We’re Not Our Visitors

All of us at the table in our planning sessions have one thing in common.

We’re not our visitors.

But sometimes we act like the project is for … us. Like:

“I know it’s an exhibit about ferns, but I just personally hate green. Can we see a grey option?”

“I know this will be a teen library, but it’s too chaotic. Can we make it more spa-like?”

“Now that the outer space exhibit is installed, it feels too dark to me. I’m turning the lights up.”

A team needs to have a voice in decisions, sure. And if a decision is entirely subjective — no one logical answer, no effect on the outcome of the project — all voices are welcome.

But if a decision is objective and will have an impact on success, we have only two choices:

1. Use our expertise to anticipate what will best serve our visitors (not us).

2. Ask them.

Here’s the thing:
We’re not our visitors.

Even if we were … who wants a grey exhibit about ferns, a teen library made for adults, or a space exhibit lit like a drugstore?

Warmly,
Jonathan

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MtM Word of the Day:
Design-Build. [Also: Design/Build, D/B] An alternative approach for constructing an exhibition or museum space, where one contract includes both designer and builder. (Traditional "Design-Bid-Build" requires separate contracts for each.) Both methods have pros and cons.