On Friday, October 2 our senior class went to the Muskegon Museum of Art to visit their “Good Design” exhibit which had been designed by Barb Loveland.

Setting the Criteria
The client is the Muskegon Museum of Art. Because of this, the overall design direction was decided by the museum curator, Tim Chester.

For 3 years, the exhibit will be traveling around the United States. Because of this, the exhibit needed to be modular and able to travel. To solve this problem, the exhibit was split up into sections by the different case studies. Each section is able to work on its own or with any other section, this allows smaller venues to be able to fit the exhibit to the amount of space they have. Also, the exhibit was made using panels that are light weight and hardy to allow for easy travel and set up.

Behind the Design
The overall exhibit has an industrial feel which was created with the help of Judith Hillman of Hillman and Associates and Vincent Faust of Atreus Works. The feeling is reenforced with frames made of galvanized plumbing pipe and pipe fixtures.

The Good Design exhibit was based on the book “Herman Miller By Design” which was written by John Berry. It focuses on 4 case studies:

Ergonomics (Seating)
This section showcased the most current products from Herman Miller.
An interactive part of this exhibit included a chair that was fully adjustable for any person. Everyone was allowed to try the chair for themselves.

White Collar Work (Action Office)
This section showed an actual office.
A my favorite parts of this section was the standing desk that allowed you to stand and work on projects without being bent over.
There was a typewriter there with notes in actual shorthand which I found interesting as well.

Graphic Communications
This section showcased the graphic arts at Herman Miller. Here the designers were asked to write something they remembered from their time at Herman Miller.

Mid-Century Classics
This section presented many of the classic Herman Miller pieces done by the likes of Charles and Ray Eames.

Each section of the exhibit contained a variety of prototypes, sketches, images, videos, and finished works. Most of these were open to flip through adding even more interest to the exhibit.

The overall graphic look was created by Barb Loveland. This included, typeface choices, image treatment, and grid layout.

Type
The typeface used were Futura and Sevant, Sevant for copy and Futura, all caps, for the headlines.

Image
A lot of the images weren’t high resolution but large images were desired for the design. To accommodate for this, the images were used as a background and many of them were printed on translucent panels to add noise.

Grid
A 12 column was used throughout the exhibit. There were few elements that didn’t fit to the grid.
Also, the only angle was 15º.
The original design started with a peg board idea, this got carried over into dot designs which are used to cover panels that don’t have information.

Wise Words From the Designer
“DON’T show a client something you don’t want them to pick, that will be the one they pick” Barbara Loveland

On working with a team:
Be flexible
Adjust
Work with people

Before going freelance or starting your own business:
Work in a variety of places
Get experience with different teams
Experience different work environments

More about the Exhibit
Muskegon Museum of Art
Herman Miller: Discovering Good Design