We designed a custom typeface to give visual voice to the historical and contemporary artifacts from Ethiopia. It was based on the local Ge‘ez script, which itself is a synthesis of multiple cultures in this historic crossroads.

The exhibition title typography and landscape footage of Ethiopia feature prominently in a supergraphic animation that welcomes visitors in an octagonal anteroom that precedes the exhibit space.

Together with the exhibition architecture, the typography creates a thoughtful context for the presentation of the works and narratives. Works from a nation that was never colonized are presented in a decidedly non-colonial exhibition space.

The Ge‘ez script is used in modern-day Eritrea and Ethiopia that dates back to the 1st century CE. Our contemporary redrawing of it can live past the life of the exhibition and serve other modes of Ethiopian visual and cultural exchange.

The exhibition visual identity works well together with Toledo Museum of Art's new brand identity, inviting audiences from across the mid-West region to this precious and enriching cultural experience.