Spirit of Ramadan, designing a feeling, not a display.
In collaboration with the curatorial team at the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, Studio Basel developed an exhibition of Capture the Spirit of Ramadan photography. Presented under the auspices of the Sultan of Selangor, the project brought exhibition layout, branding and publications together around the photographic collection.
The challenge
Capture the Spirit of Ramadan presents the holy month through photography. The exhibition gives the collection a shared setting in which individual images can be encountered as part of a wider cultural story.
The design connects the programme identity with the museum environment. Photography remains the focus, supported by a visual language that carries between the exhibition and its publications.
The approach
The work developed the exhibition layout in three dimensions, alongside its branding and publications. The original photographs of the museum presentation document how the collection and its introduction were arranged in the gallery.
The programme’s bilingual identity connects the exhibition with its books and wider public presentation. The archive also documents the programme at Milwaukee City Hall in 2016, a separate exhibition setting within the same initiative.
The delivery
The historical studio portfolio records exhibition layout, branding, publications, media liaison and guest workshops, developed in collaboration with the museum’s curatorial team.
- Exhibition layoutThree-dimensional development of the gallery presentation.
- Programme identityA bilingual signature connecting the collection and its communications.
- PublicationsAn editorial setting for the photographic collection beyond the gallery.
- Public programmeMedia liaison and guest workshops recorded in the historical project scope.
Inside the exhibition
From photograph to exhibition and publication.
A quieter frame for the photographic collection
A linen-bound photobook study pairs the original bilingual programme signature with a restrained material palette. The actual publication cover, The Holy Month of Ramadan: A Visual Celebration, appears alongside it. The linen edition is a new design concept, not a claim of an existing published edition.
