ROAD TO 150 TOUR
French Paper Company has been around for nearly 150 years, and accumulated hundreds of printed ephemera and promotions during that time. The French family wanted to share these printed items in a traveling exhibit, named "The Road To 150."
The Road To 150 Tour is a traveling exhibit made up of 30 plus years of historical French Paper items. It journeyed around the country, bravely piloted by the French family. The design and print communities were the reason that French Paper was able to reach this goal of being in business for almost 150 years, so the family was dedicated to taking the tour as far and wide as possible.
The family needed a vehicle that would be noticeable and draw attention, alerting viewers to a website which explained when and where each show was. To achieve an eye-catching look, I used a variety of historical icons (which had appeared on various French paper promotions) as the main features in the design. Other elements were designed from scratch to fit the overall aesthetic.
The exhibit stayed in each location for approximately 3-4 hours before moving on to the next. Each geographical location, space, and venue varied greatly, so the configuration of the show changed as well. It's important to mention that the entire exhibit had to fit inside of a Ford Transit van, and needed to be assembled and disassembled with very little effort. Keeping these variables in mind, I decided to use photo backdrop stands to display the 60 posters featured in the exhibit, and collapsable desks to display other collateral materials.
The photo backdrop stands were connected to each other so they could be easily configured and arranged based on the venue they were in. The posters were double-sided to provide viewers with a three-dimensional viewing space. This allowed them to walk around freely, or be guided by the configurable wall of posters.
