01

Context

The British Museum opened its doors in 1759.

It houses collections spanning entire civilizations and welcomes more than 6 million visitors a year. The assignment was to design an exhibition poster for this institution. The real question was: How do you condense 270 years of history into a single visual piece?

02

The challenge

A historic institution cannot be summed up in a sign: it must be interpreted.

The challenge was to make typographic choices that carried historical weight without veering into the decorative, and to create a composition that would function as a standalone piece, not as an illustration of a fact.

03

My process

I started where you don't usually start: by reading.

Smirke’s neoclassical architecture, the 43 columns, the story of Hans Sloane, the interactive exhibits. That research informed the decision-making process: which typeface conveyed authority without rigidity, and which hierarchy communicated the institution’s scale without overwhelming the reader.

The final composition explores the tension between the monumental and the legible. The serif headings anchor the piece in the institution’s tradition. The body text, set in a more legible typeface, makes the content accessible. The actual details of the exhibitions—dates, names, years—serve as narrative material, not merely decorative elements.

04

Results and Lessons Learned

An editorial piece with its own typographic system that reflects the institution’s stature without imitating it.

The poster works because the research made decisions before the eye did.

• Would you like to see the presentation?

01

Typography isn't just for decoration. It structures the hierarchy of what matters.

02

Researching the context of a commission isn't preliminary work—it's design work.

03

A poster is a temporary object: the viewer’s gaze moves across it; they don’t read it all at once.