To be a Design tour guide

Yesterday evening I had a few hours at the Design Museum to learn a little  more about what is required of a Volunteer Tour Guide in the Collection Lab.

Very interested to hear from Gemma Curtin about the thinking behind the curation of the collection, how it was structured to be welcoming across generations and structured to highlight the three elements required of a 'design' item,


Designer 
Manufacturer
and
User.

The collection does have a natural flow which Gemma demonstrated and the ideal way to enter takes one past a Kalashnikov rifle  placed next to a wooden support the plywood leg splint designed by Ray and Charles Eames in 1942.

It was clear to me from my (second) visit that there is a fantastic amount of  potential to draw people into a dialogue with design that can enrich their involvement with the everyday

Also clear to me was that work is required to be able to communicate the issues and history that the items are able to highlight.

The mean streets by the Design Museum

We were again put on the spot to make a small presentation and that and other feedback made clear that I need to  add  materials information when speaking about particular items also  that humour can be used to help the visitors.

The Volunteer co-ordinator had really pulled together a lot to do and her effort and commitment was clear and motivational (as were the refreshments).