Placard Project is an initiative created by Gymnasium Design Office, that aims to celebrate and benefit a cultural institution that has been positively impacting the community. Through design we hope to strengthen and create new relationships in disconnected times and inspire creativity.

This series partnered with the Grade II listed independent Rio Cinema, located in the thriving heart of Dalston, East London. In which we were invited to take inspiration from an element of the cinema's rich history, and design design a celebratory poster to be sold online with all proceeds going to support the Rio Cinema, a not-for-profit organisation.

With access to the Rio Cinema’s archive of images, posters, flyers and various paraphernalia, we began to explore a series of visuals that celebrated the cinema’s wild and fascinating history. Through the use of unique details within the various assets we looked to create a visual timeline of the Rio cinema.

By experimenting with the visuals of the past, we found that the designs began to feel like a pastiche of these isolated eras that in turn did not communicate the longevity of the cinema. This triggered our approach of celebrating the one true constant throughout all the cinema’s guises; the structure of the building itself...

...Which lead to our final output: Inspired by the resilience of the Rio, our designs aim to show the cinemas ability to thrive and adapt to the times, from the early 1900s to the present day. The contrast of sophisticated, simply set typography overlayed with analogue collage speaks to the many “outfits” the cinema has worn between its consistent structural core.