Devon lace-makers
8 February to 1 November 2020
Background
An exhibition exploring and celebrating Devon’s lace industry through the eyes of Devon lace-makers past and present, including a supplier to the royal family.
Brief
Pull out the named individual characters with old photographs. Emphasise the royal connections.
Requirements
Open display of a coffin cover. Provide an area for contemporary makers to come in and perform demonstrations.
Approach
Look at producing graphic panels on recyclable boards and materials where possible. Serif and swash typography mixed with a contemporary typeface to reflect the past and present voices. Anticipate older visitors by providing plenty of seating.
Challenges
Lots of items of varying size, Two items with extreme dimensions: A replica of Queen Victoria’s wedding dress and lace, worn by actress Jenna Coleman in the ITV production ‘Victoria’, has a long train and will be on open display. Also, a long lace flounce to be displayed full length in a bespoke case.
Solutions
Traditionally lace is present throughout key life events, so display is ordered in an approximate birth-to-death timeline.
Run the long flounce and Victoria dress parallel and lengthways across the gallery creating a long island display.
Dotty headline font references the prickings used to create lace designs and on the people story graphics the font is actually punched out of the panels.
Use a simple royal blue and sapphire blue colour palette with plenty of white space.
Outcomes
A clean display with interactive elements, traditional typography with objects sensitively displayed. Graphic panels have subtle decorative touches and finishes referencing the qualities of lace.
Credits:
Typography: Selavy, Williams Caslon, Mundo Sans
