Nikon's small world photomicrography
Exhibition | Branding | Web Design
Research
Nikon’s Small World is regarded as the leading forum for showcasing the beauty and complexity of life as seen through the light microscope. The Photomicrography Competition is open to anyone with an interest in microscopy and photography. The video competition, entitled Small World In Motion encompasses any movie or digital time-lapse photography taken through the microscope.
Research
The exhibition of the winners' photography are showcased in tour throughout the United States to education and spread this amazing but underrated subject of science/art. This is a hypothetical exhibition I design for the Nikon’s Small World, with the goal to adjust its main audience to adults and artists instead of children, whose are the original target audience.
Identity
The original Nikon’s Small World identity has a sense of childlike characteristic to it. The logo includes color, which I believe are inspired by the Nikon brand yellow, and an illustration of an atom in the middle to replace the o. Both the illustration style nd the choice of typeface seems mismatched with such intellectual topic of studies. Despite the effort to promote microscopy and photography to teens or younger children, majority of the competitors are either professors from prestigious academics or laboratories.
Research
My revision of the identity is to create an more refined image and environment that will correspond with its true audience and the characteristics of the exhibit. The choice of typeface is Fenwick Outline, which is inspired by a microscopic image of cell wall; one of the first association of microscopy most people have in life. An outline typeface also reflects that most objects are translucent under light. The world "MICRO" in the middle is blurred to highlight the complexity of this competition. Like any kind of photography, the challenge always lies on the relation between the len, light, and the subject; aperture and shutter speed.
exhibition design
The location I visualize the exhibition to be in is The Suite in Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City, which is 8,500 square feet in size and features a dark flooring of sustainably-harvested oak, 16-foot ceilings, and north and south exposures. A perfect gallery for the Small World. The space is divided into four areas: the introduction room, the darkroom, the mini theatre, and a reception near the exit.
Research
The introduction room provides the audience an exposure of what the exhibition is about by educating them about microscopy and the different techniques to capture images with this particular instrument. The darkroom is where all the artworks will be placed. All works will be displayed on a monitor in order to show their full saturation and depth. The mini theatre is dedicated to the motion competition, clips of the winners will be shown in there. Last but not least, the reception features an 16-foot tall blown-up photograph of the latest winner, creating an fully immersive "Small World" environment for the audience.
Web design
The purpose of the website is to provide basic information for the exhibition and also an online database. I used circle, which symbolizes magnifier, as a common visual element to unite all the webpages together. The choice of typeface is Futura, tying it back to the established identity.
