Exhibition Designer at Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Connecticut

Job Description:

Mystic Seaport Museum seeks an Exhibition Designer to join our internal exhibitions team in leading 3D, graphic, and interactive element design. The position will be part of a team creating engaging, cross-disciplinary exhibitions and displays located in formal galleries, family activity centers, onboard historic ships and in historic buildings, outside on our waterfront campus, and beyond through traveling exhibits. Upcoming exhibition projects are likely to include: the cross-cultural history of surfing and surf culture; underwater exploration and maritime archaeology; recreational fishing; re-design of an existing exhibition space as a semi-permanent ship model gallery; and the centennial anniversary of Mystic Seaport Museum.

The Exhibition Designer is a full-time, permanent position, working closely with curators and other content experts, along with department colleagues, such as project managers, fabricators, and outside contractors. The Exhibition Designer works with the Exhibitions team to create concepts, designs, and documentation for a range of exhibition types, including narrative exhibits, formal art gallery displays, immersive experiences, and children's activity spaces. They will also create and maintain accurate floorplans for all galleries and related exhibits spaces. They will represent the department and museum by providing presentations on the designs for upcoming projects for key internal and external stakeholders, and images and graphics for curators, VPs, and others in their presentations. They will support fundraising by producing supporting sketches, floorplans, elevations, and dynamic views for upcoming exhibits for grant and other funding proposals. And keep accurate documentation of completed projects for the department archive and future reference. Depending on the exhibit, this position might be responsible for graphic design, and, in some cases, this position would manage a graphic designer who is an outside contractor. The exhibit designer will also participate in exhibit evaluation, testing and maintenance.

We seek a creative problem solver with a passion for designing remarkable visitor experiences that are informative, memorable, and human-centered in exploring inspiring cross-disciplinary stories about the past, present, and future of human engagement with the sea.

• A degree in an art or exhibition-related design field
• Three or more years of experience in exhibition or display work involving 3D design, graphic design, and prototyping. Museum experience and experience with interactive and accessible exhibitions are highly desirable
• In-depth knowledge of exhibition design principles
• Experience using standard 3D and 2D design software, including fluency in CAD
• A portfolio demonstrating strong design skills and experience in all phases of exhibit design from concept through execution and remediation
• Familiarity with types of materials and fabrication techniques
• Demonstrated experience producing shop drawings for fabrication
• Experience hiring, supervising, and working with outside contractors and vendors
• Familiarity with exhibition lighting design and systems
• Experience with design-build environments
• Experience with designing different types of signage
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Ability to work on several projects simultaneously in a fast-paced work environment
• Comfort with Microsoft Suite and learning new project-management tools and apps
• Ability to work on concurrent projects with different teams and experts from different perspectives
• Conveying design ideas and options through a range of tools that could include scale models, mood boards, sketches, bubble diagrams, and prototypes
• Interest in designing tactile, mechanical, and electronic interactives
• Interested applicants should submit a cover letter, resume, and examples of design work.