The 1968 Exhibit

March 31–August 19, 2012 (extended through November 25)

1968 explored the social, political, and economic events of that pivotal year, presented as an ongoing collective of historical and personal stories from those who lived through it.

This 7,200-square-foot travelling exhibit was designed and developed by the Minnesota Historical Society. Following their brand standards (mark and typography), I was responsible for the concept and branding of the advertising campaign and associated marketing collateral, as well as additions to the gallery space tailored to the exhibit's run at OMCA.

Creative Direction  |  Illustration  |  Graphic Design

CAMPAIGN & COLLATERAL

The '1968' forms and colors were delivered to me with the exhibit design, but I was encouraged to stretch the creative interpretation of them. Since the numerals already lacked counters, they served perfectly as image containers. We decided to leverage photographs from OMCA's own collections, as opposed to images that came with the show: a National Guardsman at a protest, a Nixon supporter at the Republican National Convention, children holding signs up to Bobby Kennedy' funeral train, and Martin Luther King delivering his "I Have a Dream" speech. The background is a composite image of the famous "Earthrise" shots taken by astronaut William Anders during the Apollo 8 mission, courtesy of NASA.

I used the Bay Area skyline I drew for the ALL OF US OR NONE exhibit as the basis for this timeline of 1968 events which was displayed in the museum's cafe.

BART transit represented a majority of the advertising buys throughout the Bay Area. The background image from OMCA's collections, a Black Panther protest at the Alameda County Courthouse, was selected to make a strong connection to the political activism of the era in the East Bay and Oakland in particular. 

Various print and transit ads.

The 10th Street marquee needed to make a stronger statement, as it is primarily viewed by passing traffic. One numeral image for each of the four panels, without the "Earthrise" background.