Shoot Portraits Not People: A Project by Jason Siegel

Visual Identity: Vicarel Studios
Art, Creative Direction, Photography, Spatial Design: Jason Siegel

Creating the visual identity for a globally acclaimed traveling art exhibition.

The Opportunity:
[Shoot Portraits Not People] Jason Siegel builds anatomically correct weapon sculpture entirely from recycled camera equipment. The final products are interactive and powerful installations that comment on the violent abuse of these artful machines, while cleverly exposing the shared vocabulary associated with photography and weaponry. While the idea and artwork were established, the visual identity was not.

The Solution:
Deriving inspiration from tactical and special service design language, we created a visual identity system that was iconic without detracting from the work itself. The solution seamlessly complements the artwork with hard lines and industrial-mechanic design elements.

Inspiration started with the visual language used in tactical environments. We used elements such as morse code, the USA War Office logo and a crosshair to inspire the morse code “Shoot Portraits Not People” logotype, badge and crosshair-monogram.

This approach allowed for the design system to complement the sculptures and imagery in situ without overpowering or detracting too much from the artwork itself.