Tasheka Arceneaux-Sutton
A Historical Survey of Typography by Black People in America
Despite the limited availability of information, Black designers have made notable contributions to graphic design, and their work in type creation has yet to receive adequate attention and study. This presentation emphasizes the correlation between Black designers and the realm of typography, lettering, and calligraphy. The discussion will showcase a range of works across diverse industries, including publishing, music, film, activism, commercial products, and more, from the late 1800s to the present. The objective is to reveal the untold stories that have shaped the dynamic landscape of Black graphic design history, with a particular focus on the role of typography.
About Tasheka Arceneaux-Sutton
Tasheka Arceneaux Sutton is an educator, graphic designer, image-maker, and writer. She is an Associate Professor of Design and Creative Technologies and a faculty in the M.F.A. program in Graphic Design at Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is the founder of Blacvoice Design, a studio specializing in branding, electronic media, identity, illustration, and publication design. Typography has a strong presence in her work—hand-lettering, typesetting, and deconstructing type through analog and digital processes. Tasheka’s research focuses on discovering Black people omitted from the graphic design history canon. She’s interested in the visual representation of Black people in the media and popular culture, primarily through the lens of stereotypes. Her essay, “A Black Renaissance Woman: Louise E. Jefferson,” is in Baseline Shift: Untold Stories of Women in Graphic Design History. Her essay, “The Type Behind the Name,” in Documenting the Nameplate, is forthcoming in 2023. She is co-author of Black Design in America, which will be released in 2023/24. Tasheka holds an M.F.A. in graphic design from California College of the Arts and a BA in English Writing from Loyola University New Orleans.