Concept, colour & craftmanship - Branding's Greatest Hits!

A look at Sotheby's exquisite branding for the "Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own" pre-sale exhibition.

Mick Rock’s iconic portrait of Freddie, taken during the cover shoot for the Queen II album, welcomes visitors to the upstairs galleries.

All successful branding projects start with discovery. A process of understanding the subject matter and researching its values and visual language.

Then comes the magic. Distil these ingredients until you have a concentrated version of the message that will capture the attention of your audience.

Freddie wearing the trousers that inspired the Sotheby’s exhibition branding, on stage during the Magic Tour, Wembley Stadium, London, 1986 (c) Richard Young

For their blockbusting 2023 Summer exhibition, Sotheby’s based the visual campaign on the iconic stripes from the singer's stage trousers worn during Queen's final tour. This single concept was the starting point from where a coherent set of branding assets was created. The motif provides a flexible graphic element used throughout the campaign, and also informed the colour palette. The team demonstrated finesse and restraint to brilliantly craft these assets into everything from promotional material and signage to the handles of the gift bags in the exhibition shop.

The stripe detail, top and tail the room signage (left), as well as providing the exhibition with its colour scheme. The red particularly effective across entire walls (right), providing impact and punctuating between the different galleries. The playful headline typeface (below) adds flamboyant fun, perfectly in tune with the subject.

Adding to the brand tool kit, a perfectly flamboyant typeface was chosen for the headline typography, with suitably Freddie flourishes and letters playfully joining together in places. Seen throughout the galleries as well as on two magnificent red flags hanging outside the building above the record-breaking queues. Finally, just above the entrance hung a giant moustache. An eye-catching talking point, affectionately capturing the wit of the man and delivering the message that this was an event not to be missed.

140,000 visitors queued in the sunshine to glimpse an array of Freddie’s personal possessions including stage outfits, hand-written lyrics, gold discs and his beloved baby grand piano.

One of the auctions most anticipated lots was a Tiffany & Co, silver moustache comb. Measuring just 7cm, you’d probably need something else to groom the giant tribute hung over the event entrance.

If you'd like your branding to have A Kind of Magic, hit the button below and book a free discovery call.