Breathing Life into Archives: A Museum’s Fluid Identity
Museums are repositories of history, holding within their walls echoes of the past and stories waiting to be rediscovered. But how do you capture the dynamism of an archive in a static display? A team of designers tackled this challenge head-on with a groundbreaking visual identity for a new museum exhibit.
Their approach, described as "organic and variable," relied on a groundbreaking typeface designed to evolve and change.
“During this development, we produced modular forms that could be adapted to various elements," says Roger, a lead designer on the project. "The result is an organic and variable graphic language. As we worked more on the lines, applying this to a basic Latin capital letter skeleton, the visual identity of the event came to us.” he says.
Instead of a rigid, fixed design, the team developed six distinct fonts that stemmed from a single typeface. Imagine it like a family resemblance: each font unique but undeniably linked, reflecting the various themes explored within the exhibit.
This "toolbox" of fonts was then used to differentiate phases of the project and specific events, creating a visually engaging journey for visitors. Inspired by both the textures of traditional materials and the digital world, the distinctive shapes of each font spilled beyond the letters themselves, transforming into patterns across the gallery’s walls and floors.
The ultimate aim, according to Cécile, another key member of the team, was to create "a vision of a living, changing archive that is part of a shared heritage."
“The purpose of the space we have created is to invite the public to get to grips with the issue of archiving, so we had to create a place engaging enough for people want to spend time there and come back," she explained.
This innovative approach not only breathes life into the concept of archival exploration but also invites visitors to actively engage with the exhibit, making the past feel vibrantly relevant to the present.
