A more modern look for the Council Chamber exhibition

When the Council Chamber was renovated, the old photographs displayed on the walls were taken down... they've now been replaced by new panels printed on Plexiglas. The theme of the exhibition is still the history of CERN, but it now features the very latest from graphic design. Fabienne Marcastel, who designed it, tells us more.

The presentation is simple and elegant. The content is based essentially on the accelerators and the aim of the graphic design is not to attract the public's attention to the panels but rather to provide a pleasant décor for the Chamber's users. "The old photographs stopped at the LEP. The new panels show the history of CERN but also what the Laboratory is like today. Visually, the plan is the starting point, the key to understanding how CERN has changed. It shows how CERN occupies the land it is built on," explains Fabienne Marcastel, the exhibition's graphic designer.

The four panels are mounted on Plexiglas, and their "presence" in the Chamber is very low key. "We wanted something light and not an exhibition that necessarily draws the eye," explains Marcastel. "There are no large headings to distract people's attention, and the texts, in English and French, are deliberately designed to be read from close up. Plexiglas has already been used in the Chamber to hide the wires and microphones. It gives a particular form to the space around the lecterns, which is reflected in the shape and material of the panels."

The first Council meetings in the completely renovated Chamber featuring the new exhibition have just taken place.

by CERN Bulletin