Urban Salon has unveiled its design for the British Library’s winter 2013 exhibition: “Georgians Revealed: Life, Style and the Making of Modern Britain.” Urban Salon collaborated with Studio Fernando Gutierrez (graphic designers) to design the show. The exhibition, which opens in November 2013 and runs until March 2014, celebrates the 300th anniversary of George I’s accession to the British throne and looks at the social and cultural life of the Georgian period and its legacy on 21st Century Britain.

The exhibition opens with a graphic introduction to the Georgian period on the upper ground floor level using a multitude of images from the British Library collection that reflect different aspects of daily Georgian life and highlight key historical and political events. The exhibition is organized around a large X, which enables visitors to understand the interconnections between the different topics explored in the exhibition. Windows within each section allow vistas across to other sections and other exhibits to highlight the many connections between different elements of the Georgian period.

Large illustrated graphic backdrops are incorporated within the showcases for each section of the exhibition. These give the visitors visual cues as to the different curatorial themes covered by the exhibition and pick out details from many of the publications on display. To create these illustrations, the team commissioned the London based illustrator, Gregori Saavedra. The illustrations were produced by collaging details from Georgian illustrations in the publications being exhibited and using the classic ink work of Georgian illustration.

To highlight the importance of the Georgian legacy on 21stt Century London, visitors walk across a large 70m2 Georgian map of Central London highlighting Georgian buildings and institutions in Central London.