Design Museum – Stanley Kubrick
Design Museum – Stanley Kubrick
The Stanley Kubrick exhibition is a window into the passion Kubrick poured into every aspect of the film-making process. The unique collection of artefacts includes original costumes, posters, props, scripts and storyboards as well as the director’s cameras and lenses.
Marking the 20th anniversary of Stanley Kubrick’s death, the exhibition explores his unique command of the whole creative design process of film making, from story teller to director to editor.
“Would the Design Museum, a lively institution that inexplicably does not benefit from statutory public funding, be able to put on a show worthy of Kubrick’s remarkable body of work? The answer is… an emphatic, yes.”
Will Gompertz, BBC Arts Editor
Studio
Created as part of Team Willer at Pentagram
Deliverables
Spatial Design
Exhibition Graphics
Film and Motion
Campaign Creative
Design System
Measurables
The Design Museum’s most-visited show to date, with more than 169,000 visitors.
★★★★★ The Guardian
★★★★★ The Times
★★★★★ Evening Standard
★★★★★ Time Out
★★★★★ BBC
Opportunity
Marking the 20th anniversary of Stanley Kubrick’s death, the exhibition explores his unique command of the whole creative design process of film making, from story teller to director to editor.
Challenges
Trying to capture such a large body of work required careful consideration and collaboration with the curators and Design Museum team.
For so many objects being shown in the 832sqm gallery space, required cost effective structures that didn’t compromise on being an accessible and immersive experience. Due to the sheer quantity of objects, the installation process needed to be designed efficiently, not just the 3D structures, but also the design of the interpretation graphics.
Outcome
Visitors are fully immersed as soon as they enter – passing through a tunnel of screens that highlight the directors unique way of framing his works using a single point perspective. The ‘backstage’ room is filled with production details, including the research, planning and design of his films in his meticulous style. The exhibition then takes a detailed look into the universes of each of his films, using colour, imagery, models, quotes, costumes and idiosyncrasies different to one another.
The linear spatial design is deliberately disorientating, a subtle reference to the maze in The Shining, allowing visitors to fully immerse themselves with the content but also maximise the necessary space required for objects.
“Stanley Kubrick is the Design Museum’s most successful exhibition in terms of ticket sales, visitor response, and critical reaction. As a curator, it was hugely satisfying to work with the Pentagram team on the design of every aspect of the show. There was a real meeting of minds on how best to tell the story of a great filmmaker, in a way that impressed those who knew everything about Kubrick, and delighted those who didn’t.”