We were commissioned by the Royal Academy Schools to create the exhibition identity for their 2023 Summer Show. As home to Britain’s oldest art school, the Academy’s show has been held annually since 1769, with just 6,000 graduates from the contemporary art course over its 250-year history. While the RA is a prestigious institution steeped in tradition, contemporary art calls for a contemporary identity. Our design introduced a visual language that disrupts the historical context of the grand Burlington House, offering a fresh perspective. With fluorescent greens, a heavy metal-inspired typeface, glitch effects, and textures drawn from the artists’ studios, the branding stands out boldly against the classical marble backdrop. It’s anti-establishment, unconventional, loud, and unapologetically un-RA—shining a spotlight on the graduating artists. We delivered a bold, unmissable out-of-home print and motion campaign, along with an exhibition publication titled AFTERTASTE, which followed the same subversive visual path. The harsh, glitchy animation style fractures the identity, just as the identity itself breaks through the institution’s traditional visual boundaries.
