Over 150 years of design heritage and transformation on display as London Fire Brigade launches London Design Festival exhibition
As part of the 20th anniversary of the London Design Festival, London Fire Brigade is running a five-day exhibition for people to experience the heritage and evolution of their design history called ‘The Running Towards’.The unique exhibition launches at Shoreditch Fire Station on Tuesday 20 September for five days between 12pm and 6pm. The Brigade has worked with KesselsKramer, Thomas Sharp, Studio SutherI& and a host of creative individuals, studios and agencies. They have all been inspired by LFB’s design heritage and firefighting history to create poster designs celebrating LFB’s new typeface and alongside new interpretations of the iconic ‘Danger: Risk of Fire’ symbol. The new typeface, Fire Brigade sans, was designed by The Foundry Types with Studio Sutherl&, and includes a brand-new headline drop shadow font inspired by the lettering on vintage fire engines. The new typeface will be used across the Brigade. The exhibit will also include a curated collection of firefighting objects and ephemera from Shoreditch Fire Station’s unique collection and a woven wool carpet designed by Brintons who have created an exclusive design for London Fire Brigade inspired by the universal fire exit symbol. The Brigade aims to show how wool is a naturally fire-retardant material and inform people on how wool products pose less of a fire risk than other man-made fibres because of its higher water and nitrogen content.
The Running Towards Exhibition Dates:
Tuesday 20 September 6-8pm to coincide with Shoreditch Design Triangle late night opening.
Wednesday 21 – Saturday 24 September 12-6pm.
On the final day, Saturday 24 September, the exhibition will close with a special open day featuring a vintage and contemporary fire engine display at Shoreditch Fire Station, charting the physical history of London Fire Brigade’s vehicle and uniform design.
Shoreditch Fire Station 235 Old Street London EC1V 9EY
The poster designs are available for purchase on the Brigade’s brand-new online shop, alongside a range of products with personalised gift options ranging from high-quality t-shirts to homewares. Purchases will help to support the Brigade’s important education, outreach, mental health and wellbeing programmes and provide the opportunity to open a museum in the future.
London Fire Brigade’s Head of Brand and Events, Saskia Boersma, said: “We’re really excited to welcome people to our exhibit at Shoreditch Fire Station to showcase the Brigade’s rich and changing design history. The Brigade has played an important part in London life for well over 150 years and this exhibit will show our design transformation over time, which continues today.”