SCOPE
Experimental Typography
Print Design
BACKGROUND
If you live in Capitol Hill, chances are you’ve strolled through Lincoln Park and passed the statue honoring Mary McLeod Bethune. But you might not have noticed an excerpt from her last will and testament embossed around its base. It was the message—and the way some of the letterforms were uniquely nestled into the type—that first caught my eye and inspired this project and typographic exploration.
FULL EXCERPT
I Leave You Love, I Leave You Hope, I Leave You the Challenge of Developing Confidence in One Another, I Leave You a Thirst for Education, I Leave You A Respect for the Use of Power, I Leave You also a Desire to Live Harmoniously with Your Fellow Man, I Leave You Faith, I Leave You Racial Dignity, I Leave You Finally a Responsibility to Our Young People.
—Mary McLeod Bethune
01 TYPE TRANSFER
I’m always inspired by new methods of making and in particular how analog techniques can influence digital design. One technique I had been saving in my back pocket is one everyone is probably familiar with from childhood, rubbings. The distinctive type around the base of the statue seemed like the perfect opportunity to try this method in order to transfer the unique typography that originally caught my eye while maintaining the unique charm and character.
02 ANALOG TO DIGITAL
Once I had collected the rubbings I scanned them at a high resolution to maintain as much detail as possible. I then cleaned and retouched each before bitmapping them in photoshop to manipulate them further.
03 COLOR PALETTE
The color palette draws inspiration from Mary McLeod’s enduring impact on education. Bright shades of blue, orange, pink, and green evoke the playful spirit of a classroom—like the colors in a well-loved box of crayons. The soft off-white suggests a blank sheet of paper, ready for ideas, while the muted black nods to the classic chalkboard, a symbol of learning and possibility.
A LASTING IMPRESSION
What I love most about design is its ability to translate messages and meaning in ways that are both unexpected and deeply felt. In this piece, I was inspired by both Mary McLeod Bethune’s powerful words and the tactile process I used to bring them to life. What surprised me was how the combination of the two created a metaphor I hadn’t anticipated.
Bethune’s legacy made a profound impression on racial equality and education—so it felt especially fitting that the method I used to design this poster was by making a literal impression of her words.
I hope to keep creating work that follows the spirit of Kelli Anderson’s advice: “Go off book, let your astonishment lead you.” Because when you do, it can lead to something truly remarkable.
MORE ON DR. MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE
Mary McLeod Bethune is one of America’s most inspirational daughters. An educator, national civil rights pioneer, and activist, she was a tireless champion for the rights and advancement of African American women. As the first in her family not born into slavery, she rose to become one of the most influential women of her generation.
Appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to the National Youth Administration in 1936, she became Director of Negro Affairs by 1939, overseeing job training for tens of thousands of Black youth. The only woman in Roosevelt’s “Black Cabinet,” Bethune used her close friendship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to advocate for integrating the Civilian Pilot Training Program and bringing it to historically Black colleges and universities—leading to the graduation of some of the first Black pilots in the nation.
Source: Bethune-Cookman University
