whoisowenjones
Who is Owen Jones? Meet Norm McCuller, a senior designer here, and one of the creative leads on our Jordan Brand work. Recently Norm and senior designer Rachel Avallone put on a protest posters workshop with people at the agency, using the fonts created by Tré Seals, founder of Studio Seals. Vocal Type Co. is working to diversify design through typography. Each typeface was generated from historic protest posters—from the Woman’s Suffrage Movement in Argentina to the Civil Rights Movement in America. Groups at Owen Jones worked together to brainstorm and then create posters using these fonts. Swipe through to see some of the results and to hear more from Norm about the project, and what he’s been thinking about design work in the midst of a pandemic and civil rights movement.
Today is our first official paid holiday celebrating Pride Month at Owen Jones. In the future, our Pride Day will be the first Friday in June, every year going forward. June 28th, 1969 was the first day of the Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village. One of the primary catalysts for a civil rights movement that continues today, it began when trans women of color stood up against the persistent police brutality at the Stonewall Inn. We will take this day to honor the LGBTQIA+ community—but this day is just a starting place to work with greater urgency toward equity and inclusion. Owen Jones is looking hard at our past, present, and into our future to become a stronger advocate for positive change.
Owen Jones will be closed on Friday in observance of Juneteenth, which celebrates the belated liberation of enslaved black people in the United States, two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Beginning this year, Owen Jones recognizes June 19th as an annual paid holiday. Our employees will have the opportunity to learn and reflect more deeply on the significance of this moment in Black History. There is critical momentum, urgency, and action for the Black Lives Matter movement. This urgency begins by looking within, and Owen Jones is committed to making internal changes that reflect the need to correct a broken system. We are determined to continue working toward a truly equal and free society, no matter how long it takes. #blacklivesmatter
Activism shouldn’t just be reserved for the weekends. It occurs to Owen Jones that, during the workweek, early evenings offer the best opportunities to get out and do our part as activists. We are encouraging our people: If you need time to get somewhere to protest in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, or to take action in some other way, let your colleagues know. And take it. Some types of business and work have flexible hours. In that case, two very real things we have to offer are both trust and time. There are a lot of resources out there right now for people to educate and activate–but people need the time to dig into them. Black lives matter every damn day. – Rusty Grim, CEO & Co-Founder Owen Jones
