Beginning on October 2nd, 2024 an exhibition displaying 800-year-old Franciscan manuscripts opens at the Palazzo Braschi museum in Rome, Italy thanks to the St Francis Day Foundation. Laudato sie was curated by Fra Carlo Bottero and Paolo Capitanucci. Art directed by artist and designer Claudia Palmira with her team at the Rome Design Agency, the show’s exhibition graphics, branding, merchandise, website, and social media provide an elegant and soulful atmosphere for the restored Franciscan manuscripts.

Laudato sie promises a profound exploration of the rich, interdisciplinary knowledge contained within the texts. For the exhibition, Claudia collaborated with the show’s architect, Luca Piccirillo, on the placement of graphic panels that complement and enhance the beauty of the manuscripts on display. These panels are a distinct part of the exhibit, as are the palette of colors defined for the show. These colors are expressed in each section of the show in large descriptive texts written by the curators, creating a sort of color coding of the exhibit.

“My intention with adding graphical panels as part of the exhibit was to create a dynamism and rhythm to intrigue the viewer, and invite a visual appreciation of the manuscripts. These tomes are filled with gorgeous, handmade drawings and concepts that provide much inspiration to be expressed and shared.”

In the year leading up to the show, Claudia Palmira traveled to the sacred convent of Saint Francis of Assisi as well as to the Abazzia di Praglia Abbey in Padova in order to interact with the original manuscripts produced by the Franciscan order. Working alongside her team at the Rome Design Agency, she created the main logo for the show. The logo was created using inspiration from calligraphy found in the original Franciscan manuscripts. The letter “F” from the original texts was digitized and vectorized, subsequently used to embellish the exhibit. Palmira drew inspiration from the typography and color palettes of the Franciscan script in order to create and design branding for the website and social media of the event.

In collaboration with the brand Clù, she has also designed a commemorative scarf for the exhibition.

About Claudia Palmira

A main aspect of Palmira’s work is the focus on the creation of new iconographic possibilities through the use of digital technology. Through the graphic design work created for the Laudato sie exhibit, Palmira brings together the use of digital technology and text in order to create a unique and compelling fusion of the modern and historical.

Palmira has extensive experience in combining the world of digital with the tactile through a variety of projects including her luxury scarf brand “Clù”, which are sold at the Met Opera Shop, as well as other bespoke retailers. Palmira has led digital design projects with numerous companies such as Bulgari hotels, and the Vatican and United Nations. As an exhibited artist, she has had individual shows at the American Embassy Gallery in Rome, Margutta Home and the Chadwick & Chilton Gallery in Greenwich CT, among many others. Her opera silk collection, “Arias as Art…On Silk”, is currently on display in New York at the Union League Art Club until September 27th, 2024.

To follow Claudia Palmira’s latest projects as well as visit her studio in Prati by appointment, please visit the artist’s instagram account (@claudiaplamiraa) or website (claudiapalmira.com).

Photos of the show “backstage” with Claudia Palmira: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/380p3xcwery405qlzuxuk/ALRAV-w0eULMfaJQiXHZKz8?rlkey=hpxcxou5rmv1ukxc3anfvyrjt&st=auz25tie&dl=0

For captions and additional images and footage, please contact info@romedesignagency.com

Exhibition art direction by Claudia Palmira for “Laudato sie” at Palazzo Braschi, Rome

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