On June 22nd 1941, Nazi Germany commenced Operation Barbarossa and invaded the Soviet Union. Step back in time and see the art that fueled the Soviet Union's fight against the Nazis during World War Two.
What does this exhibition set to accomplish?
The Art of Propaganda: Depictions of the Great Patriotic War provides an opportunity to highlight the power of art as a tool for political and social commentary and the role it played in shaping public opinion during the war and in shaping national identity and perceptions of the war. This exhibition also helps preserve and celebrate the cultural heritage of the Soviet Union and its people and provides insight into the collective memories and experiences of a generation, while the works on display showcase the technical skills and creative vision of the artists involved as well as the unique style and aesthetic of Soviet propaganda art.
Moodboard
This moodboard captured how I initially wanted to convey the exhibition, hence the change in color scheme and typography from the moodboard to the official style sheet. You may notice that some of the imagery carries over into the official exhibition branding!
How did I want the exhibition to look?
Typography Design
When deciding on typography, particularly in designing the exhibition's logo, I originally went for more spacious and rounder fonts and experimented with their movement through the positioning. However, I settled on going in the opposite direction with polygonic and compressed fonts, which I felt better expressed the emotions of the exhibition's themes.
Style Sheet
After choosing the bottom logo and re-adjusting it to better suit the exhibition, such as by reducing the kerning, it was time to finalize the style sheet by settling on a color palette and designing pictograms. I wanted the branding to stay consistent, so I borrowed elements from the final logo.
While the final color scheme shares similarities to the initial color scheme, the colors are more diluted so that they better reflect the work being exhibited, while the greys, blacks, and browns are warm to go along with the reds and creams.
Merchandise and Signage Material
Choosing merchandise and signage material for the exhibition required being respectful towards the material being presented. Personally, I felt designing something that could be seen as "too cute" did not fit the exhibition's message, so I stayed away from tote bags, stickers, and apparel.
However, I used those limitations to challenge myself by mocking up how the exhibition itself would look. So, I worked on the exterior and interior of the museum space instead.
For the ticket, I re-used the exhibition opening poster because I wanted the ticket to also function as a keepsake. As someone who likes to put up keepsakes in my room, I thought it would be a fun way to let people still have something they could bring home.
How would this exhibition be promoted?
Exhibition Opening Poster
For the exhibition opening poster, I decided to make it horizontal over vertical, as the imagery that I wanted to use for the poster was more suited for a vertical composition. Because I felt that the image featured the poster rather than having the poster feature the image, it was a challenge trying not to make the composition too heavy on the right.
If you've noticed, the image on the right was also featured on my initial moodboard!
Digital Media
For digital media, I decided on creating a social media feed for a hypothetical advertising campaign for the exhibition. My inspiration for the design came from "collage"-style feeds that have one consistent image spread throughout nine posts. When one of the posts is opened, a second slide shows a piece that is shown at the exhibition.
The collage features black-and-white photos taken of the Eastern Front to create a contrast between propaganda and real-time.
