UCity Events
Lettering, print and digital marketing, and environmental graphics for uCity events Neighborhood Hangout and Block Party at the Lawn. The events promoted a new initiative by Philadelphia poet Yolanda Wisher and architect and artist Nina Cooke John, who have teamed up to create a new public artwork at uCity Square, commissioned by Wexford Science + Technology in partnership with Mural Arts Philadelphia.
THE PROJECT
Read more about the initiative here.
The Neighborhood Hangout and Block Party at the Lawn events were hosted to incorporate the voices and stories of community members in the surrounding neighborhoods, and most importantly, current and former members of the Black Bottom.
ADDITIONAL CREDITS
Yolanda Wisher, Project Leader
Nina Cooke John, Project Leader
Mural Arts Philadelphia, Client
-
The visual system for these events looks to celebrate the future while honoring the past. Graphics are inspired by afropunk and afrofuturist artworks and motifs, adding a summery twist through color and playful type as image.
A broad combination of contemporary typefaces created by Black designers (namely @sebgarrydesign and @fadebiaye) intertwines with traditional Adinkra symbols from West Africa, specifically those symbolizing unity, creativity, and guardianship, which are used as typographic glyphs as well as decorative pattern elements.
The sunny color palette pulls from African textiles, each imbued with meaning — blues indicating peace and love, green representing prosperity and life, gold symbolizing wealth and fertility, and red as a slight nod to the tension of the past.
