The Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution estimates that it has 156 million objects in its collections. Most of those are located within the 12 museums that line the National Mall. The Smithsonian is also a premier tourist stop, attracting 24 million visitors a year. Helping those 24 million sort their way through the 156 million items and make the best use of their time on the Mall is the work of the Smithsonian's Visitor Center, located in the Castle building. Getting those tourists to the Castle in the first place was our job.

Based on having a non-competition contract with The Smithsonian, we were asked to create a kiosk-sized poster that would encourage people to visit the Castle to get more information about SI's holdings.

Our solution showed multiple ribbon-like pathways, all leading directly into, and illuminating, the Castle. And as an aid to the many millions of non-English-speaking tourists, we employed small icons depicting either iconographic architecture or collection highlights.

And coincidentally, the poster could also serve as a resume of work we've done for the Smithsonian over the last 20+ years, including exhibits, branding, illustration, websites, event materials, and a good deal more.