For the chromatic study, the golden “ingot” on top of the building stands out, a colour that, in Chinese culture, is associated with the gods. Red, the colour of the people, is used on the ceilings of the museum’s entrance hall.

At the initial stage of the museography, the imposing presence of large pillars and the reduced ceiling height of the exhibition rooms led to the use of black on all surfaces, which, with the light almost exclusively for the objects, achieved the feeling of a theatrical setting, in which the actors are the objects.

The interior signage is defined by large applied graphic features, which occupy the entire 5-storey building.

2006—2008

Scope

Editorial, Exhibition, Exteriors, Identity, Interiors, Signage

Client

Fundação Oriente

We were asked to design an holistic project for the Lisbon East Museum, developed in partnership with the architect João Luís Carrilho da Graça, the architect responsible for remodelling the building.

The project included the chromatic study of the building, museography, signage and visual image, as well as the application of all the necessary communication products.

For the chromatic study, the golden “ingot” on top of the building stands out, a colour that, in Chinese culture, is associated with the gods. Red, the colour of the people, is used on the ceilings of the museum’s entrance hall.

At the initial stage of the museography, the imposing presence of large pillars and the reduced ceiling height of the exhibition rooms led to the use of black on all surfaces, which, with the light almost exclusively for the objects, achieved the feeling of a theatrical setting, in which the actors are the objects.

The communication project used the display cases as support for the titles, texts, colours and textures that identify the Asian countries represented: China/gold, Macau/red, Japan/silver, Timor/green, India/orange, etc., simplifying the decoding of the various exhibition spaces.

The interior signage is defined by large applied graphic features, which occupy the entire 5-storey building.

The visual identity was created by defining a colour for each activity in the museum. This activity was written in one of the different languages of the East, for example: red for exhibitions, written in Japanese; blue for dating, written in Hindu; purple for spectacles, written in Chinese; yellow for gastronomy written in Korean and green for knowledge written in Thai.

We also produced the catalogues for the permanent and temporary exhibitions, as well as the history of the building. Similarly, we designed the remaining graphic material, such as tickets, various flyers, the monthly cultural agenda, advertisements, screens for the building, mupis and merchandising for the shop.

Creative Direction
Nuno Gusmão
Estela Estanislau
Pedro Anjos

Design
Giuseppe Greco
Joana Proserpio
Vera Sacchetti
Miguel Cochofel
Miguel Matos
Pedro Schreck
Clara Jana

Photo
João Silveira Ramos
FG+SG

Awards