{"id":770653,"date":"2026-06-30T08:15:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T08:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/770653\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T08:15:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T08:15:14","slug":"the-act-of-making-is-at-the-heart-of-apfels-exhibition-graphics-for-va-east-museum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/770653\/","title":{"rendered":"The act of ‘making’ is at the heart of APFEL’s exhibition graphics for V&A East Museum"},"content":{"rendered":"

Situated in the Stratford area of London, V&A East Museum is an excellent destination if you\u2019re looking for creative inspiration \u2013 not just because of the exhibitions but also the graphics and signage that will guide you through the space. Developed by A Practice for Everyday Life \u2013 AKA APFEL \u2013 in conjunction with the architects JA Projects and the artist Larry Achiampong, the visuals include bespoke typography, and the graphics have been shaped in perfect harmony with the interior\u2019s characteristics, fostering a natural flow that encourages appreciation for the pieces throughout the gallery.<\/p>\n

Opened in April 2026, the gallery\u2019s permanent collection, called Why We Make, is introduced by a striking illuminated sign composed of lettering sublime in its simplicity. The design thinking behind the project is very much informed by the concept of making things, which in turn stems from East London\u2019s industrial heritage.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A stencil font made from LED strips.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The secondary typeface for the hanging signage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe typeface is formed of individual, stencil-like strokes, formed of modular light fittings that \u2018make\u2019 up the letters,\u201d explains APFEL co-founder Emma Thomas. \u201cThe galleries and exhibits are deeply rooted in the concept of making, and the typeface needed to reflect that. We broke the concept of the typeface down to its basic geometry \u2013 the component parts of what letterforms are made from.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the visuals reflect the area\u2019s heritage, APFEL also wanted to put a strong emphasis on East London\u2019s current-day community. The studio itself is part of that, located not far from the museum. Early in the project, APFEL engaged with the V&A Youth Collective, inviting young people to become co-designers from the outset and to participate in briefings and presentations, ultimately contributing ideas to the iterative design process.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Letterform suggestions from the V&A Youth Collective.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe felt it was crucial to involve the people who would be using and experiencing the galleries \u2013 we wanted to make sure that they had truly impacted the design, and that we made something together,\u201d continues Emma. \u201cWe hosted a collaborative workshop at our studio, inviting the V&A Youth Collective to help us design the display typeface to accompany the overall scheme.\u201d<\/p>\n

The interior architecture of V&A East Museum takes inspiration from East London\u2019s urban landscape. It\u2019s a little like the streets and neighbourhoods that form the cityscape, reinterpreted as a series of gallery spaces. This continues into the visual aspects APFEL has created, with each element carefully considered and intuitively linked to the area\u2019s past and present character.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The type is part of how visitors flow through the space.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cShowcases with illuminated fascias and exhibition graphics draw on the language of shopfronts at the heart of local communities; timber cabinetry is crafted from London Plane trees; and displays of fashion, textiles, and ceramics echo how these materials are encountered in markets and stores across the four Olympic boroughs,\u201d says Emma.<\/p>\n

Following the principles of circular design was also an important part of APFEL\u2019s approach. Working in consultation with Urge Collective, the designers focused on reusing available resources and local procurement, minimising any reliance on virgin materials. The illuminated lettering was made from LED lighting strips readily available in local markets.<\/p>\n

After the display typeface was developed, a second font was designed with more solid letterforms for longer form curatorial messaging. \u201cWe created a custom version of the typeface that worked in this context, and was able to be cut out of metal to work for the hanging signs, or even as a rubber stamp used for an interactive activity station within the galleries,\u201d says Emma.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"Publication<\/p>\n

Publication design for\u00a0The Making of V&A East<\/p>\n

The V&A also commissioned APFEL to design a book documenting the creative work carried out for the V&A East Museum, the wider V&A East development and the V&A East Storehouse.<\/p>\n

Feedback on the projects has been fantastic \u2013 particularly regarding the illuminated signage. \u201cIt\u2019s interesting to see it come into life now it\u2019s installed. At night, it is reflected and refracted on various views as you look out of the windows across London. It brings the circulation spaces to life with a playful and dynamic aspect, and reiterates the themes of the exhibition in its building up of the word M-A-K-I-N-G quite literally,\u201d says Emma.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Situated in the Stratford area of London, V&A East Museum is an excellent destination if you\u2019re looking for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":770654,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[76,354,355,49,48,356,75],"class_list":["post-770653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-design","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/770653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=770653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/770653\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/770654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=770653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=770653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=770653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}