Rising Together: The Black Experience with Police in America

Isometric Studio collaborated with Google on the design of an immersive exhibition that narrates the Black American experience with police through ethnographic vignettes, historical context, and carefully-curated data. Part of Google’s ongoing work to investigate the role of technology in creating safer communities, the exhibition was an interactive report that summarized two years of research. The design presented a thoughtful and nuanced architectural framework that inspired critical reflection and discourse.

The principal display typeface is Martin, designed by Tré Seals of Vocal Type, with body copy set in Garnett by Sharp Type. Martin is based on protest posters from the Memphis Sanitation Strike of 1968, a cultural flashpoint where majority Black sanitation workers protested the deaths of two trash handlers by a malfunctioning garbage truck. The typography thereby encodes the history of Black resistance in its very design, serving as a dignified vehicle for communicating this harrowing, traumatic content. Draft, also by Vocal Type, and Garnett are used as secondary typefaces, providing a clear, readerly experience that still feels contemplative and full of humanity.