couldn’t turn down.
Q: What was the inspiration behind the logo? How did you come up with the design?
Kimberly: The Board gets all the credit for the inspiration behind the logo! They wanted something that resembled the milkweed flower, a concept that I loved. Just as the milkweed fuels the butterfly, so, too, does the ONE Future Foundation fuel the TNX mission. In the main logo, a simplified representation of the milkweed flower blooms from the word “future” in one continuous, organically flowing line. I wanted to elicit feelings of connection and growth, and illustrate that from the Foundation, many wonderful things will blossom.
Q. What’s your favorite part of the design? And can you tell us more about the color scheme?
Kimberly: I love the milkweed flower! I love how it loops in one continuous line. That took many, many, MANY attempts to get it right while maintaining an organic feel. When choosing the color scheme, we turned to the foundation of the Foundation: Theta Nu Xi and the sisterhood we all hold so close. We wanted to pay homage to the TNX palette without replicating it. With that in mind, we chose to incorporate our favorite shade of Carolina Blue with a splash of gold inspired by the wings of the Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly. The line work is in a coordinating deep blue, cohesively bringing these iconic hues together.
Q: Tell us about how you were feeling when you were creating this design that links the Foundation and the Sorority. What thoughts came to mind?
Kimberly: It was a full circle moment, for sure. I was the Philanthropy Chair of the Upsilon Chapter during parts of my tenure, and that aspect of our organization is something I’ve always felt a lot of pride in. We have done some incredible things! And the ONE Future Foundation is going to take those efforts to the next level. It was incredibly meaningful to me to have the opportunity to play a small part in its launch.
Q: How can TNX members support you and your endeavors? Where can they find out/connect with you?
Kimberly: The best way to support would be to pre-order my debut picture book Spooky Scouts! It’s a story about the fears of being different and learning to embrace your inner weirdo, all played out by cute little monsters on a camping trip. I’m biased, but I think it’s a lot of fun! Pre-ordering makes a HUGE impact because it signals to stores how many copies to buy when the book releases. But you don’t have to spend money to support authors and illustrators! Requesting the book at your local library also signals interest and helps get the book in the hands of young readers, which is always the goal. And for a little preview, check out these free Spooky Scouts coloring sheets and word search. Finally, there’s always my website and socials: https://kimberlyshrack.com/