Exhibition Design is primarily concerned with how to communicate an object led narrative to an audience in an engaging manner. Interpretive strategies using spatial planning, furniture, lighting, images, typography, activities, audio, film and interactive media help to embellish the story. Content is relayed through multiple levels (intellectually as well as participatory) and applied to a variety of environments from museums to trade show exhibits. Teamwork is crucial in the exhibition design process and includes curators, writers, educators and technical specialists. An exhibition designer requires a basic understanding of these areas in order to facilitate successful and appropriate design solutions.

Designing an exhibition is like telling a story in three-dimensions. This course focuses on the theoretical planning and design of an exhibition space, and the process will follow a professional design studio model through four specific phases: (1) developing an exhibition narrative (what is the story?), (2) spatial planning and object placement (how will you tell the story?), (3) exhibition staging and object interpretation (what will the story look like?), (4) information delivery and graphic identity (how will you communicate the story?).