TechnoCool
Visual identity, catalogue design and exhibition graphics for TechnoCool at the Hungarian National Gallery, exploring new directions in Hungarian art from 1989–2001. The two-volume, 308-page publication and the full spatial identity reinterpret the aesthetics of early digital culture and 1990s techno optimism for a contemporary audience.
This project was awarded the Hungarian Book Design Award (2024).
Background
TechnoCool is a landmark exhibition presenting how a young generation of Hungarian artists experienced the early 1990s: the opening of borders, digitalisation, techno culture, and the sudden arrival of global visual influences. Electronic music, DJ culture and early computer graphics reshaped the visual language of the decade, which appears both in the artworks and in the cultural memory of the era.
The design challenge was to reconcile the classical expectations of the Hungarian National Gallery with a fresh, contemporary attitude that speaks to today’s Y and Z audiences. The material is dense and historically complex; the visual identity needed to bring energy, curiosity and accessibility into a topic often perceived as dry, especially in a digital- and AI-dominated cultural environment.
I worked as strategic designer, responsible for the visual concept, the full exhibition graphics, and both the Hungarian and English catalogue designs.
Outcome
The identity draws from the early vocabulary of digital culture: pixel-like modular forms, high-contrast colour blocks, the typographic attitude of pre-millennium tech aesthetics, and a tall-x-height serif referencing early desktop-publishing design. These elements evoke the optimism of the 1990s without falling into nostalgic pastiche.
The catalogue — printed on Pergraphica Natural Smooth with a holographic foil hard cover (240 × 275 mm, 308 pages) — functions as both archival documentation and an autonomous design object. Spatially, the exhibition graphics use the same visual logic: bold yellow panels, digital-like cutout forms, layered typographic compositions, and a rhythm that mirrors the pulse of early techno culture.
The result is a cohesive, recognisable identity that revitalised the museum environment, introduced a new visual tone within the National Gallery, and connected the 1990s to contemporary visual culture. The project stands as a fresh institutional presence and a long-term reference point for reinterpreting post-socialist digital heritage.
Credits
Client:
Museum of Fine Arts – Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest
Curators:
Katalin Harangozó, Sára Major, Zsolt Petrányi, Linda Alexandra Tarr
Exhibition Managers:
Ágnes Pablényi, Petra Pataki
Copy Editors:
Judit Borus, Lilla Lipusz
Editorial Coordinator:
Petra Pataki
Print production:
EPC, Budaörs