‘Futures Histories’ was a hybrid installation featuring disciplines of the UTS Design Architecture Building (DAB) School – Architecture, Visual Communication, Interior Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Product Design, Animation, Photography and Fashion.

The visual identity concept sought to be simple and clear but also exuberant, confident and assured. It needed to work across the branding, website, and final exhibition design to create a coherent vision. On the website and Instagram, short, intriguing phrases of words rarely used together – the opposite of verbal clichés – constantly re-wrote themselves, creating brief digestible messages in colours and typography designed to cut through. Used as billboards and navigation around entry points and throughout the exhibition, they created a compelling invitation and provoked curiosity, while also acting as a strong wayfinding concept to help viewers find their way through the labyrinthine UTS DAB building.

The design vision involved the creation of display modules, comprised of a kit of parts suitable for showcasing sculptural, digital, 3D and 2D printed work across all disciplines. An overarching, unified design language facilitated a cohesive experience for the visitor and also allowed individual student design voices. The key ‘module’ design expressed the concept of duality with no ‘back’ or ‘front’ side. The 2D motif of a ‘frame’, employed by the visual identity component of the project, was extended in 3D through the design of display modules that physically ‘framed’ student works.