Designing for the Future
Designing for the Future
December 19, 2019 by Taylor Studios
A new exhibit is a major investment. Whether your site is a park, nature
center, history museum, or other interpretive site, you want it to last, not
just a few years, but often a decade or more. A big part of creating a long-lasting
exhibit is the physical. You need signs that stay vibrant, counters and cases
that won’t get scratched and scuffed, and reinforced levers and flip doors that
won’t break. As TSI creative director Jason Cox says: “If it’s not durable,
it’s not going to last.”
But, another key part of a long-lasting exhibit is keeping it relevant over time. Following trends in your visual design choices and making too many topical references in the text can make an exhibit feel dated very quickly.
Keep Design Choices Classic
This stylish living room displays an abundance of recent trends, from the chunky-knit, millennial pink blanket, to the metallic gold coffee table, to the contrast between smooth, white walls and a leafy, green tropical plant.
Store window installations and trade show displays are ephemeral. They can take advantage of current design trends to catch a visitor’s eye. Of-the-moment combinations like pairing millennial pink with chartreuse green can be fun and exciting for a little while. This doesn’t work as well for permanent museum exhibits. Jason recommends that museums stay true to basic design principles, such as legibility and balance. Use shape and color to help the visitor focus on what you want them to be focused on. And if you are going to do something a little trendier, make sure you have plenty of classic elements to back it up.
Stick to Your Message
Will your content be relevant to visitors in ten years or will the
references in your text date the exhibit? At a design workshop with the Minnetrista
Cultural Foundation, we discussed the topical references they were thinking
about including in their exhibit about Bob Ross, the 1980s PBS landscape
painter. Currently, you can watch Bob Ross’s show, The Joy of Painting,
on Twitch and Netflix, and exposure on both of these streaming platforms
contributes to his popularity among kids and young adults. However, is that
something we should be talking about in the exhibit? Will Netflix still exist
ten years from now?
The team at Minnetrista decided mentioning specific events that are rooted in time, such as the 2014 Bob Ross marathon on Twitch, would work, but the exhibit would avoid any phrasing that suggested Bob Ross’s current presence on an online platform or streaming service. Instead, the exhibit would focus on the idea that the company that currently represents Bob Ross, Bob Ross, Inc., is always saying yes to new ideas and new partnerships. This is how The Joy of Painting ended up on Twitch and Netflix and is an idea that will continue to be relevant far beyond the exhibit opening.
The Joy of Painting on Twitch. Will this still be relevant in ten years?
Let the Visitors Create Their own Relevance
Similarly, at the Fort Bend Museum, which tells the story of Fort Bend
County from 1820 to the present day, part of the discussion centered on how to
make sure that the “present day” section of the museum remains current, instead
of getting stuck in 2020. Museum staff decided that incorporating the visitor
and their perspectives was the best way to keep the exhibit relevant.
Two large acrylic panels at the end of the exhibit ask the questions:
“How will Fort Bend be different in 20 years?” and “How will Fort Bend be the
same in 20 years?” Post-it notes and writing utensils give visitors the chance
to share their input. Additionally, as the exhibit moves through time, a life-size,
two-dimensional cutout of an important figure is placed in each of the time periods
the exhibit covers. The last cutout is a mirror, showing the current visitor as
an important figure within the present day time period.
Skilled
fabrication and durable hardware are key to creating a long-lasting exhibit,
but physical durability isn’t everything. Creating a long-lasting exhibit
depends on more than skilled fabrication and durable hardware. It also requires
future-proofing your design choices so that visitors ten or even twenty years
in the future don’t feel like your exhibit is a snapshot of the past. Going
back to basic design principles, rather than following design trends, will keep
your look timeless. Placing your main message front and center and allowing
room for a changing, visitor-driven element will keep your exhibit interesting
and relevant for future visitors.