A People’s Contest Exhibit
Moving beyond the stories of wartime generals and soldiers, A People’s Contest exhibit aims to tell the diverse stories of civilians, wives, brothers, enslaved and free African Americans, revealing the complexities and impacts of war beyond mainstream political narratives.
Role:
Environmental Graphic Designer, Production Design Lead
Client:
American Civil War Museum
Team:
Creative Director: Ben Jett, Media Director: Bryan Miller, Writer: Tricia O’Connor
Year:
2019
This exhibit was featured in The Smithsonian Magazine and the Washington Post
Emotional Visitor Journey Map
Shifting between didactic and emotional moments within each chapter, the didactic moments are expressed through interpretive content and artifact stories, while the emotional moments feature engaging media and scenic expressions. We created an emotional heat map as a tool to express and convey the emotional visitor journey and desired impact.
Graphic System & Style Guide
With an effort to appeal to a younger audience and move away from the typical ‘war museum’ aesthetic, I selected a neutral cool-toned palette that would compliment the warm tones of the dated artifacts and allow the focus to stay on the large colorized historical portraits.
Casework System & Production Guides
The exhibit showcases more than 400 historical artifacts from the American Civil War, which were organized and displayed alongside personal narratives and artifact stories. As the production design lead, I helped structure the casework system and create guidelines for the production designer, fabrication team, and client to execute accordingly. The series of documents laid out more than 20 cases, 400 artifacts, artifact labels, and interpretive copy.
Year Pillar Casework & Interactive
The Year Pillars function as an integral system within the American Civil War Museum, marking each year of the war and section within the exhibit. Each Year Pillar structure includes casework and artifacts, belt graphics, and an interactive media experience, which features compelling personal stories and highlights key moments in the arc of the conflict.
