A successful exhibition is a well-balanced mix of communication, knowledge transfer, interaction, adventure, and contemplation. This widely popular handbook, which has already gone through multiple printings, offers a concise presentation of the principal phases of an exhibition’s genesis with striking examples from the design practice of the authors. Topics covered are conception and design, presentation and staging, representation and education, text and graphics, typography and layout, as well as light and lighting. The central design steps are illustrated with sketches, diagrams, plans, elevations, simulations, technical drawings, working models, and photographs. Bertron Schwarz Frey (Berlin and Ulm) is one of Germany’s leading exhibition design firms.

A successful exhibition is a well-balanced mix of communication, knowledge transfer, interaction, adventure, and contemplation. This widely popular handbook, which has already gone through multiple printings, offers a concise presentation of the principal phases of an exhibition’s genesis with striking examples from the design practice of the authors. Topics covered are conception and design, presentation and staging, representation and education, text and graphics, typography and layout, as well as light and lighting. The central design steps are illustrated with sketches, diagrams, plans, elevations, simulations, technical drawings, working models, and photographs. Bertron Schwarz Frey (Berlin and Ulm) is one of Germany’s leading exhibition design firms.

The way in which the contemporary exhibition is designed is fast changing - previously aloof cultural institutions are making use of technologies and techniques more commonly associated with film and retail. Exhibition Design features a wide variety of examples from around the world, from major trade and commerce fairs, to well-known fine art institutions, to small-scale artist-designed displays. An introduction gives a historical perspective on the development of exhibitions and museums. The first part of the book covers the conceptual themes of narrative space, performative space and simulated experience and the second the practical concerns of display, lighting, colour, sound and graphics. Throughout are photographs, drawings and diagrams of exhibitions, including the work of such internationally renowned architects and designers as Ralph Appelbaum Associates, Atelier Bruckner, Casson Mann, Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Imagination, METStudio and Jean Nouvel.

“This is a must-read for the nervous novice as well as the world-weary veteran. The book guides you through every aspect of exhibit making, from concept to completion. The say the devil is in the details, but so is the divine. This carefully crafted tome helps you to avoid the pitfalls in the process, so you can have fun creating something inspirational. It perfectly supports the dictum—if you don’t have fun making an exhibit, the visitor won’t have fun using it.” —Jeff Hoke, Senior Exhibit Designer at Monterey Bay Aquarium and Author of The Museum of Lost Wonder Structured around the key phases of the exhibition design process, this guide offers complete coverage of the tools and processes required to develop successful exhibitions. Intended to appeal to the broad range of stakeholders in any exhibition design process, the book offers this critical information in the context of a collaborative process intended to drive innovation for exhibition design. It is indispensable reading for students and professionals in exhibit design, graphic design, environmental design, industrial design, interior design, and architecture.

Whether a world fair, an art gallery, a museum or trade show, all exhibitions deal with the same basic commodities, objects and informative space. The skill of the exhibition designer lies in using suitable techniques to ensure that the objects are explained in an accessible way to the widest audience. This guide deals with the whole range of exhibition design, describing both people and processes involved in briefing, mounting, maintaining and evaluating exhibitions. It provides the essential principles of designing an exhibition, whatever its nature and size, and serves as an introduction for the non-specialist and a guide to good practice for students and professionals alike.

This second edition has been consolidated in order to reduce redundancies, but also features new sections. "Conservation Conditions" focuses on important aspects of dealing with original exhibits and the design issues that this involves. Also included is a chapter on the new design project at the Berlin Museum of Natural History, which has been realized since the book was first published.

Today’s multi-modal, participatory exhibitions and attractions are bound by a desire to convey information, excite the viewer and create social and narrative experiences. Without design at the helm and employed effectively, these experiential moments would not become lasting memories that inform and inspire an increasingly sophisticated audience. This full-color illustrated handbook, based on the author’s research and expertise as an exhibition designer, educator, and critic, is the first title to simultaneously explain how to design exhibitions and attractions successfully; contextualize contemporary exhibition design practice through its historical and theoretical underpinnings; elevate understanding of one of the most rapidly evolving and trans-disciplinary creative disciplines; illuminate exhibition design’s contributions to the expanding global market for civic, cultural, commercial and entertainment experiences; and reframe the exhibition design process using a set of recurring tropes and the methods they employ, making this book distinct from other practice-based, museological or commercially-driven titles. This full-color book with over 250 photographs and drawings uses real-world examples, museum and exhibition design studio profiles, historical and contemporary voices, and draw on the author’s own creative practice and exhibition making experience, as well as contributions from his extensive network of international museum, attraction, and design professionals. The author introduces a new methodology for understanding exhibition and experience design. One that elevates understanding of one of the most rapidly evolving and trans-disciplinary creative disciplines. Twelve easy-to-follow illustrated chapters introduce a set of reoccurring exhibition design conventions or “tropes” that are omnipresent in exhibition making and can be used to chart a new methodology for understanding exhibition design and its process.

'What is Exhibition Design?' provides a stunning, diverse portfolio of cutting-edge work from designers and studios around the world. Like the other titles in this series, this book will be essential reading for every professional and student involved with exhibition design.

This volume is an outcome of the conference "Museum Exhibition Design: Histories and Futures" hosted by Centre for Design History at University of Brighton in September 2020.