![]() ![]() These works stand out for being positive representations of Black people at the World’s Fair. His poster for “O Sing a New Song” - a Black music pageant in conjunction with the fair - is one of his most circulated images. He was the only Black artist to show in the 1933–1934 Chicago World’s Fair, having created a mural for the National Urban League’s exhibition of the Great Migration of Black people from the American South to Northern industrial cities. 1933ĭawson’s presence would also take hold in exhibitions. In 1933, Dawson self-published the children’s book ABCs of Great Negroes, which featured bold linoleum-cut portraits and short biographies of notable Black people throughout history, including Nefertiti, Frederick Douglass, and Haitian revolutionary general Toussaint Louverture.Ĭharles Dawson, Poster for “O Sing a New Song,” ca. Valmor owner Morton Neumann forbid Dawson from signing his work, which meant that he wasn’t credited until years later.Ĭharles Dawson, ABCs of Great Negroes, 1933 His work for Chicago cosmetics companies Valmor and Black-owned Overton featured beauty schools and products that showcased Black beauty. Charles DawsonĬharles Dawson was active as a commercial artist during the 1920s and 1930s, creating advertising and editorial illustration. The three creators featured here were active in and around the period - certainly differing in their contributions but aligned in charting a new course for Black design. While Harlem was one cultural center of this activity, cities like Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia would also have flourishing scenes of their own. Alongside political activation and the influx of Black Southerners to urban areas came cultural efforts in literature, art, and music, among other forms that collectively would become the New Negro Movement, later named the Harlem Renaissance. Part 1: The Early 20th Century and the Harlem RenaissanceĪt the turn of the 20th century, the grip of Jim Crow laws and upholding of segregation catalyzed a new wave of Black political resistance and the Great Migration, which saw masses of Black Americans fleeing the South for cities in the Northeast and Midwest. This blog post is the first in a series where we’ll highlight key time periods and individuals who have shaped our contemporary understanding of Black graphic design, and the field as a whole. Check out the Adobe Express blog in the coming months for parts two and three of our Black graphic design history. How then, in the context of such scarcity and the obstacles of discrimination and lack of opportunity, do we present an accurate and encompassing history of Black graphic design? The cohort contains a range of aesthetics, politics, viewpoints, and individuals. This history of Black graphic design aims to acknowledge the influence and impact that Black graphic designers have brought to the field, while honoring the inherent diversity of the artists and creators involved. Holmes-Miller's 1987 piece Black Designers: Missing in Action in Print and its 20 follow-up pieces, and Sylvia Harris’ Searching for a Black Aesthetic in American Graphic Design. Among these contributions are Dorothy Jackson’s The Black Experience of Graphic Design, published in Print in 1968 with reflections from many living Black designers in 2020, Cheryl D. ![]() A variety of scholarship has sought to make sense of this scarcity, catalogue and bring light to their experience in the field, as well as establish a robust understanding of Black aesthetics. Despite rich contributions from designers past and present, the 2021 AIGA Design POV reported that only 4.9 percent of counted graphic designers are Black. When delving into the history of Black graphic design, you swiftly come to a recurring message: Black graphic designers are a staggering quantitative minority. ![]()
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