Comeback Season: Sports After 9/11, National September 11 Memorial & Museum

C&G Partners (with a team led by Daniel Rodriguez) was tasked with the exhibition design, graphic design, and sound & media production for Comeback Season: Sports After 9/11 at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City.

The emotions of sports crowds at various points after 9/11 is an effective way to frame the story arc, using design gestures to take visitors back to those key moments in stadiums and portray the changing emotions of a whole nation.

Working closely with the museum staff, the exhibition was divided into nine sections, with additional stations dedicated to stories of victims and their families. Each section includes dramatically large images, custom short documentaries, objects from the museum’s collection or on loan for the exhibit, and poignant quotes.

A varsity-inspired typeface commonly found in sports stadiums — in this case Octin Stencil — is used in the identity and exhibition materials. The letters appear to be stenciled, similar to those that appear on stadium turf and are reminiscent of “Do Not Cross” emergency warnings to reflect the seriousness of the time. Green is a focal color, alluding to grass in sports stadiums as well as being a sign of hope and regrowth.