Creative Vision, Cultural Impact: Cornel Beard’s Charizma Agency Blends Design with Legacy

From sketching T-shirt ideas as a teenager to founding Charizma Agency, Cornel Beard ’25, MA has turned his passion into a platform for cultural storytelling and community impact.

After earning a design degree from Concordia University and a graduate degree from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Beard launched Charizma Agency in December 2022. Two and a half years in, the agency has built a strong client roster, including Black Collective Foundation MN, 3Sixty Sports, and Carbon Sound through NPR, offering services from branding to web design and campaign strategy.

The agency’s name, Charizma, reflects Beard’s quiet, intentional, and impactful leadership style. “That’s what charisma means to me—authentic leadership,” he explained.

In a fast-evolving design world, Beard is excited about the rise of storytelling through video and user-generated content. “People are realizing their stories matter,” he said. “I encourage clients to lean into that—real stories, real voices.”

As for the challenges of being a Black business owner in 2025? "[It's] crazy at times,” Beard admitted. “But to wake up every day and build something from an idea—and help others do the same—that’s a blessing.”

Learn More

• Cornel Beard is building legacy through design
  (spokesman-recorder.com—August 1, 2025)