Change The Lens and UTA Brand Studio unveils a powerful new identity system
The CTL identity is bold, inclusive and universal – a reminder to the world of the reasons for posting a black square on social media last year.
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Think back to a time in June last year. It may feel like a lifetime ago, but it was a time of great change. Not only were we hit by various iterations of lockdowns, we also saw a rise in solidarity for the Black Lives Matter movement, following the death of George Floyd and many others. This sparked a social media demonstration called Black Out Tuesday: a move that inspired the masses to post a black square on their grids. With this came a rise in debate and the sharing of the Black experience in the creative industries – call-outs were made to those not doing enough in terms of diversity and change was finally on the horizon.
January 28, 2021 2:45 pm
“Everyone found out about Vocal Type at the same time,” Tré Seals says, recalling the race protests from summer 2020. “Part of me felt like it wouldn’t be successful if it wasn’t for George Floyd.”
Vocal Type is the type foundry that Seals runs from Washington, D.C., US – it’s his second venture, following Seals design studio which he closed down last year because of his typography’s sudden popularity. The foundry creates typefaces inspired by protest signs from real-life movements, like the Memphis Sanitation Strike of 1968 or Vietnman War protests.
Following the killing of George Floyd at the hands of policemen in May last year, protesters got in touch with Seals about buying and using his fonts for protests. On social media, he saw how they were applied to signs and street murals not just in America but across the world. “There were some in Denmark, some in Australia,” he adds. “And that’s when I realised how important Vo
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Clara Jean Ester was a college student at Memphis State College in Tennessee when she bore witness to a series of pivotal moments in civil rights history.
As a junior, Ester joined the Memphis Sanitation Strike in 1968, alongside African American sanitation workers who were calling to demand better working conditions and higher wages.
She was there at around that same time that Dr. Martin Luther King gave his final speech. She was also there the next day when Dr. King was assassinated.
At StoryCorps in Mobile, Ala., earlier this month, Ester, now 72, remembers the last days of Dr. King s life.
On April 3, 1968, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., second from right, stands with other civil rights leaders on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn., a day before he was assassinated at approximately the same place. From left: Hosea Williams, Jesse Jackson, King and Ralph Abernathy. Charles Kelly/AP Photo
toggle caption Charles Kelly/AP Photo
On April 3, 1968, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., second from right, stands with other civil rights leaders on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn., a day before he was assassinated at approximately the same place. From left: Hosea Williams, Jesse Jackson, King and Ralph Abernathy.