306: Personal and Peoples Histories Held in Letterforms with Tré Seals of Vocal Type
- Diana Varma
- 33 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Welcome back, type lovers! This episode is especially for you. ;)
In this eye opening look into the history of typography, signage, protest, and personal stories, Tré Seals thoughtfully explains the ways in which type has caused a lot of harm to various communities, but the ways in which it’s also a hopeful gateway to make meaningful change.
Tré Seals has been on a lifelong path when it comes to design: he's been practicing writing in cursive since he was in kindergarten; sold $3 graffiti style name cards to his classmates between the ages of ten and eleven. He was designing tattoos, bead jewelry, comic strips for the school paper, yearbooks, his first font, and more by high school. After graduating in 2015 with a degree in Visual Communication Design, Seals went on to open his own brand consultancy (2015-2020) known as Studio Seals. Through Studio Seals, he had the opportunity to work with over 250 partners, ranging from small startups to national and global brands (2015-2020). In 2016, he founded a diversity-driven type foundry known as Vocal Type. Inspired by the lack of diversity in the graphic design industry, each typeface highlights a piece of history from a different underrepresented race, ethnicity, or gender—from the Women's Suffrage Movement in Argentina to the Civil Rights Movement in America and beyond. Tré has been named an Ascender by the Type Directors Club, a Young Gun by the One Club for Creativity, a Black Design Visionary by Instagram and the Brooklyn Museum, and a Forbes 30 Under 30 Lister.
We’re thrilled to have him join us.
In this conversation you’ll hear Tré’s origin story, back to his early childhood learning cursive and calligraphy, as well as the incredible family artifact that’s been translated into a font for broader audiences. You’ll hear how he uses historical references and deep research as the foundation of much of his work at Vocal Type. Tré shares examples of what “diversifying design” really means, as well as the systemic barriers that perpetuate in the type design world today.
This episode was recorded as part of a guest lecture series in GCM 806 - Advanced Typography in Winter 2026 at The Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University.
Let’s listen in…
About Our Guest:
Tré Seals has been on a lifelong path when it comes to design: he's been practicing writing in cursive since he was in kindergarten; sold $3 graffiti style name cards to his classmates. He was designing tattoos, bead jewelry, comic strips for the school paper, yearbooks, his first font, and more by high school. After graduating in 2015 with a degree in Visual Communication Design, Seals went on to open his own brand consultancy (2015-2020) known as Studio Seals. Through Studio Seals, he had the opportunity to work with over 250 partners, ranging from small startups to national and global brands (2015-2020). In 2016, he founded a diversity-driven type foundry known as Vocal Type. Inspired by the lack of diversity in the graphic design industry, each typeface highlights a piece of history from a different underrepresented race, ethnicity, or gender—from the Women's Suffrage Movement in Argentina to the Civil Rights Movement in America and beyond. Tré has been named an Ascender by the Type Directors Club, a Young Gun by the One Club for Creativity, a Black Design Visionary by Instagram and the Brooklyn Museum, and a Forbes 30 Under 30 Lister.
---
Music:
Bubbles ( Lofi , Bright , Relaxed ) by HoliznaCC0 is licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License.
Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music: Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle
