Student work at Tyler School of Art + Architecture

Art Direction: Kelly Holohan

Skills: brand identity, exhibition design, layout, and copy

SHARE Exhibition

SHARE is a proposed pop-up sex-ed exhibition in partnership with Planned Parenthood. The brand is colorful, bold, and the content is focused on inclusivity and breaking stigmas. The brand deliverables include a logo, exhibition design, social media campaign, print materials, and merchandise.

The Exhibit

Problem: Since sex education is up to individual states, young people often receive sex education that lacks vital information, teaches disinformation, and creates a shameful culture around sex/reproductive education.

Idea: SHARE exhibition would break down sex stigmas, teach accurate sex education (including LGBTQ+), dating violence education, and provide resources in a fun way for visitors.

The pop-up exhibition is proposed to first start at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.

share exhibition outside banner design cristen designs

Process

The process began with research on sex-ed in U.S. schools. Due to the staggering amount of data on how lacking sexual education is in the school system, the idea of a sexual health and reproductive education exhibition “solution” was created. Taking the school system out of the picture led to a brand message that wasn’t inundated with public education’s red tape.

Once the idea of the pop-up was created, lists were created of everything relating to sex-ed and what should be taught in schools. Some of the final keywords that guided the brand design were:

inclusive, fun, and educational

Mood Boards and Style Tile

The mood boards represent how I envisioned the Exhibition’s aesthetic and gave me a better understanding of competitors and other museums/exhibits/pop-ups, including examples of infographics that fit the brand identity. The first mood board guided the beginning creation of the brand colors, typography, and use of shape.

The brand identity uses supergraphics (large-scaled decorative art in bold colors and typically in geometric or typographic designs), bright and fresh colors, and a clean typeface with a little bit of flair.

Logo

There were many ideas for the logo involving arrows and x’s, but they didn’t feel right. There were many iterations, but the chosen approach ended up with a typographic solution that incorporates a different font for each letter and a mix of lowercase and capitals. This choice ties back to the brand message: SHARE’s education is inclusive and fun, and each letter is unique because so are people.

The final logo uses lower and uppercase letters. The fonts used from left to right include Degular Text regular, Lust Script regular, Rochester Pro, BN Recon Grotesk, and Jeanne Moderno OT roman.

Each font was carefully selected to include a mixture of widths and styles to fit the brand’s mood.

Process

Before the acronym SHARE was created, some ideas and sketches included x and + signs and a list of possible names. The final logo started with mixing typefaces (seen as circled), which led to extensive exploration of other fonts, styles, widths, and caps.

Naming

The lists and brain mapping completed at the beginning of the project helped to finalize a name. An acronym that also made a word and incorporated what the exhibit was all about made sense and encompassed the idea of disseminating knowledge. SHARE stands for sexual health and reproductive education, and the word share is a part of the mission. The word share is open-ended, welcoming, and supportive.

SHARE your… experience, advice, story, truth, success

Exhibition Design

The proposed exhibit encompasses six sections: the main entrance, anatomy & puberty, consent & safety, reproductive rights & prevention, pleasure & sex, and finally, a gift shop near the exit. The bright colors and supergraphics keep viewers interested and encourage photo opportunities that could make the exhibit a viral experience.

All the information used for the walls came from Planned Parenthood, Guttmacher, and academic journals to ensure accurate and informed facts.

Upon entrance, each guest would receive a few tear-off wallet-sized cards with resources to use and share with others.

resource cards tear and share business cards wallet

Entrance

The entrance includes the sculpture of the SHARE logo (a perfect spot for a photo-op), patterned walls, and an introduction to the exhibition.

SHARE entrance wall mock up 3D exhibition

Reproductive Rights & Pregnancy Prevention

This section includes information on abortion, including laws in the U.S. (at the time of creation) and an exhaustive list of forms of birth control.

Birth Control Types Walls exhibition SHARE

Red Alert U.S. Abortion Map exhibition SHARE wall

Pregnancy and Prevention Walls information SHARE

Pleasure & Sex

This room focuses on dismantling sex stigmas and myths by bringing uncomfortable sex topics to the viewer in a fun and playful way. It also has another photo opportunity with a cheeky wall that features taboo sex-related words.

Social Media Campaign

The Instagram campaign is a promotional tool for the pop-up exhibit; however, it can stand alone. The posts are focused on sharing all kinds of information related to SHARE. The two developed posts are on abortion facts and sex-positive info. The account also includes an interactive story that would be highlighted on the profile.

Merchandise

The following are some examples of merchandise that would be sold at the educational exhibition, including a tote bag and t-shirt. The purchase of these items would help fund the exhibition and serve as a free promotion to a wider audience.

SHARE t shirt back exhibition merchandise

Overview

The goal was to create an inclusive and fun experience for anyone who visits the SHARE exhibit. Keeping the mission at the forefront, this concept seeks to create a new kind of sex education that focuses on inclusivity, science, and un-learning harmful and shaming information in an exciting way. The SHARE pop-up exhibit’s goal would be to travel across the country, grow its impact, and create a nationwide discussion on teaching better sex-ed.