A Practice for Everyday Life

Founded in 1965, Modern Art Oxford presents modern and contemporary visual art, and holds an inspiring archive of the gallery’s impressive printed matter from the past 40 years. Our aim was to bring the gallery’s energy and legacy to their identity in a bold and playful way, which could offer flexibility over time and in a wide range of contexts.

We refined and simplified their existing wordmark, retaining the original typeface, Interstate, and combined this with oversized, abstracted yellow letters. This versatile identity system also functions as signage and labelling throughout the venue’s galleries, café and shop, allowing employees to create exhibition materials both quickly and cost-effectively, and forming a visually unifying set of interventions within the space. Whilst rebranding Modern Art Oxford, we were also commissioned to design their marketing and promotional materials on an ongoing basis for over 4 years, from 2009 to 2014. Our guidelines allow the design of these items to be flexible, so the promotional materials for each exhibition can respond to the work itself.