EJI - Punishment in America

MY ROLE - Art Direction, Design

The Equal Justice Initiative - ‘Punishment in America’

We partnered with The Equal Justice Initiative to create a film series about the history of slavery and racial injustice in America, featured in the inaugural exhibition of the recently launched Legacy Museum. Working with a global team of artists, producers, activists, and legal advocates, we created six films, each with a different focus and approach to design and animation.

“Punishment in America”, narrated by Bryan Stevenson, is one of the films from this series currently on display for public viewing at The Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. View the trailer below.

“Punishment in America” focuses on the brutal punishments and the violent constraints on freedom that have been inflicted upon Black Americans from 1619 to present day. The film chronicles this devastating legacy over the course of four centuries, from the barbaric practices faced by enslaved Black people, to the atrocities of the convict-leasing program, all the way through present day where the US has the highest rate of incarceration in the world.

VISUAL DEVELOPMENT

Our approach to design for this film draws inspiration from many different sources - the work of Emory Douglas, Black Panther literature, protest signage, and the risograph printing method to name a few. As well as the countless photographs and illustrations we encountered during our research. Combining all of these elements, we then incorporated gestural brush strokes, handwriting, scribbled lines and rolled ink - all in service of an aesthetic that feels appropriately bold while still nuanced. Trustworthy without feeling cold and archival.