Hola! I’m Jordi, a level 5 graphic design student at London Metropolitan University, and this year a project threw a massive, exciting challenge my way. The brief: create graphics for a hypothetical exhibition to celebrate 70 years of the Freedom Charter.
Our canvas was an exhibition area in the former HQ of the ANC-in-exile, that is being totally refurbished to create the new Anti-Apartheid Legacy Centre – we had no limitations when creating our exhibition, but we had crucial factors: our designs had to connect, powerfully and authentically, with secondary school students. This immediately transformed the project from a simple design task into a masterclass on respectful storytelling and historical accuracy.
So where do you even start when designing for an audience whose world is different from your own? For me, it meant getting out of the studio. I jumped into conversations with my friends’ kids, digging into everything from their favourite school trips to the visual worlds of their go-to YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram feeds. My goal was to absorb the energy, the tone of voice and aesthetics that captivate them, so I could channel that into an experience that would make the Freedom Charter’s legacy not just interesting, but absolutely unforgettable.
Architects’ render of the temporary exhibition space
My Re-Interpretation
Early sketches of the intro panel
The Exhibition’s Goal
This project is my attempt to channel the revolutionary spirit of South Africa’s Freedom Charter. Forged in 1955, it’s a radical blueprint for a future built on justice and equality, crackling with an energy that I knew I had to capture. My vision was to take this monumental piece of history and blast it through a bold, contemporary lens for a new generation. I aimed to transform the Charter’s significant messages into a dynamic experience, enhanced with engaging visuals and interactive elements. This exhibition seeks to go beyond simple historical recital; it is constructed to stimulate contemplation and establish connections between a historical struggle for independence and contemporary challenges of equality that influence our world today. It is an invitation to acquire knowledge, engage in discourse, and react to a heritage that continues to develop.
The Design Approach
To bring the Freedom Charter to life, the visuals had to pop with energy while staying true to their roots. I developed a graphic language that’s both bold and vibrant—a mash-up of protest art aesthetics and the playful interactivity that sparks curiosity in a younger crowd. The layout is all about drama, using scale and contrast to pull the eye across the space, while beautiful South African patterns add layers of cultural texture.
For the title, I wanted something that felt like a declaration. “The Freedom Charter” is rendered in a heavy, sans-serif typeface that echoes the defiant posters of the anti-apartheid yet feels entirely modern. CY Grotesk brings the muscle with its strong, confident letterforms – perfect for grabbing attention on titles and key dates. Meanwhile, Proxima Nova handles the heavy lifting for body text, its friendly, legible forms ensuring the story is easy to follow. The colour palette was a deliberate break from tradition.
I created this stylescape as a start point of my design decisions.
Why should history feel dusty or have a serious palette? This is about liberation, a concept that deserves to be celebrated. A fiery orange injects a sense of passion and strength, symbolising the courage of activists. A softer pink offers a warm, modern entry point for younger viewers, connecting the past’s gravity with today’s optimism. Underpinning it all, a powerful black-and-white contrast makes every message hit with maximum impact. It’s a palette that feels historically resonant yet totally current.
Example exhibit: Freedom Charter set in wire frame with caption
Example caption for an Archival Poster
For the captions on the archives and timeline, the information had to be compelling, not overwhelming. The design needed to pull you in, not push you away with dense blocks of text. Every caption was crafted to be a short, powerful snapshot of a moment in time, cutting straight to the point. To make navigating the themes effortless, each caption was paired with a bold symbol – a unique visual shorthand that let visitors instantly connect ideas and events across the gallery.
The timeline itself snaked along the main gallery wall, not as a static list of dates, but as a continuous, visual heartbeat of resistance. I designed it on a modular grid, with each major event acting as a building block in the story leading to and from the Charter. To make the journey clear and engaging for a younger audience, the typography itself does the heavy lifting. I used shifting font weights and vibrant colour blocks to break up the flow, separating years, headlines, and details. It’s a design that guides your eye, letting you dive into the details or step back to see the whole, powerful thread of history at a glance.
Timeline with motion
Motions created for the timeline screens’ key dates.
Live track screen motion
The Interactivity
The real spark of the exhibit comes from ditching the traditional worksheet entirely. We replaced it with a slick, mobile-friendly web app designed to feel more like a creative tool than a static form. A quick scan of a QR code from the intro panel pulls students directly into this digital space. There, we challenged them not just to learn about the 1955 Charter, but to forge their own vision for a “Freedom Charter 2025”. And here’s the magic: their submissions didn’t just disappear into the digital ether. They were beamed in real-time onto a large gallery screen, bursting into view as a loop of animated flashcards. The wall transformed into a living, breathing installation built by the students themselves. This approach gives them immediate ownership and a powerful voice, flipping the script on the typical museum visit and turning a passive history lesson into a buzzing, interactive hub for creativity and critical thinking.
Intro panel with motions of Freedom Charter’s pioneers and legacy makers
The Materials
To create this world, I mixed tactile and digital materials to engage all senses. The caged steel wire stands out. It symbolises and supports embedded digital screens. This sturdy metal structure symbolises the segregation and control the Freedom Charter fought against. It builds tension as the bright, moving graphics on the screens inside break free from their confinement.
Visitors are guided by bold vinyl graphics on the floor and walls. Rather than just arrows and signs, these are vibrant pathways of colour and pattern that pull you through the narrative and give the space energy and movement.
The intro panel is painted on large wood panels. Wood’s solid warmth makes it ideal for the exhibition’s timeline and introduction. The panels feel like art because the paint portrays rebellion and celebration in urgent oranges and optimistic pinks. Finally, printable foam board for archives captions and other assets.
Reflection
This exhibition was more than a university project; it was a masterclass in navigating the tension between heavy history and hopeful futures. The biggest challenge, and the most rewarding part, was finding that perfect balance where bold, engaging design could honour a difficult past without diluting its power. How do you tell a story of struggle with a spirit of celebration? How do you invite a young audience in, not as passive observers, but as active participants?
My answer was to design an experience that sparked curiosity and conversation. This project crystallised my belief that graphic design is a powerful form of activism. It’s a tool that can build bridges to the past, generate empathy for the present, and inspire action for the future.
Watching the digital display fill with “Freedom Charter 2025” submissions would be the ultimate reward. It’s in that moment – where a student connects a 70-year-old clause to their own vision for a better world – that history becomes a living thing. It’s a powerful reminder that while many of us are fortunate to have democratic rights, the global fight for true equality is far from over. We are all active storytellers in this ongoing narrative.
Ultimately, this project was an incredible lesson in blending historical accuracy with creative empathy. It showed me how to build an experience that doesn’t just present facts but fosters a feeling. And in the end, that’s the goal: to help inspire a generation of future leaders who understand the weight of our history, recognise the injustices of our present, and feel empowered to continue the fight for freedom and human dignity for all.
