HARMONIE
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HERE
EDITORIAL DESIGN | CAPSTONE PROJECT
HERE is an editorial that looks at the black design scene in America. The first issue focuses on Chicago as a nexus of black design, examining its past and present, and calling for a comprehensive study of the “black design aesthetic”.
Audience:
For black designers, to show them faces like theirs in the field, and for the design world at large, to showcase the contributions of their less recognized counterparts.
Content:
HERE features 5 self-conducted interviews with Chicago-based practicing black designers (Tahiti Spears, Justin Lindberg, Norman Teague, Jamaal Williams, and Joshua Johnson) as well as text from A THING OF BEAUTY IS A JOY FOREVER: A Short History of African American Design in Chicago by Christopher Dingwall, “In Conversation: Darhil Crooks, Ian Spalter & Dantley Davis on Practicing Design While Black, with Kareem Collie” from The Black Experience in Design, and Searching for a Black Aesthetic in American Graphic Design by Sylvia Harris.
In 2019, AIGA published their design census, revealing only 3% of graphic designers to be black, despite making up 13% of the American population.
This statistic rings true as something I’ve noticed in my own design education, often being one of the only black students in my class and rarely learning about designers who looked like me. In the fall of my senior year, I took a class on black graphic design history with Christopher Dingwall, and for the first time I learned about notable black designers, both dead and living, who have shaped the field of black design today. Much of black design history begins in Chicago, where I was born and raised, and I wanted to bring focus to this lesser known but important history.
SYSTEM
I wanted to create a juxtaposition between a more conventional editorial style and a “black aesthetic”. Most of the book follows a polished system, with the interviews breaking that system and being more expressive and unique to each designer.
Chicago Star
I chose a color scheme that calls back to the Chicago flag, using black & white for images, and the red of the star as emphasis. The Chicago flag features four red, six-point stars. I wanted to use these stars as a symbol throughout the book. It is used to both signify the end of a section of text as well as takes a different appearance depending on the section of the book it is in.
Typography
Big, bold type is used throughout the book. It divides each section with a title page, as well as starts off each article. The large type is meant to push against the sides of the page and symbolize the “boldness” of the black design aesthetic, as discussed in the book I used mostly typefaces from Vocal Type, which is run by Tré Seals, a black type designer whose typefaces are inspired by important black figures, such as the font used for section dividers; SPIKE, for SPIKE LEE a black film director.
Microtypography
I chose VTC’s Du Bois font, which uses a star detail for punctuation. I chose this to emulate the Chicago star symbol I use. This is used for image labels (which run vertically) and descriptions (which always align to the side of the image it is on) as well as marginalia and page numbers.
Interviews
The interview sections in HERE are inspired by the many Johnson Publication magazines like JET, EBONY, and HUE. I wanted to create a juxtaposition between the more conventional editorial style of the rest of the book and this “black design aesthetic” in the interview section. Each interview begins with a 3 page foldout spread that introduces the designer and gives an overview of the visual style for that section. Each section is modeled after the style of the designer being interviewed.
The star also takes on a different quality to fit into the style of each section.
Cover
I wanted a black-on-black cover to emphasize how despite being hidden, black designers have always been here. It just takes a closer, more intentional look.
Poster + Exhibit
For the capstone show, I made a poster to go with the editorial. I wanted to bring back the oversized typography present throughout the book, as well as engage the viewer immediately with a question and invite them to find the answer in the book.