MAURITSHUIS

The Mauritshuis is a museum located in The Hague, home to various Golden Age masterpieces. The graphic identity was inspired by the monogram created by UNA Designers in 1980. The idea of integrating the letter ‘M’ and the silhouette of the museum’s emblematic façade, was the origin of its development. Helvetica was chosen as a way of reducing the sense of stateliness associated with these kinds of institutions, injecting a dose of youthfulness and modernity instead. The colour palette is characteristic of the Netherlands’ iconic Delft’s Blauw porcelain. All in all, the proposed identity provides an invigoration of a much-respected institution – a way to recognize the museum’s history, while also attracting a 21st century audience.

CAPTURE DISPLAY

Sandberg Instituut’s Studio for Immediate Spaces spent a week in close contact with the collection and the spaces of Het Nieuwe Instituut. Working collaboratively, the participants identified key documents from the drawings, photographs and models belonging to the archives of Dutch architects and urban planners. They considered how things appear, how they are stored, who collected them and why they were kept and deposited. Finally, they mobilized the documents, giving thought and shape to what they wanted the documents to do differently. The result is an exhibition as a critical documentary, exposing modes of operating on the documents: copying, enlarging, folding, displacing, recontextualizing, deleting, editing, reclassifying, translating, hiding. Within self-imposed constraints, the production was kept to a bare minimum: two walls, one printer, one sound system, one tape roll. Four groups storyboarded strategies for a potentially cinematic space, articulated in four chapters, each linking back to a set of documents from the institute’s collection. Using the archive is not a neutral but a creative act with an aesthetic intention, an audience and a purpose. The exhibition is the means to select, present and create new adjacencies, allowing for new types of knowledge circulation.

COURTYARD CONCERTS

Courtyard Concerts was an initiative created by a group of talented musicians during the pandemic, where they would travel around the city and host concerts in public courtyards, terraces or gardens, as an alternative way of gathering during the Covid pandemic. The chosen typography as well as the lay-out of the poster are inspired by traditional concert posters, which you can find anywhere in the city. Despite its traditional layout, by using a bold pattern and a vibrant colour, the aim was to grab the attention of passers-by. The oval’s uneven shape symbolises the idea of people getting together in an unconventional way such as a courtyard. The colour orange was chosen for being the dominant colour in the characteristic brick walls around the city of Amsterdam.

DISCONNECTEDNESS

Visual communication materials designed for ‘Disconnectedness’, an exhibition by Seulbin Roh at Exbunker Utrecht. In her practice, Roh has developed a strong interest in racial discrimination and psychological issues. She addresses issues related to depression, spiritual insecurity, and emotional vulnerability, using strong colour tones, complex patterns and sound work that have a resemblance to nature. Inspired by the architectural features of the Exbunker, the posters and leaflet attempted to convey the feeling of feeling stuck and compressed. 

MADE IN SPAIN

Made in Spain is a multi-disciplinary platform aimed at enhancing the culture of contemporary design and avant-garde craftsmanship in Spain. Its goal is to celebrate and nurture products made by the greatest artisans and designers with international appeal. The identity was created using a simple system of straight lines and colourful dots. The rigid lines serve as a way to express the precision and expertise of Spanish artisans. The dots represent the liveliness of Spanish culture, inspired by the traditional polka dot dresses of Flamenco dancers. Red symbolises passion, while ochre stands for warmth. Univers was chosen because of its versatility and the way its different weights work together harmoniously.