RESPECT:
Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom

at Oakland Museum of California

ROLE: lead graphic designer, experiential design, art direction

SCOPE: branding, timeline design, hierarchy / label system, typesetting, interactive element design, exhibition element design, consultant

RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom investigated the history and impact of the musical movement, with a particular focus on California and the Bay Area’s contributions. Highly interactive, it required instructional texts incorporated throughout at just the right volume.

Big and bold, the show held space for massive energy alongside anger, grief, and wonder. At times, the graphic approach needed to match the huge scale of mural-sized graffiti; at others, it lived to guide a quiet exploration of personal stories.

The space was deeply activated with in-person programming like chess matches, artist talks, cyphers, yoga, trivia, and live DJs.

Timeline with "LP" elements of double-sided lists. Image is columns along a wall, with white-to-blue gradients running top to bottom or bottom to top. Ledges hold black squares, record sleeve size. Text talks about different eras in hip-hop. Photo ©

Section titling and text close-up for BOOM! The Birth of a Culture. Image has a photo of a teen with a large boombox to the left of white text on a black wall, topped with large decorative titling. Photo © OMCA.

Table-sized map of important places in the history of Bay Area hip-hop, designed using MapBox, ArcGIS, and Illustrator. Accompanying book designed by Tom Klump, art direction by Amanda Boesen. Image is a close up of a blue and black map of the Bay wi

Section titling variations (draft) using Power Station font options. Black text on white, saying DOJO, WISDOM, THE TOWN, THE BAY, BOOM!, STYLE, and PAYING OUR RESPECTS.

A living culture

Because hip-hop is alive and thriving, Respect created space for practitioners and learners alike to show off their skills. For design, this meant flexible signage, integrated into well-used moving parts. Showing a person how to scratch ON the turntable meant accompanying signage could tell tales of innovation instead of instructions.

This exhibition was curated by René de Guzman at the Oakland Museum of California, with experience development led by Penny Jennings. Exhibition space design by Scott Moulton, with Amanda Boesen as lead graphic designer and select 3D design.

The titling typography uses the collegiate-style font Power Station. Modifying this for the identity created a powerful mark that twists the traditional letterjacket letters for interest and unexpected sophistication.

Power Station variations like inset 3D blocking set each section title apart while building subtle continuity.

RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom