“The Design Museum has the UK’s only collection devoted exclusively to contemporary design and architecture. For the first time in the museum’s history, a wide range of its collection will be accessible as a free, permanent exhibition. Designer Maker User is a landmark exhibition telling the story of contemporary design and will sit at the heart of the £83m new home of the Design Museum on Kensington High Street.

Designer Maker User features almost 1000 items of twentieth and twenty-first century design viewed through the angles of the designer, manufacturer and user, as well as with a crowdsourced wall. The exhibition covers a broad range of design disciplines, from architecture and engineering, to the digital world, fashion and graphics.” —  The Design Museum

“The museum’s collection display is not a chronological timeline or simply a collection of design’s greatest hits. We are investigating what objects and products mean, and demonstrating to our visitors that the story behind how they are made is as important as their final appearance. It’s an exploration of design from the point of view of the user, and the maker, as well as the designer behind them.” — Deyan Sudjic, Director of the Design Museum

Designer Maker User curator was Alex Newson, assistant curator was Eleanor Suggett, and exhibitions assistant was Anna Holsgrove. The exhibition was designed by Studio Myerscough. The Design Museum new home on Kensington High Street was designed by John Pawson.

Top photograph by Gareth Gardner. Images courtesy The Design Museum.