Sylvia Abernathy, album art for Roscoe Mitchell Sextet and Sun Ra, Delmark, 1966.

In late 1960s Chicago, Sylvia Abernathy was all at once a college student, activist, and graphic designer. One of the few women working in a male-dominated industry, Abernathy (who later changed her name to “Laini”) is believed to be the first Black woman to be credited as a designer on album covers. Read more: https://letterformarchive.org/news/laini-sylvia-abernathy/?utm_source=Facebook

#SylviaAbernathy #Laini #BlackDesigners #BlackHistoryMonth #AlbumArt #1960s

Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr.; Racism, Materialism, Militarism; letterpress on map, Detroit, 2014.

Citizen Printer is open through March 16 at Letterform Archive. Visit, see the online exhibition, buy the book: https://letterformarchive.org/news/amos-paul-kennedy-jr-citizen-printer/?utm_source=Mastodon

#Printing #Letterpress #BlackHistoryMonth #BlackDesigners #Racism #Materialism #WoodType #USA

Hunter Saxony III, BLM, ca. 2020.

Read more about Saxony: https://letterformarchive.org/news/the-last-black-calligrapher-in-sf/
And see more of his calligraphy in the Online Archive: https://oa.letterformarchive.org/?dims=Name_KEY&vals0=SAXONYIIIHUNTER&friendly0=Saxony%20III%25comma%20Hunter

#Calligraphy #Blackletter #BlackArtists #BlackDesigners #BLM

Chip Thomas (photographer and designer) & Thea Gahr (linocut artist and printer), Tear Down the Walls! Build Up the People!, 2017.

#BlackDesigners #Immigration #MexicoBorder #LatinAmerica #Lettering #Linocut

7UP logo and packaging by Thomas Miller, chief designer at Morton Goldsholl Associates, Chicago, 1976.

Learn more: https://fontsinuse.com/uses/4159/7-up-branding-1975-1980

#GraphicDesign #Typography #7Up #Packaging #BlackDesigners

Kunjina Tesfaye on Growth and Preserving #Artisanal Techniques.

#Handweaving, #embroidery and #fabric manipulation are design elements that communicate stories about Ethiopia. “If you’ve seen photos of #Ethiopians wearing the traditional white dress, it’s handwoven.”

Interview with Kunjina Tesfaye.

When Kunjina Tesfaye talks about UDET, her eponymous #fashion label Kunjina’s collection, growth radiates. #UDET is a Geez word meaning cycle. Inspired by Ms. Tesfaye’s personal experience, this collection explores fear, productivity guilt, and growth. “It’s like a butterfly’s story or growth from the first stage, from the caterpillar stage into becoming a butterfly. I’ve used that metaphor to explain how a person goes through these stages to flourish and become the person they want. It’s a cycle. It’s not a one-time thing.”

Since her debut as a twentysomething with a degree in construction technology, Ms. Tesfaye’s life and creative approach have evolved. “Every time I make a collection I’ve grown – my designs and the brand and the aesthetics, everything has changed or has grown.” Today, Kunjina has developed into a platform for local #artists. They lobby for growth, preserve traditional #handcrafting methods, and promote #ecofriendly practices.

https://lampoonmagazine.com/article/2024/11/27/kunjina-tesfaye-embroidery-handweaving-fabric-ethiopia

#Africa #Ethiopia #FashionDesigners #TraditionalWeaving #clothesmaking #AfricanWeavers #GlobalSouth #BlackDesigners #BlackArtists #POCfashion #FibreArts #Handwoven #BlackMastodon #TraditionalWeaving #MadeByHand #Interview #BIPOC

(Black) Design Matters: Essential Conversations for Black History Month & Beyond
Feat.: Design Matters with @debbiemillman
at @printmag
#BlackDesigners #BlackCulture #BlackHistoryMonth

https://www.printmag.com/design-matters-with-debbie-millman/black-design-matters-essential-conversations-for-black-history-month-beyond/

This Just In: The Darden Type Design Archive. We’re honored to receive hundreds of annotated font proofs from Joshua Darden, the first African American type designer. The material, produced between 2006 and 2012, documents and illuminates the process of making typefaces.

Read more about Darden and the work from members of his drawing staff: https://letterformarchive.org/news/darden-type-design-archive/

#LetterformArchive #DardenStudio #TypeDesign #BlackHistory #BlackDesigners

Photo of Darden: Jean François Porchez