Purpose brands Somerset House exhibition

Somerset House’s Guy Bourdin exhibition, Guy Bourdin: Image maker, has improved its visibility with a visual identity created by Purpose branding agency.

The brand will be implemented across all supporting material such as graphic design and marketing collateral.

Purpose is also designing the exhibition’s accompanying book, Guy Bourdin: Britain By Cadillac. The book charts Guy Bourdin’s seminal road trip of Britain in 1979 as he took photographs for a Charles Jourdan advertising campaign.

Teo Connor, creative director at Purpose says, “Our campaign aims to bring out the exciting nature of the exhibition, highlighting its truly unique features, including unseen photographs, artwork and the production of a beautiful and intriguing new book. We have also taken a more playful and lo-fi approach for the supporting book, as opposed to the more widely known, sometimes darker, high-gloss feel of his commercial work.”

The exhibition’s visual identity sits apart from Bourdin’s own artistic style in the hope that it will bring people to his work in a way that is both new and unexpected.

The Image Maker exhibition is the UK’s largest ever showcase of the work of fashion photographer Guy Bourdin and will run until 15 March 2014.

Claire Catterall, director of exhibitions at Somerset House comments, “This is a particularly unique exhibition as it includes so many previously unseen pieces. The Walking Legs series of photographs is a particularly special inclusion in the display as it has not previously been shown in its entirety. We are extremely pleased with the work Purpose has done for this show, it corresponds perfectly with the feel we wanted for the exhibition and the book is also a great success.”