When
Things Get
Moving
The Science Center of Iowa engaged RDG's Experiential Graphic Designers (XGD) to create branding, color palette, logo, exhibit labels and wall graphics for the refreshed exhibit platform, When Things Get Moving, following months of renovations and upgrades.
When Things Get Moving is a fan-favorite experience platform with original environmental graphics that were very effective. However, the nearly 20-year-old exhibit was becoming run-down, outdated, and needed both a content and branding refresh. Our task on this project was to create an environment that supports the exhibit's theme (physics, simple machines and laws of motion) in a visually engaging and inviting way.
While not a playground in the strictest sense, participants should feel welcome to experiment and playfully explore the platform's interactive features. Additionally, the design was to honor the legacy of the original, well-loved exhibit and align with the visual language of the museum as a whole.
Within the logo and throughout the gallery, the design alludes to simple machines like screws, inclined planes, pulleys and levers using geometric color blocks. Each wall of the room features a word related to the exhibit theme. Elaborate linework and arrows evoke a feeling of momentum and speed while echoing similar visual elements present in nearby exhibit interactives.
The color palette is the reverse of a neighboring exhibit gallery, visually grounding When Things Get Moving as belonging to its parent institution. It has the added benefit of matching well with the material colors available for interactive components.