Intimate Stories of Typographic Activism
Jasmin Palermo (2024)
Text by Jasmin Palermo
At its heart, typography in protest is driven by voices that cannot stay silent. These voices span generations and communities, largely unseen, uncredited, and undeterred by recognition or reward. Their messages weren’t crafted for campaigns or accolades but to express an urgency that design alone can’t contain. This collection brings those voices to the forefront, honoring the power of raw, lived experience in shaping words that demand to be heard.
This collection goes beyond the surface of typographic protest, venturing into the voices and experiences that shaped these words. Here, the “call” is the raw outcry from the streets, and the “response” is the echo that revives these powerful expressions. Each typeface carries not only historical weight but the formal richness of lives lived on the edge of upheaval. Rather than focus on the signs alone, this collection dives into firsthand accounts of the events that brought them to life. These voices—those who painted the letters, held the banners, and braved the consequences—were often buried, intentionally silenced or ignored. Some accounts led individuals to jail, others to freedom. You’ll hear from those who created the art, those who survived to tell the tale, and those who led the charge, each voice preserving a precious fragment of our history.
Their words are woven together—not as a narrative shaped by a reporter or commentator but as a collective consciousness preserved in their own voices. This work is an assembly of testimonies, experiences, and raw expressions, a record that lets these voices speak for themselves, uninterrupted and alive.
This project was made possible with support from the Frank-Ratchye Further Fund Microgrant #2025-018. Read more here.