In Retrospect: Studio Crawl - Museum Design at Design Core India

A few days back Design Core hosted its first ever studio-crawl. The event was held during the Bengaluru Design Week organized by the Association of Designers of India (ADI), focused on Museum Design. This post aims to capture our takeaways from that session.

First: Historical stories have a vast and willing audience

The event introduced us to individuals hailing from diverse backgrounds and driven by the common passion for heritage and design. They were not only curious about the upcoming Sangolli Rayanna Museum at Belgaum that we are designing, but were also concerned over the general apathy towards heritage in India.

Second: Design Thinking has a vital role to play in museums

Museums are storytelling tools meant to impart experiences. Unfortunately, in our country, most museums are treated as static showcases which adversely affects their appeal and impact. Whether corporate, personal, or historical - an effective museum must utilize Design Thinking to engage the senses within the framework defined by project constraints.

Third: Designers are responsible for maintaining the authenticity of narratives

It is natural to be impressed by the latest technological innovation or design trend. A good designer, however, would question whether such an innovation would help retain the authenticity of the story that a museum intends to relate.

Fourth: Only collective effort can help preserve our heritage

The challenge of preservation - of heritage or the authenticity of historical narratives - is enormous. The only way forward is to heighten individual awareness and empathy towards our past.

If we, as designers, are able to sow the seed of inquiry and fan the delight of discovery in an individual, we can influence how people - as a whole - perceive and treat their past and value it. 

Summing up: Museum Design as a responsibility

Designing museums - whether corporate such as the ones we designed for the UB Group and Tata BP Solar (Now Tata Power Solar) or historical such as the upcoming Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna Museum at Belgaum, Kempegowda Museum, or the Hampi Museum - is all about storytelling through mixed media. However, the job also comes with the great responsibility. Taking feedback from the audience helps check perspective, which we did succeed in achieving during the studio crawl.