Presenting Design: a reflection on the Museography of Industrial Objects

This thesis investigates exhibition strategies and display criteria in design museums. Design collections require a different approach and attention from contemporary art and other museum artifacts. This is why the emergence of a museography specifically dedicated to design is fundamental. What are the processes and negotiations involved in constructing a contemporary arrangement of an industrial design collection? How does the content and style of a specific installation inform public understanding? And how might a renewed approach to the display of design provide for a fuller experience of these objects? Outlining the limits of traditional approaches to the exhibition of industrial products, this thesis proposes that design museums could look to other models for exhibiting design, those found in architecture exhibitions, science centers, and company museums. The intent of the project is to allow a development of a critical appreciation of the issues pertaining to the presentation of industrial objects.