Agenda and New Speakers Announced for Graffiti to Graphics: 50 Years of Hip Hop and Design

November 29, 2023

Next week, SEGD kicks off our free webinar Graffiti to Graphics: 50 Years of Hip Hop and Design! Join us next Thursday, December 7th and on December 14th as we honor the 50th anniversary of both Hip Hop culture and SEGD.  We will trace the transformative journey of Hip Hop from its humble beginnings to its widespread impact on design worldwide. Through this virtual event, experience a curated convergence of historical insights and future-forward dialogue with Hip Hop pioneers, EGD innovators, place-makers, and creative minds from museum and graphic design sectors. 

Learn more about three of our incredible speakers below, take a look at our agenda for Day 1, and register now to secure your spot for this FREE webinar series.

Tajai Massey

Tajai is a lifelong Oakland resident who has been active throughout the many phases of this city’s development over the years. First, as a star student, youth orator, tutor and mentor. Then, as a world-renowned musician and independent musical entrepreneur with the groups Souls of Mischief and Hieroglyphics. Next, as an educator in the Oakland Unified School district. Currently, in their chosen path of architecture, Tajai uses all of his experiences to help develop housing and small businesses, participate in job/entrepreneurship mentoring, youth guidance and public speaking/organizing to shed light on Oakland’s rich history of social awareness, diversity and community action. He is a father of 4 daughters and uncle and godfather to countless other kids. Tajai participates in and helps teach jiujitsu, surfing and design in his spare time.

Brandon “Eazee” Banks

Brandon has worked for premier companies such as Complex Networks and Cashmere Agency while serving a multitude of clients including but not limited to Nike, Microsoft, NBA, Disney Parks, Chipotle, Dave & Buster’s, Walmart, Netflix, Coach, Amazon Prime, MAX (formerly HBOMax), Starz, Interscope, adidas, Puma, Sprite, Dior, H&M, Electronic Arts, Sony Playstation, Jameson, Wild Turkey, TEC Leimert, Budweiser, Discovery+, and more. He has also worked with talent like Michael B. Jordan, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Spice Adams, 50 Cent, and many more. Brandon has worked in the capacity of hands on design as well as art and creative direction.

Tré Seals

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. Now 29, Seals 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.

About SEGD  

We are designers of experiences connecting people to place. SEGD is a multidisciplinary community collectively shaping the future of experience design. We are a thought leader and an amplifier in the practice of experience design.

SEGD is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit education organization.