Exhibit Design: ‘A Light Touch: Exploring Humor in Drawing’

Last week, here at the Getty Center, I had the opportunity to tour  “A Light Touch: Exploring Humor in Drawing” with the lead exhibit designer, Saeyeon. I was immediately drawn to this show for a number of reasons. Firstly, I adore the hand drawn logo of ‘A light Touch.’ Saeyeon traced letterforms using graphite. She made thin lines filling in each letter while modifying some of the letters.

You may also notice that Saeyeon traced the Getty logo for the banner. It is in the upper left corner.

Putting together an exhibit like this is a lot of work. Designers strive for a structure and graphic identity that enhances the work. Most good design is invisible, it works as a cohesive force in conveying the concept of the show. A Drawings show like this, can take upwards of a 6 months to a year of advanced planning. In conveying the humor and playful nature of this show it was necessary to let the work shine.

The initial phase of design includes meeting with the curator, who in this case was The Getty’s Associate Curator of Drawings, Julian Brooks. After receiving the show materials and writings on the subject, Saeyeon poured over the caricatures and witty drawings conveying the human condition of Europe during the late middle ages. During this stage the designer starts to imagine how the space will tell a story. Perhaps getting a feeling for the mood of the room by envision a color palate and graphic styles.

Along these stages, several drawings are produced similar to this one created in vector works.

Notice how each drawing and each label has a specific measurement. There are standards that the exhibit design department established in order to have a consistent look in all the shows. For instance, all paintings are hung 60 inches from the floor. This is the perfect height for most visitors.

The exciting part of putting together a show is the installation phase. I came across some photos of this phase. Saeyeon described some difficulties at this point because there was so much detail in the logo. The logo was screen printed on to the title wall but all the lines did not come through she had to go back with a one-hair brush to fill in the details.

While some of the graphics are created in-house to save money, others are sent out to professional vendors. Here is a gallery of the process. Most of the titles are screen printed while the large drawings of figures are vinyl.

I love how these images are life size. The visitors feel like they are a part of the activities in the drawings. Not to mention that when blown up, these drawings create a nice contrast against the bright yellow paint that pops off the walls.