Exhibition Design 1

EXHIBITION DESIGN

(By Student’s Name)

Course

Instructor

Institution

City, State

Date
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EXHIBITION DESIGN

Introduction

Exhibition design is defined as a form of creative expression that entailscreating experiences in

real-time, movement, utilising space, and memory to facilitate multilayered communication.It is

focused on the content of the works to be displayed and concerns the ordering of these works

as a sequence, to be understood in relation to each other and dialogue with the conditions of

the viewing environment (David 2006, p.6). Exhibition design considers the simple dialogue

between the object(s) to be exhibited and the space in which they are presented. Its primary

goal is to shape the experience.

At the heart of any exhibition is the notion of communication and the focus of the designer is to

articulate the intended messages. However, this had not decreased the interest in the physical

and live experience of an exhibition and eventually a new visitor profile was introduced,

defined as the kinaesthetic learner (Hughes 2010, p.378). For instance, in a museum setup, the

biggest challenge facing museums at the present time is the re-negotiation of the relationship

between the museums and their visitors. The main objective or function of a museum,

especially as a natural history museum, is discussed in education term. The educational role

depends on the collections held by the museum and the experience offered to the visitors. It

assumed that the teaching offered by the curators and the experience received by the visitors

take place in an informal institute. The exhibit and the object are treated as the alternative

books.
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Alexander McQueen’s Spring/Summer, 2001 VOSS show, is an example of a great design that

illustrates the contextual setup between the content displayed and the environment. The

audience sat around a mirrored cube. When the cube was lit from inside revealed itself to be a

mental hospital holding cell. McQueen chose to base VOSS on a critique of normative

conceptions of beauty. The audience at first didn’t know what the show was all about but with

time, the show revealed itself through the flow of events and the models. The illumination of

the cube gave the effect of focusing only on the events happening within it and at some point,

all other lights were switched off and the cube was solely lit. McQueen accomplished her

creations in a way that looked beautiful. They looked preciously delicate and powerful thanks to

the inclusion of a few metal harnesses worn against the skin under tailored long jackets and a

pair of fishnet woven sheer dresses that followed every curve on the model’s body.

She was able to accomplish this by combining the visual with the psychological. His

performance showed the mental effect of this type of beauty on the female subject using

hysteria.The fashion models performed the role of the female subject as well as a subject

suffering from psychosis.Throughout the show, models are aimlessly walking, staring at their

reflections. The attire dressed by the models emphasized on beauty and psychological

unfitness.

In Chanel Spring 2015 Ready-to-wear (Chanel Protest), the scene was a re-created street. The

concept behind the show was the manifestations. The models took to the site in protest, toting

feminist placards and chanting slogans. The audience was on the sides of the street. In light of

the events in Hong Kong, there were some in the audience who blanched out at what they saw

as political passion. The idea was to prevent blockades and riots and to widen streets.
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The first twenty-five looks walked the 130 meter long catwalk together, a blur of designer

creations, a flash of salt and pepper outfits, some of paint speckeled skirts, and a lot of bright

shades of pink, orange, red , and purple were blended together in an abstract water color print

on everything from skirts to shirts and flat boots.

The setting was designed to enhance the show’s protest experience, especially when combined

with the ready-to-wear collection. The placards they carried and the slogans they chanted

communicated well to the audience. This was a collection sending a message on female

empowerment, and the incredible strength and influence women wield when they work

together.

Most of the messages conveyed were female-centric. Hence, the models being feminine also

played a part in delivering the message. However, part of the publicviewed it as a political

show. The models dressed in an attire that focussed on the message delivered through the

protest through the placards. It is reportedly that some of the models seemed to view the

event as a joke and some of the audience felt it to be a joke out of this. Even though some

claimed the show was made for social media, designer Karl Lagerfeld had already proven his

point.

Kenzo Spring/Summer 2014 show was intended to bring attention to the crisis the world’s

oceans and fish were facing. The models wore outfits labelled “No fish, no nothing.”. The

directors used water as the theme for the entire show, which included installation of an

artificial waterfall at the scene. The artificial waterfall signified the water crisis being faced by

the world at the time as well as the fish crisis faced out of the water contamination and effect

of the global warming. The scene also included interconnected electric sound speakers what
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contained water on their surface. The interconnected speakers played some music that

emphasized on the protest. The speakers were lined on the center line of that walk-way. The

models walked on the sidelines of the speaker arrangement. The speakers also were filled with

some water that would vibrate on the music play. It enhanced the message delivery to the

audience and promoted the experience expected. The models would walk across the hallway

under the artificial waterfall. The concept behind this was to protest against the then oceans

and fish crisis.

Out of these show, Kenzo received positive feedback from the public. They created marine

reserves in partnership with Blue Marine Foundation intended to assist the crisis that the world

was facing. The positive message communicated from the show led to this partnerships. Hence,

the expected results and reactions from the audience, society and the community at large were

achieved. The world positively echoed back the message communicated and reacted it as well.

In conclusion, exhibition design is a creative expression that relies on how the experience is

enhanced as seen in Alexander McQueen’s Spring/Summer, 2001 VOSS show. However, it can

lead to undesired expectations. Chanel Spring 2015 Ready-to-wear show ended up being

perceived as a political show contrary to the directors’ expectations. Exhibition design is an

element that can be usedpositively to transform the society, environment and the global social

and economic aspects if used well.

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List of References
Hughes, P., 2015. Exhibition design.

Dernie, D., 2006. Exhibition design. Laurence king publishing.

Miles, R.S., 1986. Lessons in ‘Human Biology’: Testing a theory of exhibition

design. International Journal of Museum Management and Curatorship, 5(3), pp.227-240.

Back, M., Gold, R., Balsamo, A., Chow, M., Gorbet, M., Harrison, S., MacDonald, D. and

Minnerman, S., 2001. Designing innovative reading experiences for a museum

exhibition. Computer, 34(1), pp.80-87.

Quistgaard, N. and Kahr-Højland, A., 2010. New and innovative exhibition concepts at science

centres using communication technologies. Museum Management and Curatorship, 25(4),

pp.423-436.

Bolton, A., 2011. Alexander McQueen: savage beauty. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Frankel, S., 2001. Visionaries: interviews with fashion designers. V&A.

Jennings, H., 2015. A Brief History of African Fashion. Nka Journal of Contemporary African

Art, 2015(37), pp.44-53.