L’Archet Révolutionnaire

Branding
Publication Design
Collateral

Fine instrument auction house Tarisio recently presented an exhibition of rare 18th-century bows, curated by Jérome Akoka. The London exhibition featured bows by Tourte, Mauchand, Duchaine, Dodd and Pajeot, among other makers of the French, English and German schools.

I designed and produced a 28-page catalog, tradeshow banner, signage and digital assets. 

The branding typeface I chose is Playfair, a Baroque-Classical revival face evoking Baskerville and Bodoni by Claus Eggers Sørensen. It is named after Scottish Enlightenment infographics pioneer William Playfair, whose colorful career was in full swing at the time these bows were created. It embodies rationalism, elegance, and engineering, and the bows’ sophisticated curves and lines perfectly mimic the typeface’s geometry.