REVOLT!
Credits: ONE Archive, William Way LGBT Community Center, Queer Archive Work, Queer Zine Archive, Political Graphics, Digital Transgender Archive, NYPL's Diana Davis Photographs, and Paul Soulellis
Exhibition Branding, Catalog, Wayfinding, Website and App Design | 2023
The project is inspired by Paul Soulellis's what is queer typography , a zine and presentation on the ever-changing, expansive, and subversive nature of 'queer typography'. The definition that resonated with me how queerness is, at its core, an act of rejection, refusal, of deviating from the expected, away from the normative. This subversive energy is captured in the hand-done, vernacular designs that sprung from a necessity for protest and for communities of protest, deviating from expectations and guidelines on what design is and is not.
Revolt! is a branding project for an exhibition on the rich history of queer graphic design, spotlighting the vernacular art of revolution and pride. Visitors are invited to a dynamic tapestry of typography and image-making, exploring protest posters and self-published zines from the queer liberation movement of the 70s and 80s as well as contemporary queer initiatives.
Branding
The exhibition’s branding system hopes to capture the subversive and electric energy of this period, featuring a vibrant and captivating color palette as well as a simple but bold and adaptive typographic system. The brand highlights artworks sourced from a variety of public queer archives, thoughtfully treated to emphasize the vernacular typography of these historical materials.
Exhibition Catalog
The exhibition catalog provides the inspiring history of the queer liberation movement of the 70s and 80s as well as the ongoing fight for trans and queer rights taking place today. The catalog showcases some of the works that are exhibited at the museum, as well as the vernacular materials and processes that were used used to make these artworks. The layout and treatment of the catalog was inspired by the hand-done and dynamic compositions of DIY zines.
Website and App
The website and app for the exhibition uses contemporary brutalist design to spotlight exhibited works and the history of the movement. The exhibition app also allows users to create and share their own protest poster with a user-friendly poster design feature. This allows for visitor-engagement beyond the exhibition as well as encourages visitors to take part in advocating for queer rights and other social initiatives that they care about.
Wayfinding
