Making the Museum is a newsletter and podcast on exhibition planning for museum leaders, exhibition teams and visitor experience professionals.
NEW: Categories are coming! So far, see everything on budgeting, content, technology … and Phil & Monique. (Click and scroll down.)
MtM is a project of C&G Partners | Design for Culture
5 Secrets of Digital Experience Design, with Patrick Snee (Podcast)
How can we make digital experiences work for all visitors — whether kids or grandparents? When should you bring in a creative technologist? Why should you aim for the strong verbs? What is “sneaky attract mode”? How do you do paper prototyping? …
Start With “Who’s It For?”, with Liza Rawson
What’s the very first question we should ask? Should we start designing … by designing? Liza Rawson (Head of Exhibition, Liberty Science Center) joins Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners) to discuss why we should “Start With ‘Who’s It For?’”. …
Museum Research: Big Data Meets Thick Data, with Elena Kazlas and Adaheid Mestad [PODCAST]
Cultural projects should be data-driven — but which *kind* of data?What’s the difference between the “big data” we all know — and “thick data”? Which is more important? (Hint: trick question.) What does cell phone data have to do with sculpture gardens? ….
How to Build a Museum, with David Greenbaum, FAIA [PODCAST]
What if there were only five important things to remember when you build a museum? What if the most important one of them all — had nothing to do with architecture? Which costs more in the end: building the museum, or operating the building? …
Experiential Tech Insights, with Will Bullins from Electrosonic
[NEW PODCAST] What’s the #1 thing to know about experiential technology? How long do LED walls last? (The answer will surprise you.) Are growing pains normal? What happens when you use technology just to have it? What’s an “integrator”? …
“Rapid Experience Design”, with Clare Brown
[NEW PODCAST] What if there were a better way? Are our concepts not good enough, because we’re not developing enough of them? What would happen if we merged “Agile” with “Waterfall”? We’ll ask PhD candidate Clare Brown. …
DEAI: Meeting ADA Isn’t Enough, with Beth Ziebarth and Janice Majewski [Podcast]
What’s the A in DEAI, and why are the ADA guidelines not enough anymore? What’s intersectionality? If ADA isn’t our goal, what comes after? This is a must-listen episode, featuring two of the most important voices in museum accessibility today. …
“Decolonizing Design: A Cultural Justice Guidebook”, with Dr. Dori Tunstall [Podcast]
[NEW PODCAST EPISODE] How can exhibition teams help to decolonize design? What’s a supertoken, and why are cluster hires a better strategy? The new book offers answers to all these questions and more, thanks to author Dr. Dori Tunstall. …
The Visitor Engagement Lifecycle, with Samir Bitar
What if the best way to market an exhibition — wasn't marketing? How can we help visitors find us? When they do, how do we engage them? Visitor experience expert Samir Bitar (The Art of Consulting) joins host Jonathan Alger to discuss The Visitor Engagement Lifecycle. …
Learning from "Matters of Experience", with Abigail Honor and Brenda Cowan
Three podcast hosts join forces in a single show to discuss the latest in experience design. It’s a fast-paced three-way session covering half a dozen broad themes, and countless smaller ones. What are we hearing out there? Is the biggest trend of them all … empathy?
Behind the Scenes at "Exhibition" Journal, with Ian Kerrigan
What if there were a high-quality, peer-reviewed journal for the whole exhibition community? What if it featured the leading organizations, practitioners and ideas that shape the whole industry? What if back issues available for free to see online?
We Are All Temporarily Enabled, with Phillip Tiongson
What if accessible design was for everybody, starting with … ourselves? How can a broader philosophy of access benefit every visitor? Phillip Tiongson (Potion) joins host Jonathan Alger (C&G Partners) to discuss the idea that “We Are All Temporarily Enabled” …
8 Principles of Traveling Exhibitions, with Carol Bossert
What is this thing we call a traveling exhibition? Carol Bossert (Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service / Smithsonian Affiliations) joins host Jonathan Alger (C&G Partners) to reveal the “8 Principles of Traveling Exhibitions”.
From Leading Designer to Leading a Nonprofit, with Cybelle Jones
It’s a rare moment when a leading designer swaps jobs to lead a nonprofit member organization. Cybelle Jones (CEO of SEGD), joins host Jonathan Alger (C&G Partners) to discuss what she’s learned going “From Leading Designer to Leading a Nonprofit”.
Black Belt Cost Control Tips (The Podcast)
If a project is over budget, who does the cutting? What should you do with expensive suggestions? Host Jonathan Alger talks “Black Belt Cost Control Tips.” Along the way: the beauty of modularity, poker wisdom, and ideas that will save you a lot of time and money.
A Museum is a Business, with Kris Collins
What’s it really cost to build a museum? How can we find out if a project is feasible — before we even start? What are the most common ways museum projects get in financial trouble? Kris Collins joins Jonathan to discuss “A Museum is a Business”.
Secrets of Complex Cultural Project Management, with Beth Van Why
How do you keep a huge project on track? What’s a contingency — and why is it the secret to success? Project manager Beth Van Why (Becker & Frondorf) joins host Jonathan Alger (C&G Partners) to reveal the Secrets of Complex Cultural Project Management.
Sneak Peek at the Upcoming “Exhibition and Experience Design Handbook”, with author Tim McNeil [Podcast]
How can we plan better projects using the “attract, reveal, reward” system? What’s a “wunderkammer”? Professor, designer, and museum director Tim McNeil (UC Davis) joins host Jonathan Alger (C&G Partners) to give us a sneak peek of his upcoming book.
L.A.T.C.H. - The Five Ways to Organize Any Content (The Podcast)
What’s the best way to organize the content in our experiences? What if you learned there were five ways to do it — and only five? Host Jonathan Alger (C&G Partners) does a solo podcast on “L.A.T.C.H.”, the framework proposed by TED founder Richard Saul Wurman.
8 Ways to Be “Phygital”, with Alin Tocmacov
Is everything “phygital”? How can a “phygital mindset” lead to better experience design? Exhibition designer and “phygital architect” Alin Tocmacov joins host Jonathan Alger to hash out some key principles, in “8 Ways to Be Phygital”.