The Designer’s Role in Museums that Act as Agents of Change

This peer-reviewed paper, given at the conference 'The Future of Museum and Galley Design', reviewed the findings of ‘The Future of the Museum 2040’, a knowledge exchange project undertaken in 2013 by Central Saint Martins (CSM) and Arup Foresight and Innovation, and examined one particular trend: the expanding role of museums as agents of change in the social fabric of their cities.

The paper addressed questions that arise about the contribution of design in this context and the growing scope of narrative environments that result from proactive outward-facing museum initiatives. Specific examples of design practice were drawn from recent collaborations between CSM and the Francis Crick Institute, the Wellcome Collection and Origin Housing in London. The paper demonstrated how designers are playing, firstly, a strategic role in researching and providing creative direction for public engagement strategies; secondly, how the process of translation in design, that is the visual and material manifestation of verbal ideas, is crucial to successful co-curation workshops; and thirdly, how designers conceive of flexible and adaptable formats to show and disseminate user-generated content. These case studies also demonstrate how the design of narrative environments can be applied beyond the walls of the museum in different urban contexts, and how design here is underpinned by a conscious political and ethical stance. The paper envisaged the design of narrative environments for museums and galleries of the future as content driven, user-focused, socially responsive, creative practice.