Permanent Collection Free display
Designer Maker User
A free exhibition introducing part of our collection, looking at the development of modern design through these three interconnected roles. Explore the free display to discover some of the designers and makers who have shaped the world we live in.
What to expect
DESIGNER MAKER USER features almost 1000 items of twentieth and twenty-first century design viewed through the angles of the designer, manufacturer and user, including a crowdsourced wall.
The free display covers a broad range of design disciplines, from architecture and engineering to the digital world, fashion and graphics.
Share your favourite designs with @designmuseum using the hashtag #DesignerMakerUser
Photo: Art Fund © Hydar Dewachi
Photo: Art Fund © Hydar Dewachi
Photo: Art Fund © Hydar Dewachi
Photo: Gareth Gardner
Photo: Gareth Gardner
Visit information
Free display
Designer Maker User is free to enter. No pre-booking is needed.
Ages
This is a family-friendly exhibition and includes activities for young explorers to use when in the museum. More information below with a link to download the trail.
Opening times
10:00 – 17:00 Monday to Thursday
10:00 – 18:00 Friday to Sunday
Please note that the gallery space starts closing 15 minutess before the building closes.
Closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Schools
The new Design Museum welcomes schools, colleges and universities for self-guided visits to all exhibitions. Visit the Schools page for more information.
The recommended time for viewing this exhibition is 1 hour.
Family resources
Family Explorer Trail
Visiting today? Check out our printable Family Explorer Trail booklet to engage your young creatives whilst experiencing the permanent collection. Suitable for children 6-10 years old - all they need is a pencil.
Audio: Tips from Kids
Explore our collection display with new eyes. Tips from Kids is our new audio feature available on the Bloomberg Connects app. Organised in partnership with students from Kingston University’s MA Curating Contemporary Design programme, the audio guide presents objects in the display through the lens of a group of Year 1 children aged 5 and 6 years. Their lively discussions give fresh insights into the three topics in the exhibition – Transportation, Technology and Fashion. Bring your own headphones to enjoy!
The app is free to access and you can connect with the museum's free guest wi-fi during your visit.
Designer
The ‘Designer’ segment of the exhibition is based on the phrase by the Italian architect Ernesto Rogers: from the spoon to the city. It explores the ways in which the thought-process of the designer informs projects at every scale, from the smallest to the largest. David Mellor's traffic light, Kinneir and Calvert's British road signage system and a 1:1 scale prototype for the new London tube train designed by PriestmanGoode will be on show.
British Road sign by Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert
Moulton AM2 bicycle, Dr. Alex Moulton
Foldable London Underground Tube Map, 1933, Harry Beck
Anglepoise lamp by George Cawardine
Maker
In the ‘Maker’ section, the exhibition traces the evolution of manufacturing, from Thonet bentwood cafe chairs and Model T Ford cars to robotic arms, mass customisation and 3D printing. Everyday objects such as tennis balls as well as notable designs including the London 2012 Olympic Torch are presented at different stages of production.
Mould for the no. 14 chair by Gebrüder Thonet
Shoe Lasts, Carreducker. Photo credit John Adrian
Splint, Ray and Charles Eames
Olympic Torch by BarberOsgerby
User
A display on the ‘User’ explores the interaction between people and brands that have come to define the modern world. Features include a vinyl player from Dieter Rams, landmark pieces from Sony including the Walkman and the Minidisc, the Apple iPhone and the Olivetti Valentine typewriter; all demonstrating how design has changed how we communicate.
Vespa Clubman (1946), Corradino d'Ascanio, Piaggio
Valentine Typewriter by Ettore Sottsass and Perry King
Phonosuper SK5 record player (1956), Hans Gugelot and Dieter Rams, Braun A.G.
Xbox controller by Microsoft
meet Zaha Hadid Architects
meet studio myerscough
The making of Designer Maker User
Image | Courtesy of Studio Myerscough
The making of Designer Maker User
Image | Courtesy of Studio Myerscough
The making of Designer Maker User
Image | Courtesy of Studio Myerscough
The making of Designer Maker User
Image | Courtesy of Studio Myerscough
Crowdsourced Wall
Your favourite things
As part of Designer Maker User, almost 500 of you suggested your most important objects to be featured at the entrance of the exhibition. Consisting of more than 200 nominated objects from 25 countries, the wall displays a diverse selection that demonstrates the intimate relationships that we have with the everyday objects that shape our lives. Items on show include a Bible, a Coca-Cola can, the £5 banknote, a pair of rubber gloves, and a plastic garden chair.
Enjoy your visit
Self-guided visit for learning groups
The new Design Museum welcomes schools, colleges and universities for self-guided visits to all exhibitions. Here is everything you need to know to plan and book an inspiring self-guided visit to the museum.
Background image: Art Fund © Hydar Dewachi