Design Commissions
Ines Cox created the graphic design for The Hoodie exhibition and the 2014 New Material Award (together with Lauren Grusenmeyer).
The Hoodie
"Wearing a hoodie has a shield-like quality," says Ines Cox. "It's a comfortable garment with a hood that forms a protective layer between the inside and outside. I wanted my design to respond to this principle of the interior and exterior. If you turn a garment inside out, the label is on the outside. The label contains information about washing instructions, production and materials used. I chose this clothing label as the basis for my design." The project required flexibility, says Cox. "I was involved in the exhibition's development from an early stage, and things changed along the way. The shape of the label lent itself well to such a process. I could start with one idea and was able to test it during the project's different stages. The idea came to life in different ways."
The various communication forms reflect characteristics of the clothing label - the elongated shape, a limited surface area for much information, the positive and negative sides of woven versions. The typography uses circles around the numbers, referring to the notation of clothing sizes, and the brackets around quotes and text fragments refer to a hoodie's enclosing quality. Cox had the exhibit captions printed on flexible material, comparable to the often-artificial textiles used for clothing labels. These "text boards" hung from thin tubes, in reference to clothes hangers.
Cox likes her designs to stay close to everyday life. "I like to emphasise the specific character of known elements and make them distinct." Cox's collaboration with Het Nieuwe Instituut was very positive. "I don't often see a cultural institution working with an art director. The spatial and graphic designers were involved in the development of The Hoodie from the start. The development of the content and the form of the exhibition, therefore, ran parallel, in good consultation between the curator, the designers and the institute's staff."
_The Hoodie_ exhibition, curated by writer and curator Lou Stoppard, is about the titular garment's role in culture, fashion and politics. The exhibition examines the historical background and contemporary significance of the equally controversial and fashionable "hooded sweater," which can be regarded as the West's last political attire.
New Material Award
For the graphic design for the 2014 New Material Award, Cox, with Lauren Grusenmeyer, also opted for a simple, and plain format that could be applied in different ways. In this case, it was a wooden panel in different colours - one for each nominee. I had the panel printed with all the information about the nominee and project. The panel was then sawn into parts, like puzzle pieces, that were displayed in the presentation. The colours of the various nominees were echoed in the publication.
Cox's font choice follows the design's concept. "I choose a font based on the composition and placement of text. For the New Material Award's graphic identity, we selected a font that can be cropped and still be readable. The publication's text also ran off the page and clipped the typography. The booklet's elongated format was useful at the opening because you could easily put it in your jacket pocket or bag. The fold-out pages allowed the publication's narrow format to accommodate large images."
The exhibition _The New Material Award 2014_ presented the work of sixteen designers, artists and architects who are nominated for the award. From 2009 to 2020, the _New Material Award _was awarded biennially to artists and designers that contributed to material innovation, with an emphasis on ecological and social sustainability. The prize offered a platform to a generation of designers who dare to ask fundamental questions about industrial production processes, natural growth, waste streams and residual materials.