One of the most important features of the design is that it avoided a generalized decorative African aesthetic. The larger graphic system becomes abstract enough to accommodate Yoruba material, Ghanaian material, Ethiopian Christianity, Islam, Afro-Brazilian traditions, contemporary Nigerian art and Black Canadian work without suggesting that they're all the same thing.

A restrained palette changes between thematic sections, helping visitors navigate a large and diverse body of material while maintaining continuity across the exhibition. Bold condensed typography establishes a strong interpretive hierarchy and carries the identity from large-scale hanging banners and section graphics through object labels and communications.

The translucent forms overlap, change colour where they intersect, disappear off the edge of the panel and reappear elsewhere, forming a flexible field of relationships.

I developed the graphic system around an animated version of the typeface Bayard, named after one of the most influential organizers of the Civil Rights Movement, Bayard Rustin. Created by the type foundry Vocal Type, this typeface was inspired by signs from the 1963 March on Washington For Jobs and Freedom. The typeface’s connection to the African diaspora added to the integrity of the exhibition’s message.

Marketing and Communication

The Sankofa figure became the central image of the external identity, surrounded by the same overlapping forms used throughout the gallery.

The circles converge where the bird’s beak meets its back, concentrating the energy of the composition at that moment of return and connection. The visual system reflects the central idea of Sankofa: looking back, reconnecting and carrying what is recovered forward.