It’s election day in the US, and what better moment to showcase an exhibition that celebrates speaking truth to power? Characters: Type in Action, at the Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA), is a collaboration between Vocal Type and experiential design studio Civilization. It examines the impact of typography on the fight for social justice through the lens of historical figures from Martin Luther King, Jr. and W.E.B. Du Bois to Carrie Chapman Cat and Marsha P. Johnson.
Characters features typography from Tré Seals, founder of Vocal Type, and was designed with the Civilization team led by Principal and Owner Michael Ellsworth, and designer Mark Baker-Sanchez. If the exhibition sounds familiar, there was an inaugural showing in 2022 at the Branch Museum in Richmond, Virginia. In an interview about the Branch Museum exhibition for The Daily Heller, Seals was asked what story he wanted to tell through type. This is what he said:
These are the people whose small but impactful actions make movements move and whose stories must be celebrated as if they were those of royalty.
Tré Seals
I was curious about the new showing at MODA, both the expansion of the material to fill the new space and certainly, any new context important for the exhibition’s current form. Seals and Ellsworth were kind enough to answer a few questions (below).
Seals and Ellsworth answered the questions collaboratively, except where noted.
Tell us more about the exhibition and its relationship to the 2022 exhibition. What’s different in the MODA show? Why MODA?
The exhibition originally took shape in 2022 at the Branch Museum of Architecture and Design in Richmond, VA. With Characters, we wanted to create a site-specific experience. The Branch is housed in a historic mansion on Monument Avenue, right near the Robert E. Lee statue that was removed in 2021. In a setting historically reserved for portraits of white faces, we were inspired to create large-scale portraits of Black American social justice leaders, built out of typography.
When MODA approached us, we knew we had to adapt the exhibition to its more modern, interactive space, which has a major focus on education and accessibility. We expanded the narrative by incorporating design elements like a newspaper format and interactive displays to make the content more engaging for visitors of all ages. Bringing writer Kaleena Sales on board also allowed us to deepen the storytelling by connecting the history of Black American liberation with broader, global movements for social justice.
Characters: Type in Action is organized around the power of typography to be a force of both liberation and oppression. How would you describe typography’s impact on both sides of the issue of social justice?
Typography has always played a dual role in shaping social narratives. It can amplify voices calling for change or perpetuate oppressive messages. Historically, some of the same letterpress typography used to advocate for the abolition of slavery was also used in slave auction ads. This exhibit emphasizes how typography’s power to add personality and emotion to communication can either unite or divide, depending on how it’s wielded. One example in the exhibition is VTC Ruby which reclaims the typeface formally known as Jim Crow. It was redesigned and renamed after Civil Rights icon Ruby Bridges, transforming the typeface that was once oppressive to one that is empowering.
This exhibit emphasizes how typography’s power to add personality and emotion to communication can either unite or divide, depending on how it’s wielded.
The exhibition looks at a wide variety of figures from social justice movements from civil rights to suffrage to LGBTQ+ rights. How did you decide who to feature?
We curated the exhibition to chronicle Black history through the lens of typography, dating back to the 1700s when Black enslaved artisans were forced to design runaway slave ads, right up to the 2024 presidential election. In curating the figures to include in the show, the goal was to provide a broad cross-section of Black American liberation–from LGBTQ+ rights, labor, suffrage, anti-war, anti-police brutality, and more. Every Vocal Type font is based on a historic social justice figure or movement and all of the typefaces in the show were drawn from the Vocal Type catalog–most are available for sale, were commissioned for social movements, or are works in progress.
Tell us about the new typefaces featured in Characters at MODA.
This new iteration of Characters includes a number of new stories and typefaces. We included W.E.B. Du Bois (VTC Du Bois) and the history of his powerful data visualizations that illustrated the inequities faced by Black Americans. Jimi Hendrix (VTC Jimi) was included to show how performance can be used as an act of protest.
We also had the opportunity to include other figures and movements inspired by various Black liberation movements. We featured Eva Peron (VTC Eva) from the Argentinian women’s suffrage movement, Japanese American Tatsuro Matsuda’s stand against internment (VTC Tatsuro), and the protest in Tiananmen Square in central Beijing (VTC Tank Man).
Three typefaces were used throughout the exhibition and The Vocal Civilian newspaper: A custom version of VTC Garibaldi, inspired by the anti-fascist liberation movement in Italy; BLM Foundation, created for the Black Lives Matter organization; and VTC Wolpe, which drew inspiration from the works of Berthold Wolpe, a Jewish type designer who fled Nazi Germany.
How did you come to collaborate with each other?
ME: The collaboration started back in 2020 when Civilization reached out to Tré as fans of Vocal Type. Civilization had an idea for a typography exhibition and wanted to feature Vocal Type (that show has since been put on the back burner). Just two weeks after chatting, the Branch Museum contacted Tré independently about curating a Vocal Type exhibition. This was the catalyst for our partnership and we have been collaborating ever since!
How have things changed since 2022, specifically relating to social justice? What is the role of design and typography in sparking progress, however incremental, and keeping the social justice conversation at the forefront?
Since 2022, the conversations around social justice have shifted dramatically. Issues like book bans, historical revisionism, and attacks on school curricula have grossly intensified.
As we are flooded with information and our attention spans wane, typography and design have a critical responsibility to make factual information accessible, clearly communicate complex messages, and help keep critical issues in the spotlight.
Thinking of the above, what was important to relay in the MODA show? What visual themes or design elements did you lean into?
Even as societal focus shifts, design can help important issues remain visible. Our goal with Characters is to keep history present and to illustrate the continuum of resistance.
We built a layered experience that audiences could engage with on both a visceral level and by diving deep into the content. We leaned into visual themes of protest by using materials like newsprint, cardboard, and sign painting—echoing the visual language of grassroots activism. The idea was to create a space that felt like an immersive journey, where each element, from newspaper bins to large-scale typographic pieces, created an experience.
We leaned into visual themes of protest by using materials like newsprint, cardboard, and sign painting—echoing the visual language of grassroots activism.
What’s next for Civilization? Any big type (or other) projects you’re excited to bring to life (in the realm of social justice, civics, or an underrepresented initiative)?
ME: We were incredibly proud to have just launched a new site for the non-profit Now Matters Now. The site provides life-saving coping skills and community for when you’re on fire emotionally. Their team all has lived experience, whether it’s suicidal thoughts, addiction, depression, anxiety, chronic pain, or grief. Through their site and meetings they make their resources free and accessible to anyone, anytime. We are also working to expand Volumes, our public design library.
Tré, what part of our flawed history (or who) do you plan to tackle next? Are you excited about any upcoming projects or collaborations?
TS: I’m excited to find a new home for Characters and to expand The Vocal Civilian initiative. We designed the paper specifically for schools to be able to use as a resource in classrooms, to print, teach, and put on display. We’re also looking forward to releasing a new font family inspired by the events of November 5th, 2024.
Characters: Type in Action is on view at MODA until January 20, 2025.
Photography courtesy of MODA.
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