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Experience design · How I work

Every decision tested against one story

Great experiences are not decorated rooms. When space, objects and content are designed together, they tell a story that is clear, compelling and relevant to visitors. That starts with a shared brief, grows through early testing, and keeps evolving after opening.

No two projects or engagements are the same. This is the process at its fullest; I scale it to fit your budget, timeline and team, and to wherever the project is when I join. A six-week pop-up might move from listening to a tested prototype in days; a museum runs phase by phase over years, inside the building schedule.

Scroll to see how
The process in five steps: listen, write the brief around one North Star story, curate and interpret, design, test and build, then evolve, with visitor testing before, during and after, and what we learn feeding the next brief.WHAT WE LEARN FEEDS THE NEXT BRIEF01ListenPeople, place and content02Write the briefOne story it all serves03Curate and interpretWhat matters, and how it lands04Design, test and buildConcept · Prototype · Build · Open05EvolveOpening day is a beginningNORTH STARCONTENTDESIGNFRONT-END EVALUATIONFORMATIVE EVALUATIONSUMMATIVE EVALUATIONTESTED WITH VISITORS
The process in five steps: listen, write the brief around one North Star story, curate and interpret, design, test and build, then evolve, with what we learn feeding the next brief.WHAT WE LEARN FEEDS THE NEXT BRIEF01ListenPeople, place and contentFRONT-END EVALUATION02 · NORTH STARWrite the briefOne story it all serves03Curate and interpretContent and design, side by side04Design, test and buildConcept · Prototype · Build · OpenFORMATIVE EVALUATION05EvolveOpening day is a beginningSUMMATIVE EVALUATION

The full process, phase by phase, is on the desktop version of this page.

01

Listen

Before any design, I gather what is true about the people, the place and the content.

  • AudienceEthnography and visitor research: who is coming, what they know, what they hope to find.
  • ClientStakeholder interviews and workshops to surface goals and ambitions.
  • ContextThe site, the building, the brand and the data.
  • ContentCurators, product experts and subject leads decide what matters most.
Front-end evaluationresearch before design
02

Write the brief together

The brief agrees what is possible, who does what, and the one story it all serves.

  • The frameBudget · Timeline · Audience · Success measures
  • The spaceSize and height, daylight and views, structure and loading, power and services, access for install, codes, and the conditions the objects need.
  • Roles and responsibilitiesWho leads, who contributes, who approves and who needs to know, across client, curators or content owners, architects, designers and fabricators.
The North StarThe core story, theme and tone. What visitors should feel, understand and carry home, in one or two sentences anyone can repeat.
03

Curate and interpret, side by side

Curation decides what matters. Interpretation decides how it matters to the people in the room.

  • Content trackWhat it says: the stories, objects and artifacts on show, and the words, images and films around them.
  • Design trackWhat people walk into: the physical space, exhibits, casework, cabinetry and custom furniture, materials, graphics and lighting, made with the architects, engineers and fabricators.
  • Built in from day oneAccessible, inclusive design for every visitor, and materials chosen to last, be maintained and be reused.
04

Design, test and build

Five phases, with a North Star check at every handover.

  • ConceptBig idea, key messages and the visitor journey.
  • PrototypeFrom quick mock-ups I make myself to working pilots built with partners, tested early with visitors.
  • Document, buildDrawings, final content and fabrication.
  • Install, openCommissioning, staff training and opening.
  • Operate, evolveBuilt to be run and refreshed in-house.

In ten years curating and designing the Autodesk Gallery, I tried new exhibits out first at events and pop-ups, so visitor feedback shaped them before they reached the gallery floor. When we redesigned the gallery remotely during COVID, we tested its digital content with users remotely instead. See the case study →

Formative evaluationtesting while we design
05

Evolve

Opening day is a beginning. What we learn from visitors feeds the next brief.

Rotations, new stories and hardware refresh are planned from day one, so the experience stays alive and the in-house team can run it.

Summative evaluationmeasuring after opening
My role

What I do, and who I bring in

I lead, hands-on

  • The briefResearch, workshops and the North Star.
  • Experience designInterpretation, story and the visitor journey.
  • Physical designSpaces, exhibits, casework, furniture and materials, drawn by me.
  • Early prototypesQuick physical and digital mock-ups I make myself to test ideas.
  • Design directionThrough fabrication, install and opening.

I bring in and direct

  • MakingFabricators and production partners, from working prototypes to the final build.
  • MediaAV, lighting, film and interactive specialists.
  • ContentWriters, researchers and evaluators as the project needs.

I work alongside the project's architects and engineers, so the experience is designed into the building rather than added after. Trained in product design engineering, with almost a decade designing façades at Arup, I speak their language, design the physical experience myself and stay with it through to opening.

The detail

What happens in each phase

On building projects, phase names map to the standard stages museums, architects and builders use, so the experience work runs inside the building schedule instead of chasing it. Smaller projects compress the same steps.

Phase
Standard stage
Content trackCurate and interpret
Design trackPhysical space, objects, building
Test with visitors
Output
01

Concept

Masterplan and concept design
Big idea, key messages and story layers for each audience
Spatial concept, the visitor journey from arrival to exit, and first ideas for exhibits, casework and furniture
Concept testing with target visitors
Experience concept and interpretive framework
02

Prototype and develop

Schematic design and design development
Interpretive plan, object lists and draft text
Design developed through rounds of prototyping, with exhibit needs built into the architecture
Prototype experiences, from cardboard mock-ups to working pilots
Tested prototypes and design development package
03

Document and build

Construction documents, bid and fabrication
Final text, media scripts and image rights
Drawings and specifications for exhibits, casework and furniture, and fabrication oversight
Samples and full-size mock-up reviews
Fabrication documents and approved samples
04

Install and open

Installation and commissioning
Content installed, proofed and checked in place
Installation, AV commissioning and lighting focus
Soft opening with invited visitors
Opening, staff training and operations guide
05

Operate and evolve

Post-opening
Rotations, new stories and refreshed content
Maintenance and hardware refresh, built to be run in-house
Summative evaluation
Evaluation report and refresh plan

Start with the brief

If you have a building, a collection or a story that needs a place, let's write the brief together.

Get in touch