I have created a branding concept for a fictional exhibition «Between Land and Water» dedicated to Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s extraordinary life. He was a world-famous French explorer of the seas, film director, inventor, and so on. His life story moved me, so I chose him as a hero worth telling about. This is how the name of the exhibition was born, because Cousteau literally managed to live in two worlds during his life: underwater and terrestrial.

The concept of the project is based on Homo Aquaticus typeface, which was specially made by me for this case. As Jacques Cousteau devoted his whole life to the study of the oceans the typeface brings the key metaphor of «letters from the bottom of the sea», which are perfectly imperfect. Some of them have already been damaged by the sea and marine life has grown on some of them. Typography stands on the layout as if it had just been brought by a wave.

The next stage of conveying the feeling of the depth of the sea was the search for a photo style. So, in addition to the font, I used gradients that transmit the sun’s rays in the water, images of marine flora and fauna and Jacques Cousteau’s photos himself. The whole case is imbued with the sea spirit in memory of the great discovery of the underwater world by Cousteau.

Along with the communication and digital layouts, I thought about the merch of the exhibition. So, I designed a red beanie as a reference to the Cousteau’s team style and some other practical things. The logo shows how letters сan stick making the abbreviation of the exhibition name.