Museum makeover
Transforming a Pittsburgh Institution
As the newly appointed Art Director at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, I was eager to make my mark on the institution. Museum leadership shared that same enthusiasm. Several areas required immediate attention, particularly the semi-permanent galleries and wayfinding systems where graphics had slipped into obsolescence and disrepair, diminishing the overall visitor experience. Collaborating closely with the team, we identified low-cost, high-impact solutions to address the most pressing visual and navigational challenges.
So Many Bugs!
A Complete Gallery Glow-up
If any area needed a transformation, it was the museum’s Invertebrate Zoology hallway. “Bug Hall” had long been overlooked—a dimly lit corridor with blank gray walls and a few sad display cases with gray backgrounds. What it offered was a blank canvas for an exciting new gallery.
As a new creative narrative was being written to celebrate the world of bugs, I developed a bold new art direction for the space. Big images, friendly typography, and a colorful wall pattern inspired by insect wings were combined to bring a fresh energy to the hall. Once this pattern was painted on the walls and illuminated with a new lighting system, the vivid colors reflected across the polished granite floor like stained glass. Together, these elements transformed the forgotten hallway into a vibrant cathedral of critters—a tribute to the beauty and complexity of the invertebrate world.
Chirp, Chitter, Caw!
Injecting Life into a Lifeless Space
Birds are amazing creatures—colorful, cheerful, and full of life. So learning about them should be just as delightful, right? That wasn’t the case in the museum’s “Bird Hall.”
The gallery hadn’t been updated in quite some time. It was a dim, silent hallway lined with cases of taxidermied birds, amateur-looking object labels, and interpretive panels that felt more like relics than resources. It was the museum equivalent of reading the dictionary—dry, lifeless, and in need of revival.
That revival came in the form of a reimagined exhibition centered around the sonic beauty of bird calls. The team collaborated with artists to weave bird sounds throughout the space, creating an immersive experience anchored by a curated selection of “hero birds.” These standout specimens received upgraded displays and fresh, engaging labels.
Larger hallway panels were also transformed. Existing fixtures were refreshed with a new identity and colorful graphics sporting a newly hatched exhibition name: Chirp, Chitter, Caw! Surrounded by Birdsong. The result was an elegant, warm, and welcoming environment that finally matched the joy and wonder of its subject.
