V&A: Censored!

2018
London

Project developed while at Barnbrook

We designed the identity, exhibition graphics and interior for Censored!, a temporary display at the V&A that marked fifty years since the Theatres Act came into force, abolishing state censorship of the British stage.

Spread across the V&A’s Theatre and Performance galleries, works were grouped into seven sections focusing on different aspects of censorship within television, theatre, music, film and publishing. The identity and exhibition graphics were built around the colour blue, referencing the censors blue pencil. Large blocks of blue vinyl are applied to reproductions of the exhibition’s key pieces to conceal controversial elements.

Within the gallery space we designed a series of wall panels made out of horizontal bars that obstruct the visitor’s vision as they navigate the space.

The museum’s voice is presented in a contemporary typewriter typeface, juxtaposed with that of the press and public. The latter manifests as quotes of anger and fury dotted around the exhibition.

Exhibition design for Censored! at the V&A Museum
Exhibition design for Censored! at the V&A Museum
Exhibition design for Censored! at the V&A Museum
Exhibition design for Censored! at the V&A Museum
Exhibition design for Censored! at the V&A Museum
Exhibition design for Censored! at the V&A Museum
Exhibition design for Censored! at the V&A Museum
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