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To The Mother Who — Lettering for Buzzfeed News

I partnered with BuzzFeed News to create a pair of lettering pieces that would assist/intro two powerful poems about the controversial painting of Emmett Till’s open casket by Poet Rachel Eliza Griffiths. You can read those poems here.

 

CLIENT

BuzzFeed News

CONTRIBUTION

Lettering

CREATIVE DIRECTION

Ben King

 
 
 
 

Process

Like all of my projects, it starts with a sketch. This is to get an idea of the style of letters to use and to discover the best composition to use. Initially, we decided to go for a more painterly approach, so after getting a feel for the letters I started to create the letters with acrylic paint.

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While I liked the acrylic aesthetic, I didn't think it had the impact needed when seeing it complete. So, I decided to use a more expressive style. I wanted this to be emotional. Compelling. Impactful. So without guidelines or sketches, I began to create the lettering that was ultimately selected. After creating title case and uppercase options, we decided that the uppercase version would be the better solution.

 
 
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