20 Steps of Exhibition Design

Quick, what are the phases of exhibition design?

Concept Design, Design Development, Final Design, Fabrication? Maybe Schematic Design between Concept and DD?

Sure, as a zoomed-out view. But when you zoom in, there are a lot more steps. A small project won’t need them all. A big one might.

Let’s list them all in one place and see how we do.

First, the pre-design steps:

1. Visioning: What could we do?
2. Master Planning: What should we do?
3. Project Definition: What are we making?
4. Interpretive Planning: What is it about?
5. Experience Planning: What should visitors experience?

Then design:

6. Concept Design: Establish the big idea.
7. Schematic Design: Give it shape.
8. Design Development: Itemize what gets built.
9. Final Design: Describe how to build it.

Then pre-production:

10. Bid/Procurement: Hire the fabricators and other producers.
11. Final Art: Finish the printed content.
12. Production Art: Prepare production files.
13. Shop Drawings: Translate design into fabrication.

Then production:

14. Production Oversight: Oversee fabrication and media production.
15. Installation Oversight: Watch it all go in.
16. Lighting/Adjustment: Tune and focus everything.
17. Commissioning: Test everything.
18. Punch List: Fix what isn’t right.
19. Closeout: Hand it over.
20. Post-Opening Evaluation: Assess what happened.

Here’s the thing:

The familiar four phases aren’t wrong as a zoomed-out view. But the real process is all the steps you see when you zoom in.

P.S. How’d we do? Did we get all the steps you know? Hit REPLY and LMK.

Warmly,
Jonathan

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MtM Word of the Day:
Punch list, or punchlist. In construction-type projects like exhibitions, a document created near the end of the process that lists items that need to be corrected or inspected, or that are incomplete. The contractor or fabricator is responsible for completing these. Punch lists are often reviewed by doing a walkthrough.