Experimentation and curiosity come with the territory when it comes to design. Past work tends to influence current projects. Luckily for us, our Smithsonian Exhibits colleagues come from a wide variety of backgrounds with an incredible range of professional experiences.
These experiences add up: as we move through our careers each project adds a little something to our bag of tricks. Maybe you found an unconventional solution to an unforeseen problem. Maybe a former colleague had an unexpected take on a project that resulted in an interesting point of view. And maybe, just maybe, everything went right … and who doesn’t want to see that unicorn again?
Senior graphic designer Maddie Wan sat down with me to discuss some of her past work in the commercial sector, where her creativity and attention to detail added up to some amazing projects. (And, as someone who has worked with Maddie at Smithsonian Exhibits, I can tell you her bag of tricks is being put to good use.) A sampling of Maddie’s favorite pre-Smithsonian projects is below.
Shanghai Natural History Museum: Details and Documentation
The Shanghai Natural History Museum was the biggest museum project of Maddie’s career to date. She was a lead graphic designer on the team that opened this huge—over 450,000 square feet—museum in 2015. Not only were the exhibitions brand new, the building itself was new. As Maddie said, “It was pretty cool to be on site when it was just a hole in the ground and see how it evolved into a real space.”
All projects benefit good communication and solid documentation. This project required it at a higher level. The design team was not involved in fabrication or installation, which meant the 100% design package had to include every last bit of information because the designers were removed from the building process.
Art Exhibition, Singapore Art Museum, A Century of Story in the Art of the Philippines: Exhibition as Art Installation
In stark contrast to the massive museum in Shanghai, A Century of Story in the Art of the Philippines was a small interpretive art installation displayed at the Singapore Art Museum. “It required a different state of mind to design–it was more intimate, and the graphics were bold but very much designed to blend with the walls, text, and artwork.”
EXPO 2010, Shanghai, UAE Pavilion: Reaching an International Audience
For the UAE Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo, Maddie had to assume an international audience and create visuals that branded the UAE pavilion wordlessly while also working with three different languages (Arabic, Chinese, and English).
“Why was this influential? Because it is totally a different kind of experience, very fast-paced, and a totally cool architectural structure. This shape became a direct inspiration for the logo.”
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, design proposal: Design Exploration
Sometimes, even after a ton of work on a proposal, you don’t get the job. But those could’ve-been projects can lead to new ways of looking at design materials. The proposal process often involves a lot of work and a crash course in the subject matter to get the proposal out on time. Maddie’s previous firm didn’t get this gig, but the research and design layout explorations were worthwhile in their own right. “The design process is a great way to learn new things.”
Witte Museum, Texas: The Unicorn! It worked and it was fun.
Sometimes you do find that unicorn and the project goes as you planned. For this project, Maddie did the graphic design and collaborated with the exhibit designer. They worked closely together and the end result was a seamless merging of their work. But as important? It was “pretty fun hanging out with dinosaurs and all the Texas flora and fauna … The dioramas were especially fun … designing actual scale bison, birds, and other animals on raised open platforms.” This writer can get on board with that sentiment. Isn’t work just a little less work-like when you enjoy what you do?
