Exhibition Designer at Penn Museum

Job Title: Exhibition Designer

Job Status: Full-time

Location: Philadelphia, PA

Salary: $43,919 – $66,183


Description

The Exhibition Designer leads design efforts to produce engaging exhibition environments and visitor experiences at the Penn Museum for diverse audiences. Reporting to the Director of Exhibitions, the position envisions, articulates, and advocates for creative design approaches for the overall environment for galleries, temporary exhibitions, and displays for the Museum.

The position collaborates and coordinates with content experts, curators, interpretive planners, graphic designers, multimedia designers, preparators, conservators, keepers, and others to safely, accurately, and appropriately present the Museum’s research and collections in exhibition format. Along with the Graphic Designer and Interpretive Planner, they develop detailed design packages from concept through final design for presentation and communication of the design idea.

The Exhibition Designer manages the design aspects of exhibition planning––coordinate and facilitate design meetings, establish design budget projections, establishing and maintaining relationships with outside vendors and independent contractors, and liaise with all stakeholders to ensure clear communications throughout the process. 

This position must be able to manage several design projects simultaneously, will respond to safety and environment standards established by the Americans with Disabilities Act, and will be required to mentor undergraduate and graduate students on a regular basis.

Job Responsibilities

  • Serve as primary exhibit designer on assigned Envision, articulate, and advocate for creative design solutions to present the Museum’s research and collections in memorable ways to diverse audiences.
  • Collaborate and coordinate with the core exhibition team on exhibit design, graphic design, lighting, media and interactive design, fabrication, and execution.
  • Function as primary liaison with external/contract design resources as needed.
  • Collaborate with the Interpretive Planner and Graphic Designer to prepare design presentation packages for key project milestones including detailed design packages from concept design through construction documentation.
  • Translate and communicate visually to a wide variety of people including fellow designers and exhibit builders in order to effectively execute the vision for an exhibition.
  • Develop project design strategies and schedules and track progress against plan for on-time completion.
  • Review and comment on shop drawings and visit fabrication facilities, as necessary, to ensure designs are understood and executed properly.
  • Manage all archived design documents and distribution to other team members, when necessary.
  • Coordinate and facilitate meetings as necessary to ensure the continuing progress of the project.
  • Meet regularly with the Director of Exhibitions to discuss design ideas and provide status of the project.

 

Requirements

Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s Degree (BFA, BA, BS) in architecture, design, or related field, and 3-5 years experience in designing object-based museum exhibitions or similar environments.
  • Experience designing exhibitions incorporating media and interactive components is preferred. Demonstrated experience in designing multiple complex projects simultaneously with diverse teams and tight deadlines.
  • Ability to work with a wide variety of stakeholders to build consensus, with keen eye to creating intellectually and emotionally engaging exhibition environments is key.
  • Proven, clear verbal, written, and visual communication skill is Ability to work in multiple platforms to create and share drawings, such as VectorWorks, AutoCad, SketchUp, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign. Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and collections database software is required. A working knowledge of materials and production methods used to create environments is needed. Experience working with students is a plus.

Application Requirements

  • A Cover Letter and Resume/CV are required to be considered for this position.
  • Please apply via the Careers@Penn website and upload your Cover Letter where it asks you to upload your Resume/CV; multiple documents are allowed. No phone calls.