Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure©
2022

Exhibition Identity
Book Design

The title King Pleasure draws from multiple layers of Basquiat’s world: a jazz vocalist whose music filled his childhood home, a painting he completed in 1987, and a nickname lovingly given by his family.

Debuting in April 2022 at the Starrett-Lehigh Building in New York, this first-ever retrospective curated by the estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat presents over 200 paintings, drawings, and personal artifacts—including recreations of his Brooklyn home and Great Jones Street studio. The exhibition was designed by Adjaye Associates.

I served as lead graphic designer on Abbott Miller’s team at Pentagram, contributing to the exhibition’s visual identity, which channels the bold, expressive energy of Basquiat’s work.

The identity utilizes a vibrant palette inspired by the bright, saturated colors found in his paintings. Typography combines the emphatic sans serif Lektorat (by TypeTogether) for display with Typewriter (by A2) for body text—echoing the immediacy and texture of his visual language. My work included exhibition graphics, the accompanying catalogue, and the application of the identity across promotional materials and merchandise.

Read more at Pentagram

Client
Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat

Project Team at Pentagram
Abbott Miller, partner
Yoon-Young Chai, associate
Michelle Brown, project manager

Collaborators
Adjaye Associates, exhibition design
Ivane Katamashvili, exhibition photography
James Shanks, product photography

Yoon-Young Chai

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