Dorothea Lange: Politics of Seeing

Dorothea Lange:
Politics of Seeing

at Oakland Museum of California

ROLE: lead graphic designer, art direction

SCOPE: identity and branding, typography, hierarchy / label system, typesetting

 

Dorothea Lange’s journalistic photography work resonates easily with the current context — she captured powerful moments of refugees, forced internment, and labor struggles.

To highlight the parallels, I chose a design system inspired by her era, but reframed for the modern world. Thus, Futura became Avenir, and Bourton Inline held the bold space of political and protest poster lettering. Simple details marked quotes from Lange’s field notes on the labels, and large quotes helped set the mood throughout the gallery.

Entry view of Politics of Seeing exhibition, with a floor-to-ceiling image of Dorothea Lange photographing from the top of her car next to exhibition text on a dark gray. In the background are other large format photos held in the space by steel fr
View of Politics of Seeing exhibition, section introduction, titled "World War II at Home." The paint is a red-orange with a band of white framing an image of a newspaper seller. Image by Palmer Morse © OMCA.
View of Politics of Seeing exhibition, interactive activity to learn about cropping. A low table holds images and two large black corners can be moved around by a visitor to create new compositions. Image by Palmer Morse © OMCA.
View of an adult and child in the Politics of Seeing exhibition, exploring the juxtaposition interactive activity. Visitors can rearrange photos and text to create new meanings on a magnetic board. Image by Odell Hussey © OMCA.
View of Politics of Seeing exhibition, typical installation wall. Framed and unframed photos are grouped in clumps along a white wall bordered top and bottom in sky blue. A case with more materials is in the lower right of the image. Image by Palme
Branding guide for the exhibition Dorothea Lange: Politics of Seeing including typography, colors, key words, usage, and inspirational images from the show and at large.

Activism through typography

 

A simple brand guide helped my collaborators see the big picture, including inspirational images, key words, color choices, and typography details. This element was shared with ad agencies, marketing, and other designers on staff to create accompanying and harmonious pieces.

I often use this kind of brand guide to describe the history of certain choices, and to explore how the typography will be used.

Dorothea Lange: Politics of Seeing logotype and typography detail

 

Bourton paired with Avenir captured the protest poster, era-specific nuances we needed to convey. Lange is not just an artful photographer, but a documentarian and activist who defied mandates and recorded painful moments with empathy and honesty.