The permanent Ancient Middle East Gallery for The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford was designed by The Design Kollectiv with the graphics by studio HB. It explores some of the most important developments in human history. By 9000 BC village communities at places like Jericho were constructing their homes from some of the first mud bricks. While long distance trade between Mesopotamia, Iran and the Indus Valley (modern Pakistan) is revealed by finds from Kish, a truly international age emerged in the period 2000-1000 BC. 

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It was our clients preference to have each label next to the object so the case layouts became fully integrated with the graphic language. We commissioned @lyndonhayes to create the maps and settlement visuals-steering carefully away from the traditional way of visualising heritage reconstructions and Lyndon, as ever, colour led his drawings, adding energy with spontaneous brush marks and textures adding to the sense of movement and atmosphere.