Its Nice That X Dropbox Inspiration Archive - Beijing Silvermine
Branded Campaign · Visual Identity · Strategy · Art Direction · Curation
In partnership with It’s Nice That and Dropbox, The Inspiration Archive was reimagined to engage a wider audience following a low-performing first release. This iteration focused on Beijing Silvermine, a vast archive of anonymous negatives taken in China between 1985 and 2005, aiming to make the collection feel intimate and globally relatable.
Approach
Working with collector Thomas Sauvin, I curated over 350 photographs into thematic sets that echoed family photo albums. A bilingual typographic system using Dahlia, Hanol and Noto was developed to bring together Chinese and Western design elements. The layout was intentionally minimal, allowing the emotional weight of the images to take focus. A key component was the collaboration with artist Melissa Kitty Jarram, who created a personal response piece that blended her own memories with those found in the archive.
Outcome
Hosted on Dropbox, the archive became accessible worldwide. Engagement rose by 66.2%, reaching 2.8 million impressions. Editorial features added depth, turning the archive into a reflective digital space centred on memory, identity and cultural preservation.
Team
Karl Toomey
Olivia Hicks
Thomas Sauvin
Melissa Kitty Jaram
CreditsIts Nice That
Dropbox