Cold War Season + Exhibition • Summer 2019
The National Archives briefed me to design an extensive range of print and digital promotional materials for their ‘Britain’s Cold War Revealed’ exhibition and season. The brand identity needed to be robust and flexible enough to engage audiences throughout the six month season. I also delivered a range of merchandise for their gift shop, including t-shirts, tote bags, journals, badges, coasters and a souvenir exhibition brochure. Photo below of Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin by Szena on iStock.
The National Archives, Kew, London
Challenge
I presented five concepts in triptych form. This decision was inspired by artist Francis Bacon who painted triptychs between 1944 and 1986, which coincides with the timeline and captures the atmosphere of geopolitical tension. The chosen concept was then developed into a playful campaign with messages to engage with their target audiences. I used a carefully sampled 1980s colour palette and photography of instantly recognisable ‘retro’ objects to help represent a variety of perspectives from the era.
Typography
Tenez is a Grand Slam display didone typeface from Plau. Its origins are rooted in pointed nib calligraphy which can be seen in contemporary Didot and Bodoni inspired typefaces. But Tenez’s shapes are organic, echoing some of late 19th century typefaces and advertising.
ITC Slimbach font is the work of California calligrapher and type designer Robert Slimbach. Inspired in part by German fonts, Slimbach created a ‘contemporary text font with a progressive look’, combining clean serif shapes with the warmth of calligraphic forms.
social media assets
The National Archives homepage was given a Cold War Season makeover and then a series of social media campaign assets were produced for their Facebook (105k followers), Instagram (10k followers) and Twitter (4k followers) accounts. Both static and animated images were created to inspire visitors to discover the exhibition via the bunker entrance.
“Excellent creative vision and very quick to master our diverse themes”
animated videos
To celebrate the closing of the exhibition and #ColdWarSeason The National Archives hosted a ‘Fall of the Wall’ Late event. This coincided with the date in 1989 when the Iron Curtain that had physically and ideologically divided Berlin from 1961 began to crumble, paving the way to German reunification.
Website for the launch of the UNESCO Water, Peace and Security Partnership
Represent the vastness and diversity of the FEMS microbiology community
