Client:National Museum Of Ireland

CDG Brand worked with National Museum of Ireland, Carlow Museum and National Museum Country Life as a contractor to service the design requirements of the various Museum’s. This contract still continues with Carlow Museum Curator, Dermot Mulligan. We helped produce various designs and graphics for various museum exhibitions and web requirements specifically the Local Authoritys Museums Network. One of the projects undertaken here was a National Museum Exhibition “whitewash & Thatch”.

A fascinating collection of drawings of thatched cottages, made by students at the UCD School of Architecture in the 1930s and 1940s, It has being shown at the National Museum’s Country Life division, Turlough House, Castlebar, Co Mayo. and many other regional museums Like Carlow and Galway.

The exhibition, Whitewash and Thatch, includes wonderfully detailed plans, elevations and sections of vernacular houses in Ireland which – in stark contrast to their successors – were all built to fit harmoniously into the landscape.

The National Museum, the Irish Folklore Commission and the Royal Irish Academy sponsored the UCD student surveys by providing a small grant towards their expenses, with the aim of stimulating public interest in Irish building traditions. They first surveyed Lusk, Co Dublin, in the summer of 1943, camping in the grounds of the Church of Ireland rectory. Further surveys followed in 1944 and 1945 at Curragh, Co Waterford; Clogherhead, Co Louth; Menlo, Co Galway, and Curracloe, Co Wexford. The students’ work is supplemented in the exhibition by drawings of houses from a previous decade by visiting Swedish scholars Åke Campbell (1891-1957) and Albert Nilsson (1904-1987), who were the first to study Irish traditional houses systematically.

It also includes a series of four pastel drawings by artist Seán Keating RHA (1889-1977), vibrantly illustrating the interior and furniture of a traditional house in Kishkeam, Co Cork. It is the first time that this series has been shown in public.

Most of the featured houses no longer exist, or have been changed beyond recognition. The final exhibition display was concluded with the design and publication of a Hardback Book Copy which was on sale in all Museums.

Range of graphics required:

2 x Panel for introduction to the exhibition and origin details Approx. size W 500mm X Length 1000 mm for mounting on wall with wooden baton support.

Label for visitor book plinth 600 mm wide X 130 mm high mounting on card.

Floor Graphics – A mix of different styled footprints to be used as a dancing path. Also text graphics with Hucklebuck Time – A Celebration of the Generation that danced their way into history

A1 Directional Signage Poster, On card to fit into Perspex holder

Large Double-sided fabric banner, The banner will hang from balcony and will be viewed from both sides.

Marketing Promotion Design :

The following design work was required by the Marketing Department in support of the exhibition:

*         Flyer :Option 1: DL format, double-sided  –  Option 2: A5 format, double-sided

*         Invitation for the Opening, DL double sided.

*         Poster A3

*         A4 Landscape Hardback Book Qty 120 pages