PROJECTS
EXHIBITION DESIGN | EXHIBITION GRAPHICS
Smithsonian National Postal Museum
Washington, DC
Freedom Just Around the Corner: Black America From Civil War to Civil Rights
February 2015 – February 2016
Freedom Just Around the Corner: Black America From Civil War to Civil Rights was located in the historic Postmaster’s Gallery at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. This significant exhibition chronicled the African American experience as told by stamps and mail-related artifacts. On display were letters carried by enslaved Americans, mail to and from famous leaders of the civil rights movement, and a significant selection of original artwork created for the US Postal Service’s Black Heritage stamp series.
Christine Lefebvre Design was enlisted for comprehensive exhibition and graphic design services for the 1,400-square-foot exhibition. CLD provided space planning and developed elevations, floor plans, case layouts, and the exhibition’s graphics system — including color palette, typography, visual identity, and visual hierarchy — wrote production/fabrication specifications, and delivered final production artwork.
GRAPHIC ELEMENTS While the exhibition was organized by a chronological narrative, the nature of the exhibition space meant that visitors could enter the gallery from multiple points and experience the exhibition in any order. To help guide the visitor, we used prominent dates as guideposts and vivid colors specific to each section. We used the fonts Sectra, Sentinel, and Vitesse, and “stamp perforations” as an visual organizing motif.
“It is absolutely stunning, and we are all so excited about the rave reviews and media attention the exhibit is drawing. Additionally, the print design is gorgeous!”
— Smithsonian National Postal Museum
DISPLAY CASES & STRUCTURES CLD’s scope included artifact case layout design. We designed a family of risers flat and angled to accommodate the varying display requirements of the artifacts. (The furniture was later repurposed for the next exhibition in this same gallery.) We designed metal frameworks to support the upright graphics that referenced bus seat railings of the Civil Rights era.
“The exhibit is gorgeous! You did a fabulous job.”
— Smithsonian National Postal Museum
REFLECTION AREA A quiet area of the exhibit, for children to sit, read books, and have discussions with school groups or their families, was designed in collaboration with the education department; it featured a vibrant collage of photographs and objects from the exhibit.
Credits: Exhibition Design and Graphic Design by Christine Lefebvre Design. Exhibition Development/Curation by National Postal Museum. Fabrication by Blair, Inc. (Springfield, VA) with additional exhibit installation by National Postal Museum.
RELATED PROJECTS
Freedom Just Around the Corner (catalog)
Freedom Just Around the Corner (print)