The Graphic Design Archive is an online archive built for Webflow, created to inform and educate about the history and evolution of graphic design.
Creating a digital experience for graphic design's history
The team at Webflow reached out to design and develop a set of webpages for different time periods of design (“The Middle Age,” “Punk Publishing,” and “Swiss Design”). Graphic Design Archive has a parent branding system, in addition to each era having its own distinct art direction styles.
John Williams, Content Ryan Morrison, Design oversight Adam Tanguay, Marketing
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Explorations
Initial type studies and logo lock–ups were created to see what kind of vibe the Graphic Design Archive would end up having. We wanted the right core brand identity system to work with.
Early logo and type considerations
Type lock-up exploration
Alternate logo concept, "Archive"
Web explorations
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Identity
A system of type + art of each respective era was created. Because we had a solid content structure to work with, each era had its own distinct look and feel without feeling too far apart from the core identity.
Relevant feature typefaces were used for each era—Daubenton for "The Middle Ages," Space Grotesk for "Swiss Design," and Resistance for "Punk Publishing."
Final wordmark
Custom art for headers of each exhibit
"Swiss Typography" section, featuring Space Grotesk
"Middle Ages" quote block, featuring Daubenton
"Punk Publishing" section, featuring League Mono and Resistance
"Punk Publishing" section, collage artwork
"Swiss Design" section, Jan Tschichold and The New Typography
"Punk Publishing" section, collage artwork
"Middle Ages" section, texture
"Middle Ages" section, texture
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Website
Each "era" has its own set of custom interactions for highlight areas, like the "Tools of the Trade."
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