Title : Laboratory 12
Year : 2016
Client : Fashion Space Gallery
Services : Brand Identity,
Typeface design
Environments,
Benjamin John Hall, Fashion Space Gallery’s first design resident, took inspiration from current geopolitical issues and espionage. His starting point and continued focus of interest is the assassination of Alexander Litvinenko. The title of this exhibition, Laboratory 12, one name for the KGB’s secret poison laboratory tasked with developing colourless, tasteless, odourless poisons. One such poison, Polonium – was identified as Litvinenko’s cause of death.
Through a collection of highly engineered footwear, Hall explores the extent to which governments potentially could or already are securing their best interests in a current global political and economic environment that is marked by uncertainty. Each of the eight pairs of shoes on display in this exhibition highlights a specific notion or concept unearthed through his extensive research into documented tactics used by various security agencies worldwide. These range from subtle psychological warfare to concealed recording devices.
We produced the graphic identity, the exhibition graphics, the invitation and the marketing items for the exhibition at Fashion Space Gallery. Central to the concept of our identity was our modified version of the typeface ‘Balkan Sans’. We used this font as the only identity tool for the promotion and visual manifestation of the exhibition with the intention to reference the notion of encryption – a tactic used by spies and politically motivated (secret) organisations according to Hall’s research.