Checkmate, Identity Design

In September 2019 Christie’s offered a specially curated collection of 14 chess sets made by some of the 20th century’s most important artists, ranging from Bauhaus sculptor Joseph Hartwig to YBAs such as Tracey Emin and Rachel Whiteread. For the identity I chose to play with the letter ‘K’ to emanate the falling of a chess piece in a match. I used Cochin for the typeface as I liked the sharp angular serifs which made me think of the directional movements of a chess piece on the board. We applied the identity throughout the exhibition using a bright tangerine orange to compliment the pieces and a playful background square for visibility where necessary. The sale realised over £200,000. Exhibition design by Clover Gwynn