Callin Mackintosh’s godly identity for Ancient Deities references ancient alphabets and symbolism

Located in Edinburgh’s historic New Town, Arusha is a contemporary art gallery that, since opening in 2013, has run an annual programme of exhibitions, events and fairs on both a national and international scale.

Their ‘Ancient Deities’ show, which runs at the gallery and online via a curated viewing room between 10th September and 18th October 2020, “seeks to reawaken a host of awe-inspiring and mystical entities” through the work of 18 selected artists. Curated in close collaboration with British artist Rhiannon Rebecca Salisbury, Ancient Deities explores what happens when a melting pot of artistic responses are combined in our unpredictable world, resulting in a reimagined, reawakened and reconceptualised past, present and future.

London-based Scottish designer Callin Mackintosh developed the exhibition’s identity and invitation, working closely with the gallery on the concept. As a result of the subject matter, his work found inspiration in ancient alphabets and deity symbolism, using them as visual references for straightforward yet engaging geometric forms. The resulting linework is elegantly matched in weight with The Foundry Type’s Architype Bill as the display typeface, which Mackintosh explains he selected as it “feels both primitive and alien much like the gods themselves.” As an easter egg within the identity, the typeface’s ‘T’ characters are subtly replaced by crucifixes, both upright and inverted, as a reference to “the good and evil of mythological beings.”

The primary application of the identity is a folded concertina invitation, which through the intelligent arrangement of content, operates as both a poster and a functional document containing details of the exhibition. The striking red Pantone it’s printed in “came from a mix of a few things,” Mackintosh reveals, such as “the wall paintings” themselves and “ancient woodblock prints depicting gods.”

Callin Mackintosh