![]() ![]() He was even a founding member of The Arts & Letters Collective, the first black artists’ collective in Chicago.Īfter graduating in 1917, just weeks after the US became embroiled in WWI, Dawson was accepted for officer training in the segregated armed forces.Īfter combat in France, Dawson returned to the US where, despite persistent racial inequality, he played a role in the cultural and economic rise of black people throughout the 1920s. BLACK GRAPHIC DESIGNERS FREEIn his words, the AI of Chicago was “entirely free of bias” and it was there that he became heavily involved in student organizations. Unfortunately, he was met with pervasive racism and ultimately left when he was accepted to the Art Institute of Chicago. Dawson was the first African American to be admitted into the Arts Students League of New York. Surely that makes her worthy of a top spot in the history books of graphic design.Ĭharles Dawson was an influential Chicago designer in the 1920s & 1930s, an era that produced some of my favorite art & design. In 2014 she was posthumously awarded the AIGA Medal, which is a highly prestigious award and top honor in the field of graphic arts.ĪIGA remembers her this way, “As a designer and a woman, Sylvia Harris always wanted to do the right thing, the smart thing, the thing that would make the biggest difference to the most people.” ![]() But her story did not end with her death. Harris passed away in 2011, and is remembered for her unwavering desire to help others. Not only that, but her logotype and graphic standards for this project remain in use today. And indeed they did, drawing more participation than had previously been seen in a census. Harris also served as the Creative Director of the Census Bureau’s 2000 Census, where her rebranding efforts served to encourage and engage previously underrepresented citizens to participate. Allowing people of different cultural backgrounds to easily communicate with one another facilitates the exchange of ideas.
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