Contemporary Art Archives homepage versions © Sabin Bors
Contemporary Art Archives homepage versions © Sabin Bors

Contemporary Art Archives

Contemporary Art Archives

Contemporary Art Archives is a part-editorial, part-search system documenting contemporary artists, projects, publications, curators, galleries, institutions, and collections worldwide. Designed as an open-source instrument that transforms categorical organization and creates dynamic content relations, it enables users to unlock associative thinking patterns.

Contemporary Art Archives is a part-editorial, part-search system documenting contemporary artists, projects, publications, curators, galleries, institutions, and collections worldwide. Designed as an open-source instrument that transforms categorical organization and creates dynamic content relations, it enables users to unlock associative thinking patterns.

Status

Status

In Progress

In Progress

Year/Launch

Year/Launch

2020-2024/2025

2020-2024/2025

Contribution

Contribution

Brand, Platform, and Web Design

Brand, Platform, and Web Design

Contemporary Art Archives menu animation © Sabin Bors
Contemporary Art Archives menu animation © Sabin Bors
Contemporary Art Archives menu animation © Sabin Bors
Contemporary Art Archives visual identity © Sabin Bors
Contemporary Art Archives visual identity © Sabin Bors
Contemporary Art Archives visual identity © Sabin Bors

Contemporary Art Archives is a critical instrument for rethinking unstable temporal and categorical orderings of information. The archives are not a content repository but a complex search system that enables access to relational content and modes of inquiry.

Contemporary Art Archives is a critical instrument for rethinking unstable temporal and categorical orderings of information. The archives are not a content repository but a complex search system that enables access to relational content and modes of inquiry.

The visual identity evokes simplicity in complex organization, modularity, interoperability, and relational logic while also suggesting a sense of unpredictability. The design of both the editorial section and the search system interface is unobtrusive and functions as a genotype—an instrumental online object whose specific qualities and structural elements are abstracted so as to enable different types of questioning, inquiry, and association.

Contemporary Art Archives visual identity construction © Sabin Bors
Contemporary Art Archives visual identity construction © Sabin Bors
Contemporary Art Archives visual identity construction © Sabin Bors
Contemporary Art Archives tablet view © Sabin Bors
Contemporary Art Archives tablet view © Sabin Bors
Contemporary Art Archives tablet view © Sabin Bors
Contemporary Art Archives article layout © Sabin Bors
Contemporary Art Archives article layout © Sabin Bors
Contemporary Art Archives article layout © Sabin Bors

Contemporary Art Archives builds on the idea that search engines are not a map of what people think as much as a map of how they think.

Contemporary Art Archives builds on the idea that search engines are not a map of what people think as much as a map of how they think.

Contemporary Art Archives homepage versions © Sabin Bors
Contemporary Art Archives homepage versions © Sabin Bors
Contemporary Art Archives homepage versions © Sabin Bors

The visual identity and editorial section are typeset in a geometric sans serif inspired by the Milanese typographic heritage and the Futurist movement that developed it. It features slightly taller ascendants and descendants compared to similar typefaces, elevating its elegance and character.

The visual identity and editorial section are typeset in a geometric sans serif inspired by the Milanese typographic heritage and the Futurist movement that developed it. It features slightly taller ascendants and descendants compared to similar typefaces, elevating its elegance and character.

Contemporary Art Archives subway poster simulations © Sabin Bors
Contemporary Art Archives subway poster simulations © Sabin Bors
Contemporary Art Archives subway poster simulations © Sabin Bors
 Contemporary Art Archives abstract simulation © Sabin Bors
 Contemporary Art Archives abstract simulation © Sabin Bors
 Contemporary Art Archives abstract simulation © Sabin Bors

The operative search system interface combines rigor, simplicity, clarity, and cutting-edge contemporary design, enabling an easy-to-use experience that focuses on user inquiries. The interface design embodies qualities such as technical precision, intelligence, and neutrality.

The operative search system interface combines rigor, simplicity, clarity, and cutting-edge contemporary design, enabling an easy-to-use experience that focuses on user inquiries. The interface design embodies qualities such as technical precision, intelligence, and neutrality.