Get Up, Stand Up Now, held at London’s Somerset House, was an exhibition celebrating black creativity in Britain and beyond. It spanned 50 years of works featuring more than 100 creatives from art, film, photography, music, literature, design and fashion.

Curated by multidisciplinary artist Zak Ové, his aim was to illuminate the impact of black creativity and experiences on British and international culture. The archive of Zak’s father, the radical black filmmaker Horace Ové, formed the foundation of the exhibition.

The brief given to Here Design was to create a visual identity that amplified the spirit of the exhibition and inspire museumgoers from across the generations, including those who might not typically attend exhibitions. The richly vibrant identity embodies the wealth of diversity that was found across the show. Rather than anchoring the visual on one individual artist’s work, Here Design crafted a single iconic image from the profile silhouette of exhibiting artist Zoe Bedeaux.

Offsetting this image in five colours, the team collaborated closely with 3D and exhibition designer Yinka Ilori to develop an eye-catching colour palette. Each colour represented one of the exhibition themes: Motherland; Imaginary Landscapes; Dream to Change the World; Masquerade; and Mothership. This energetic design language was used as a backdrop to the exhibited works.

The identity’s flexibility meant it could be adapted for a whole host of print and digital touchpoints, including out-of-home ads, signage and the giant flag flying over Somerset House.

Here also designed the exhibition catalogue as a book, featuring all the artists’ works. In addition to the two-dimensional branding, Here’s in-house creative studio, Here Makes, developed branded products using the identity, including enamel pin badges, pencils, socks and tote bags.

Design: Here Design
Senior Project Manager: Olivia Rawlinson
Senior Designer: Josh Williams
Creative Director: Billy Bridgeworth
Creative Partner: Caz Hildebrand
3D Designer: Yinka Ilori
Curator: Zak Ové
Photography: Luke Hayes