PROJECTS

EXHIBITION DESIGN | EXHIBITION GRAPHICS | BRANDING

Smithsonian National Postal Museum
Washington, DC

Franklin Foyer: Letters With Wings

February 2017 – May 2017 / ongoing

The National Postal Museum installed two large artifact cases for the “Franklin Foyer” area of their lower level — so named for the statue of original Postmaster General Benjamin Franklin located there — with the intent of changing these cases regularly with displays of recent acquisitions, favorite objects, and niche subjects.

Christine Lefebvre Design developed a design system for the museum’s in-house use when producing the Franklin Foyer mini-exhibitions, and also designed the first exhibition to use the system: a sneak peek of the then-upcoming exhibition about WWII airmail, which at the time was tentatively called Letters With Wings. Exhibitions that use the CLD-designed system, as implemented by the Postal Museum, are currently on view.

EXHIBITION CLD developed a flexible exhibition design system. The system took a “kit of parts” approach with case furniture and graphic panels. Design documentation included examples of how the kit of parts could be used in case arrangements.

GRAPHICS CLD provided Graphic Design Guidelines for layout of exhibit titles, didactic graphics, and artifact labels. These guidelines detailed spacing and sizing of graphic elements, and included color palette and typographic standards. The design balanced flexibility with an easy-to-achieve consistency for brand awareness.

Credits: Exhibition Design and Graphic Design by Christine Lefebvre Design. Exhibition Development/Curation by National Postal Museum.