A few weeks ago in March, I caught Type + Progress in its last days on exhibit at the Branch Museum of Architecture and Design. The exhibit explored typography’s role in civil rights, and featured typography created by Tre Seals and Vocal Type inspired by key figures in Black history. As noted on the introduction placard as you entered the exhibit, roughly 84% of American designers are white men. Vocal Type aims to address this disparity, as stated on their website:
“When an industry is dominated by a single race and gender, this not only creates a lack of diversity in peoples and experiences but ideas and creations as well. That’s why Vocal Type is working to diversify design through the root of all (good) works of graphic design—typography.
Each typeface highlights a piece of history from a specific underrepresented race, ethnicity, or gender—from the Women’s Suffrage Movement in Argentina to the Civil Rights Movement in America.”
Type + Progress featured fonts inspired by Colin Kaepernick, Martin Luther King Jr., Marsha P. Johnson, Spike Lee, and Harriet Tubman, among others. Each of these types can also be viewed on Vocal Type’s website here with detailed information behind each design.
This was actually my first time visiting the Branch Museum. The building itself holds a lot of history and is worth a look, although the museum does not have a permanent collection on display and it’s best to plan your visit around a specific exhibit or event.
The photos in this post were shot on CineStill 800T. Thank you for reading, you’re beautiful.