Taxonomic Collective

Client

Year

2024

Role

Art Director, Visual Designer, UI/UX

Concept, art direction, Nomic, identity system, UI/UX, microcopy and developer handoff.

Brief

A brand identity for a cultural archive born at the margins: not a museum, a living trace.

01Manifesto

Taxonomic rejects the institutional-archive stance: it keeps alive what is about to disappear. Horizontal, spontaneous, necessary.

A living archive for fragile fragments.

02Origin

The fixation with heraldic shields was there, but no proud animal felt right. Then the idea: the rat, low, urban, resilient. The noble crest, flipped.

A flipped heraldic shield with a rat in place of the traditional proud animal — Where Nomic comes from

Videogame-style character-creation sheet featuring Nomic — Nomic introduced as a character-creation sheet: class Archivist, gift Lost Fragment, physique Enduring. An identity with multiple builds, closer to a playable character than to a logo.

04Builds

Nomic switches builds like a game character: he guides when the door is closed, signals when the road is dark, protects what matters.

Overview of Nomic's three builds — keys, lantern, keeper's emblem — Nomic's builds

Chiavi di Taxo — the door is closed, Nomic leads the way: homepage, QR codes, archives, sealed zines, merch.

Whispering lantern — the road is dark, Nomic hints where to look: socials, newsletter, CTAs, booklets.

Keeper's emblem featuring Nomic — Keeper's emblem — it protects what matters: zine backs, manifesto, ethics, footer.

06Identity system

Three typographic voices, one cream/ink palette, two accents. Each voice has its own register: from zines to watermarks.

Taxo lettering with Nomic — Lettering — the dirtiest voice: zines, covers, headers, editorials, stickers.

Taxonomic Collective logotype — Logotype — the steady voice: site, socials, watermarks, stamps.

Logotype with Nomic — Nomic logotype — the institutional voice, wary by design: closings, manifestos, protected access.

07Platform

Home, Archive, Artists: a flat structure for an archive that wants no hierarchies.

Information architecture

Three main entries, plus search and shop: no sub-menus, no museum effect.

UX writing

The voice stays rough and direct even in empty states, CTAs and microcopy: “nothing left below… try digging later”.

Handoff

The system was handed off as the visual and functional base for the site build.

Hero screen of the live Taxonomic Collective homepage, with the lettering over a duotone collage — Live homepage — the lettering over the duotone collage

Section of the live homepage with Taxonomic Collective's manifesto text — The manifesto becomes copy

08Motion

Sliders, hovers and palette-matched skeletons: even the loading states stay in tone.

Walkthrough

09Archive / Artists

Live shots in duotone, the same visual weight for everyone: the manifesto's horizontality becomes a grid.

Archive grid in desktop view, live shots in duotone — Archive desktop

Archive grid in mobile view — Archive mobile

Detail of the Taxonomic Collective site's mobile interface — Mobile UI

Animated render of a navigable 3D room representing the archive — The 3D room: the archive as a space to explore.

Prototype artist page with live video, artwork and bio card — Artist page — live video, artwork and bio card. Visible names are prototype placeholders.