Christie's
A German Collection
A catalogue designed for Christie's to accompany the sale of a private German collection — an editorial design system that carries the works with the gravity and clarity expected of a major single-owner sale.
Challenge
Single-owner collection sales at Christie's are expected to do two jobs at once: serve as a working reference for bidders and act as a lasting record of a collection being dispersed. The design needed to treat the works with the seriousness they warranted, without the design itself competing for attention — and to hold together across pieces that varied considerably in medium, scale and period.
Solution
I developed a layout system built on a disciplined grid and a single typographic voice, with pacing calibrated to let the works sit one at a time where it mattered and in dialogue where it helped the reading. Neutral stock, careful margin choices and a tight colour discipline kept the focus squarely on the collection. The system was designed to scale — so works of very different character could be given equivalent weight without feeling templated.
Results
A catalogue that reads as a coherent whole while honouring each piece within the collection — meeting the expectations of Christie's buyers and standing as a considered record of the sale.
Gallery
— Next Project
← Back to all work
Bell Phillips
→