Paula Scher Designs Squished Map Logo for Democracy Revue

Pentagram partner Paula Scher, alongside associate partner Bruno Bergallo and project manager Olivia Ray, designed a distinctive logo for the upcoming revue 'Women+ on the Edge of Democracy.' This initiative features a collection of 10-minute plays and monologues authored by 36 women playwrights, focusing on the current state of democracy. Scher's design intentionally compresses the revue's title into a tight, cramped frame, a deliberate choice to visually represent the marginalization of women in democratic processes. Scher articulated her intention in an interview with Fast Company, stating, "I wanted it to be raw," and expressed a desire to avoid a "sophisticated, typographic use of imagery in space." This led to the lettering being drawn by hand, a departure from conventional design approaches.

The logo itself is rendered in a sketch-like style, with Scher drawing it using colored pencils on paper. The title is tightly packed within a shape that evokes the approximate outline of the contiguous United States, though it appears distorted, akin to a shape formed by tears on paper. Scher has a history of creating hand-painted maps, varying in their cartographic precision. In this logo, the word "Women" is positioned directly above "Democracy," which is divided into two lines without a hyphen. The phrase "+ on the Edge of" is integrated in a scribbled manner, weaving above, around, and below the letters of "Democracy." This visual arrangement aims to convey a sense of pressure and confinement.

The 'Women+ on the Edge of Democracy' revue is structured around two central questions posed to the playwrights and, by extension, the audience: What is the current state of democracy from both national and international viewpoints? And what insights can history, global context, or futurism offer during this critical juncture? The plays and monologues delve into significant societal issues such as immigration, education, and gun violence, as detailed in the revue's synopsis. Collectively, these artistic works are intended to prompt the audience to contemplate their desired world and to actively engage in its creation. Examples of featured plays include "Maya" by Dael Orlandersmith, which addresses the issue of book banning through the story of a New York library custodial worker, and "The Pardon," a dialogue between a grandmother and an ICE agent, written by Jane Anderson. Scher's raw, handwritten approach to the logo underscores the urgent and often challenging themes explored within the revue.