THE MIG-21 PROJECT
The Museum of Flight, 2025
Scope | Digital and Print Ad Campaign, Merchandise Design, Curriculum Development
The MiG-21 Project, is South African artist Ralph Ziman’s 5-year, multidisciplinary project transforming a decommissioned Cold War-era, Soviet-designed MiG-21 fighter jet into a stunning work of art entirely covered in tens of millions of colorful glass beads. The temporary exhibit at The Museum of Flight addressed the impact of the arms trade on global conflicts blending history, social responsibility, cultural appreciation and the healing power of art.
The campaign created for the exhibit reflects the vibrant and colorful African beadwork while letting the pieces themselves shine. Assets were created using the beautiful photography created for the exhibit by Ziman and his team, as well as a series of pattern graphics I designed to complement the artwork.
As the majority of the store’s products cater to our typical aviation and space obsessed audience, I designed a line of merchandise with the art-enthusiast visitor in mind who may be introduced to the Museum for the first time through this exhibit.
Advertising for the exhibit included large transit applications and smaller print and digital ads. Across all of these assets I aimed to convey both the massive scale of the project while showing off the intricate beadwork at a close-up view.
As part of exhibit, Ziman and his team designed helmets and regalia with an Afrofuturistic style to accompany the beaded MiG-21. The coloring sheets I created for the exhibit highlighted this costume component of the exhibit and contributed to the exhibit’s goal of letting visitors create and explore with color.
I also created an interactive community activity in partnership with the Museum’s Public Programs team to create more engagement at the opening and closing day festivities.