AOoN
Exhibition and branding concept for AOON at Designforum, translating the dialogue between AI and creativity into an immersive, human-centered experience.
AOoN – AND, OR or NOT was an exhibition developed by Brand Unit at the Designforum in Vienna, exploring the interplay between artificial intelligence and creativity. The aim was to translate the current debate on AI and creativity into a spatial discourse—structured through clear storytelling and a visual language designed to invite engagement rather than provoke fear or aversion. The curatorial concept was developed as a “laboratory of possibilities”: instead of a linear display, visitors moved through thematic zones ranging from visual art and fashion to digital bodies and speculative design. Each zone demonstrated how tools, processes, and aesthetics shift when humans and machines collaborate.
The central premise was that AI is not an outcome but a tool—one that opens up and reveals possibilities. Artistic decisions, rather than algorithms, were placed at the forefront. The exhibition architecture, designed by Span Architects, translated this principle into spatial form: a clear, modular, expandable structure that created both openness and orientation. At its core stood the identity of AOON: a concise name, a tonal attitude oscillating between research-driven curiosity and sensuousness, and a narrative framework emphasizing collaboration and responsibility. Press materials, social media, and the accompanying program were orchestrated through this shared vocabulary—coherent at the core, flexible in expression.
The branding reflects the same experimental, process-oriented character as the exhibition. Central to the visual system is the interplay of different typefaces, typographic effects, and graphic elements reminiscent of laboratory markings and notations. Forms derived from the logotype evolved into animated dialogue symbols and abbreviations, which further developed into structures reminiscent of DNA—an explicit reference to the exhibition’s key visual: a digitally generated sculpture created by Oliver Kartak.
DNA served as the central metaphor for the interrelation of human and machine: two complementary strands, distinct yet intertwined.The branding creates a coherent visual structure that gives each contribution room to unfold within a flexible system, while simultaneously framing them as part of a curated, collective expression—a visual vocabulary that articulates the dialogue between human and machine.
