This poster for Freedmen’s Town explores how history can be translated into a visual system that feels both archival and alive. The design began with the question: how can remembrance be seen?

The large “160” anchors the composition as both a marker of time and a physical presence. Its wood texture references the historic shotgun houses and material memory of the neighborhood structures that have endured, weathered, and carried generations of stories. Along side working as light poles. By scaling the numbers beyond the human figures, time itself becomes monumental, suggesting that history stands over and around us. The gradient background moves from a deep blue into a warm orange, symbolizing a transition from past to present , night into day, memory into visibility. This shift reflects the ongoing recognition of Freedmen’s Town, not as something distant, but as something that is still unfolding.

Imagery

Layered imagery plays a central role in the composition. Archival photographs were integrated into the house shapes rather than framed separately, collapsing time into a single plane. This approach removes the idea of history as “then” and instead presents it as continuous and lived.The gestural white line motif introduces movement and fluidity, contrasting the rigidity of the timeline. These lines act as visual metaphors for oral histories, migration, and generational connection paths that were not linear, but more intertwined. In contrast, the structured timeline on the right provides clarity and grounding, balancing expression with information.

160 Years of Remembrance is about understanding was a project we i explored how design can hold space for history making it visible, tangible, and impossible to overlook.