Christie's — A German Collection

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 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