Families Living in Temporary Accommodation
Art direction of the exhibition by Anthony Luvera at the House of Commons (London).
2024
Client: Anthony Luvera Photographer/APPG
Category: Art Direction, Visual Identity
Sector: Arts/Politics
Product: Exhibition Design, Infographics, Captions
When a family is experiencing homelessness, it becomes the duty of a local authority to move them into temporary accommodation. The reasons families face homelessness are numerous - they could be fleeing domestic violence, facing eviction, or struggling to meet the cost of increasing rent. There are 109,000 households in temporary accommodation in England, including 142,490 children. In comparison, 3,900 people are experiencing street homelessness (data from September 2023).
This photography exhibition was commissioned by the Households in Temporary Accommodation APPG and presents the work of artist Anthony Luvera. Since 2022, Luvera has been embedded within the team of Focused Care practitioners for homeless families at Shared Health Foundation, working with families living in temporary accommodation across Greater Manchester to represent their experiences through photography and audio recordings. Shown here is a selection of portraits of the families and excerpts from conversations recorded with participants – a window into an often-hidden world.
My design approach was centred on creating a sensitive and accessible visual identity that supported the families’ stories without overshadowing them.
In designing the exhibition, it was important that the design felt human, respectful and emotionally engaging rather than institutional or overly graphic.
I developed a visual system that balanced clarity with warmth, allowing the portraits and participants’ voices to remain at the centre of the exhibition. The typography, layout and use of space were designed to create a clear narrative rhythm, guiding visitors through individual experiences while encouraging them to reflect on the wider social issue of housing insecurity.
The visual language draws attention to ideas of home, instability and transition without relying on literal representations of homelessness.
Instead, I developed a human-centred infographic system to make complex data about temporary accommodation clear, engaging and accessible. Bold statistics, charts and modular information panels communicate the scale of the issue, while simplified human icons and family silhouettes bring attention back to the individuals behind the numbers.
The visual language balances data-driven clarity with empathy, using colour, typography and pictograms to create a coherent narrative around housing insecurity, family life and temporary living.
Images and Videos © Anthony Luvera / Households in Temporary Accommodation APPG