Pentagram’s Domenic Lippa has debuted Words by Voices, a typographic installation exploring the words of social justice. Running for one evening during the London Design Festival, the installation of large format posters displayed quips, quotes and speeches from Eleanor Roosevelt, Nelson Mandela and Muhammad Ali, among others.
“This wasn’t my idea, I have to admit,” says Lippa in the introduction to the Words by Voices installation booklet. “It was actually my mother Tessa’s. Many years ago (possibly 15 or so) she asked me to design some posters for her based on speeches and quotes she liked. I did some pieces for her and she still has them. But they were always meant to be temporary.”
“Many of the words I’ve chosen are centred on the struggle against black racism but I’m unapologetic for this as half my family come from the West Indies. However, I believe that you could replace many of the words with other people whether they are Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, gay, bisexual, white, Asian or Irish (as are my wife and children). So many people experience some from of racial and social injustice and without some of the people represented here, their voices would be even more unheard,” says Lippa.
Lippa set himself certain restrictions when designing the posters, using only one typeface—Akzidenz-Grotesk (with one minor exception) and a stripped back colour palette of black white and grey. The installation was spread throughout Pentagram’s London office, using the building’s architectural features as a framework for the banners.
Read more about Words by Voices here.
