This document discusses the future of in-house design in museums in an era of increased outsourcing. It presents results of a survey of museum staffing and design practices. Various exhibition design and fabrication models are examined, ranging from 100% in-house to fully outsourced approaches. The advantages and challenges of both in-house and outsourced design are considered. The document concludes with recommendations to find the right balance between in-house and outsourced work to communicate a museum's mission and brand in the most cost-effective way.

1. “The Future of In-House Design in an
Outsourcing World”
AAM - 2013
Mark Walhimer
Museum Planning, LLC
museumplanner.org

2. “Nobody goes into museum work
to get rich”
(…and if they do they don’t last
long)

3. A highly unscientific survey:
- How many people work at a museum as staff ?
- How many of your museums have a fabrication
shop?
- How many have in-house exhibition design?
- How many used to have a fabrication shop?
- How many outsource most of your exhibition
design and fabrication?

4. Blog Post: “The Future of Museum Exhibition Design, Part
I”
- Virtual Studio, mix of projects and locations
- Film Studio Model, Assembling project teams
- Globalization, USA provider to the rest of the world
- Technology, Finding consultants, as specialists

5. Outsourcing, includes:
- Exhibition Development
- Curation
- Registration
- Exhibition Design
- Graphic Design
- Artifact Mount Making
- Exhibit Casework
- Graphic Production
- Lighting Design
- Vitrine Fabrication
- Metalwork, welding, machining
- Audio / Visual

6. Spectrum of Outsourcing
100% In-House 0% In-House
Technology

7. Spectrum of Outsourcing
100% In-House 0% In-House
Finding the spot on the axis where
exhibitions communicate mission,
brand and voice at the lowest cost with
The greatest institutional benefit
$500 per sq. ft.
$0 per sq. ft.

8. Exhibition Fabrication Models:
1. 100% In-House, Design and Fabrication
2. “Design with Hybrid“- Designed In-house, % Fabricated
In-House, % Outsourced
3. “Hybrid“- Outsourced Design, % Fabricated In-House,
% Outsourced
4. Outsourced Design, Outsourced Fabricated
Collaboration with Museum
5. “Design Build - Turn Key”

9. 1. 100% In-House, Design and Fabrication
Children’s Museum of Manhattan
1997
3,500 sq. ft.
$65,000 Total Budget, $18 per sq. ft. not including in house staff time
Designed and fabricated in house

10. 2. “Design with Hybrid“- Designed In-house, % Fabricated In-House, % Outsourced
Fabrication
Children's Museum of Indianapolis
2009
10,000 sq. ft.
$4.3 Million Total Budget, $430 per sq. ft. including endowment for exhibit maintenance
Designed and fabricated in house expect for casework, some interactives, and graphic
production

11. 3. Hybrid
Discovery Science Center
1998
25,000 sq. ft.
$2.5 Million Total Budget, $100 per sq. ft. including staff time and operational costs
1/3 Designed and Built in House, 1/3 Bought off the shelf, 1/3 Modified Exhibit Components

12. 4. Outsourced Design, Outsourced Fabricated Collaboration with Museum
MIDE
2007
15,000 sq. ft. of exhibits
$2.5 Million Budget, $166 per sq. ft.
Designed and fabricated in exhibits, created templates for graphics for the museum, layout of
space that museum fabricated locally.

13. 5. “Design Build - Turn Key”
International Wetlands Project
2005
Hong Kong
$2.5M, $350 per sq. ft. (approximate) including design, installation and graphics
Met Studios, Beck Interiors, Academy Studios
Entire project outsourced

14. Outsourcing Matrix
Model Per sq. ft.
1. 100% In-House, Design and Fabrication $18 per sq. ft.
2. “Design with Hybrid“- Designed In-house, $430 per sq. ft.
3. Hybrid $100 per sq. ft.
4. Outsourced Design, Outsourced
Fabricated Collaboration with Museum
$166 per sq. ft.
5. “Design Build - Turn Key” $350 per sq. ft.
*2. Includes Endowment for Exhibition Maintenance

15. Capital Costs:
- Driving many of the decisions
- Difficult to hire staff as part of project costs

16. Challenges of Exhibition Design & Fabrication In-House:
- Can be insular
- Can be very expensive
- Difficult to schedule staff and funding
- Multiple priorities
- Matching skills to projects

17. Challenges of Outsourcing:
- Communication of Institutional Culture
- Loss of in-house talent
- Loss of intellectual capital at end of project

18. Museum Voice:
- “How” you communicate Mission
- Communication of Institutional Culture
- Communication of “Brand”

19. Recommendations:
- "Hybrid" Children's Museum of Manhattan - Smaller projects designed and built in house,
larger projects outsourced, good model
- "Staff General Contractor" - Overall vision from museum staff, with a Director of Exhibits
managing a mix a in house and outsourced, Arizona Science Center
- "Freelance Director of Exhibits" - Museum Planning - Freelance Director of Exhibits, "General
Contractor Model", Discovery Science Center Phase II, matrix of resources, Film Production
Model, staff up, project based
- "Non-Profit / For Profit Model", COSI did not work well, but the model can work, Hands-On
FL
- "Shared Staff" - NPS Model, Yuma Model, sharing staff amongst several organizations
There needs to be a keeper of the “voice”, either as a
staff person or as a contractor