Mike Nicholls grew up with a stutter so severe that he once described it as having a million words in his head and only wanting one. Writing became the way out — first through graffiti, then typography, then graphic design. In 2017, he launched UMBER through a Kickstarter campaign from Oakland, California, originally envisioning it as a graphic journal for creative thinkers. What it became was something larger: a print-only cultural media platform that amplifies the voices and creative visions of Black people and people of colour worldwide.
The name refers to the rich brown pigment, and the magazine takes that literally. Every issue of UMBER is printed entirely in black and brown ink — no full colour, no glossy concessions. The constraint is the concept: it forces the photography, typography, and layouts to work within a palette that mirrors the skin tones and lived experiences the magazine centres. You cannot find UMBER's content online; the features exist only in print, giving each issue the weight and permanence of a book. Contributors span more than fifteen countries, from Armenia to Nigeria to Chile, and past features have included conversations with the hip-hop duo Armand Hammer, letterpress artist Amos Kennedy Jr., poet and musician Saul Williams, and financial literacy advocate Tonya Rapley.
Nicholls has expanded UMBER beyond the page. The Umber Talk Show — part late-night television, part editorial meeting performed live — launched during San Francisco Design Week and brings intimate interviews and live music to audiences in person. There is also Umber Studio, offering editorial design and visual storytelling services. But the magazine remains the heartbeat: each themed issue is a curated argument that design, music, and art made by communities of colour deserve not just visibility but the kind of serious, beautiful, intentional publishing that treats them as culture worth preserving on paper.
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