Change the South. Change the nation.
Union of Southern Service Workers
Convention booth
Design
Data Visualization
Art Direction
The American service industry is fraught with exploitation and discrimination. In the South, those inequities are compounded by its singular cultural and political past. For their presence at the 2024 Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Convention, the Union of Southern Service Workers (USSW) wanted not only to communicate its mission and progress, but to add important context by telling the story of the American South.
The USSW team contracted Lightdaughter Studio to design a striking gallery space that would spark conversations, enable dialogue, and illuminate the unique issues facing service workers in the South for conference-goers.
To achieve these goals we looked to the pivotal work of activist, scholar, and statistician, W.E.B. Du Bois: specifically, a series of infographics produced for the 1900 Paris Exposition showcasing the economic and social progress of African Americans since emancipation.
Extensive research was done to compile data not only from the present state of workers in southern states, but both historical and international data for context and comparison. In addition to the infographic data visualization we also produced a number of maps to broaden the perspective of the workers’ issues.
While our team did directly repurpose some of Du Bois’ iconic infographics, our primary goal was to build upon the spirit and ambition of the 1900 Paris Exhibition series as a whole to connect with the convention participants and visitors on a more profound level than a mere conference booth could.
As a result, USSW representatives and members saw an extraordinary interest on the convention floor, engaging with hundreds more visitors than anticipated. Because of the exceptional reception of the gallery, a regional tour of the exhibit is in the planning phase.