We invented sample-based design

Photo / Design / Strategy

Musée de la civilisation

2024

Musée de la civilisation, 2024

Sur Paroles - Le son du rap queb was the first exhibition about Québécois hip hop to hit a national museum.

We were tasked by the Musée de la civilisation de Québec, and the exhibition’s curator, rapper and historian Webster, to create the exhibition’s branding, and support the realization of it’s overall storyline.

Challenge

We needed to create an identity that was unmistakably rap while avoiding the overused clichés that often come with visual representations of the genre. Knowing how much authenticity matters in hip-hop culture, we had to come up with an idea that would be palatable enough to attract the museum’s more family-oriented audience, while making sure we didn’t come across as fake to true rap fans.

Idea 1

We went back to the roots of the genre for inspiration, and committed to building the exhibit’s identity the way a DJ builds a beat; we started by digging through vinyl records, then sampled visual elements from the album covers, leading to the creation of something entirely new.

Idea 2

Since geography is fundamental in rap - artists often pride themselves in repping their city, their neighbourhood, even their block - we designed a media plan where each artist’s poster would appear exclusively in their own neighbourhoods throughout the province. Izzy-S’s poster was shown exclusively in St-Michel, Souldia’s only in Limoilou, and Naya Ali’s in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.