Vernacular

2013 was the 50th anniversary of the Kilkenny Design Workshops (KDW). In tribute to such a key anniversary for Irish design, the ‘Vernacular’ exhibition at London Design Festival showcased new design and craft from Ireland. Work, in which indigenous materials and processes, combined with intelligent design, expressed an intrinsic and authentic element of the (hi)story of Irish design and the KDW legacy.

We were asked to create an identity and exhibition collateral that essentially 'straddled' the traditional and the contemporary. The designs had to be sensitive to historic and established craft practices but relevant and appropriate to the audience of the London Design Festival.

This was achieved through bold an distinctive typographic mark that provided the basis for experimental formats. The graphic elements were supported by original photography that pictured the artefacts in 'rolling landscapes of green pastures and grey skies'.