Halifax Wrecked

Halifax Wrecked—The Story of the Halifax Explosion

Feb 19

As a freshman designer, there were many firsts to check of my list. First logo: check; first book design: check, and; first poster: many years later. While other designers were pining for album covers, I was interested in spaces. Specifically, I was keen to work on projects at the intersection of graphic and the built environment: signage and exhibition design, to be exact. Somehow—I cannot recall why—I was asked to be a part of the exhibition design team for the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic’s Halifax Wrecked—The Story of the Halifax Explosion. Mike Murray managed the project, with Ann Auckland as the exhibit designer, and I was the graphic designer.

Aside from my first exhibition—one of many as time went on—the project represented several firsts. It was the first time working with a fabrication team (in-house staff). Lesson learned, no matter how much someone tries to convince you otherwise if what you are delivered is NOT what you asked for, reject it: I hated the curved cuts on the panels. It was the first time hiring an expert: a fellow graduate and expert cartographer: I learned vast amounts about map making and print. It was the first time I had keys to such a vast building. I worked alone at night except for security staff. Well, not the only company. While James Augustus Farquhar was said to only inhabit the second floor—I worked on the third—this was my first of many ghost encounters: a story for another type of post. However, the most significant first was the connection with the community. At the opening, I met numerous survivors from the Halifax explosion: conversations, stories, and people I remember to this day. Thie project was the first time I created work about the Halifax explosion; the second time would come nearly three decades later.