Client, Year

Harley-Davidson Museum, 2017

Services

Identity Development
Exhibition
Interpretive Graphics

Photography

The Race of Gentlemen

An automotive carnival for the ages

At the intersection of speed and style, you’ll find The Race of Gentlemen, a can’t-miss summer carnival where restored American hot rods and motorcycles blast down the sandy beaches of the Jersey Shore. In 2017, the Harley-Davidson Museum partnered with Ashton to create an exhibit celebrating the vehicles, artistry, and personalities that make up the race, affectionately known as TROG.

The exhibit’s logo was based on hand-lettering from 1920s Harley-Davidson advertisements found in the museum’s archive.

To capture the seaside spirit of the race, we brought the beach into the gallery. Vehicles rested on sheets of weathered wood, beach fences covered the perimeter walls, and the interior space was punctuated with large plywood structures covered in hand-painted graphics. Large beach scenes applied to the gallery’s windows completed the transformation. 

“I felt like I was there, walking into the pits and hanging with the racers…The only thing missing was the spray of the ocean and the smell of gasoline…” 

 Harley-Davidson Museum Visitor

At the heart of the exhibit is the machines, which steal the show. Many have an incredible origin story to match their in-person appeal. Such legendary tales called for oversized labels, which provide space for the museum to properly share the stories of the autos, their makers, and those who race them.

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