Raven Mo is a New York-based designer committed to pushing the boundary of typography while building a diverse, bold and inclusive future. Her work focuses on the intricate social relations and infrastructures built by type. Raven is eager to learn about how people with various political and cultural identities utilize design to brand and inform. Previously, Raven worked at VSA Partners, MATTE Projects, and Elevate Brands. Raven holds a BFA in Visual Communication Design at School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a MFA from School of Visual Arts’ in design.
Your analysis with Linus Boman on “chop suey” fonts has been eye opening on the existence of typographic racial stereotypes and biases. Could you speak to us a little about that? Apart from chop suey, what other typographical pitfalls have you identified linked to this approach?
My first experience with Chop Suey fonts in Chinatown sparked my interest in learning the intricate social relationships and government infrastructures built by type, and the reciprocal relationship between type and identity. I found ethnic and national stereotypes in typography such an overlooked subject, so I started collecting my own archive of ethnic fonts with my phone camera. Before I worked with Linus on the video, I had done projects related to the typographic characteristics of Chinatown menus, and had been following multi-lingual designers who touch on this matter. Exploring the intricate details of typefaces in different ethnic contexts was a fascinating journey for me, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to share my findings with others!
Linus reached out in the summer of 2021 asking if I was interested in collaborating with him on a video about ethnic and national stereotypes in typography. Being such a huge fan of his channel, I immediately agreed. The bulk of my research focused on the history of Chop Suey fonts. I conducted a typography audit, traced the origin of Chop Suey fonts, and examined the remedy of this stereotyped font genre. The audit was the most intriguing part. As I examined hundreds of fonts that attempted to resemble a script that was so close to home, I questioned our perception of culture through typography.
The earliest Chop Suey fonts were not designed by Asians, nor were they sold to Asians. The entire transaction was orchestrated by people who were irrelevant to Asia; the tourist gaze surrounding this business was undeniable. Now, as businesses owned and operated by Asians have blossomed worldwide, we have also seen fascinating new and genuine expressions of what is considered authentically Asian.
Stills from "How this font became the face of Chinese food in America”
by Linus Boman
Asian American culture encompasses countless artifacts and practices that convey and construct meaning. Immigrants have pioneered menus, restaurant signs, new dishes, and business practices, embedding typography into these constructed cultural meanings.
The history of type is not only about aesthetics, but also the stories and issues behind them. It is our job to recognize the stories and issues behind typography, and to use this knowledge to promote awareness and diversify our design landscape. There are other typographic issues similar to the Chop Suey font situation. Scripts such as Devanagari, Cyrillic, Thai, and Greek all have their own “stereotypical” counterparts. Even a culture's essence can be manifested into an overly superficial, and often inappropriate, type genre that inaccurately portrays a community as a single entity. Rob Giampietro's essay on Neuland and Lithos as Stereotypography is a great read on this.
Since we know you are a mentor involved in design education, what would you think would be the best way to address the issue to students?
To put it shortly: exposure through both readings and observations. As a student, I have been exposed to design readings from various perspectives throughout history, which has helped me to develop my critical thinking skills. My first type design workshop with Juan Villanueva was an eye-opening experience, as I learned not only the basics of design techniques, but also the debates and discussions that exist in this community. This applies not only to Chop Suey fonts, but also to type design issues related to diversity, accessibility, and inclusion. I also believe that it is important to be able to recognize typographic vernaculars. Type design is not a closed craft; it is one of the visual indicators of a society's infrastructure, culture, and history. If students are taught to actively observe the vernacular typography around them, I am confident that they can come to their own conclusions about how type and culture shape each other.
"Type design is not a closed craft;
it is one of the visual indicators of a society's infrastructure, culture, and history.”
In both your work as a type designer and as a graphic designer, organic forms and nature inspiration are often an important element. Is it a conscious choice, or is it rather you following your design instinct?
A fascinating thing about finding inspiration is that great ideas often come from subjects far removed from one's field. When I design typefaces and identities, nature has become a major source of inspiration for me. Besides designing, I am also an avid birder. My birding trips in different parts of the world have certainly influenced my way of thinking about forms.
Moreover, there are still plenty of environmental issues that need to be addressed and solved, so one of my goals is also to use designs inspired by organic forms to draw attention to the planet we inhabit.
Your work is heavily centred sits in the middle between hand-lettering, illustration and type design. Can you tell us more about your process of designing letters, and your relation with the contemporary typeface design scene?
Ultimately, everything is a pattern. Brands are patterns or system based. Lettering and type design are seemingly contradictory in this regard because the former is system based while the latter is illustration based. However, with technology becoming so sophisticated, it’s really blurring that line enabling type design to take on more of an illustrative aesthetic. Personally, I find this incredibly exciting to see.
Most of my work is branding. I try to systemize my lettering and try to create display typefaces that feel more bespoke than typical workhorse typefaces in an attempt to blur that line. Many of my logotypes include various compositions: diagonal, center-curved, straight-vertical, and straight-horizontal options. Why I create these variations is that it can give the appearance of bespoke lettered pieces when applied across myriad brand touch-points. It does create extensive brand guides to explain the to-dos and do-nots for such elaborate systems, but usually we provide enough examples and templates that brands can work well enough with it.
This gives the appearance of a bespoke, lettered aesthetic that is ultimately systemized to work within a brand. I try to pair these bespoke compositional tools with more workhorse typefaces. It also requires a balance between the two: the bespoke display typeface, or various lettered logotypes, need to pair with a more utilitarian typeface that has a more modest personality. Otherwise there is little hierarchy and the workhorse typeface can dilute the value of the former. I think this combination of custom type with more system-based components is becoming more standard.
This interview is part of the Type Trends 2023 Lookbook / Vol 5: The counterspaces – Typography in the Age of Black Swans
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