Stanley Kubrick is the Design Museum’s most successful exhibition in terms of ticket sales, visitor response, and critical reaction.
As a curator, it was hugely satisfying to work with the Pentagram team on the design of every aspect of the show.
There was a real meeting of minds on how best to tell the story of a great filmmaker, in a way that impressed those who knew everything about Kubrick, and delighted those who didn’t.
Marina Willer and team (with the support of William Russell Architects) created the three-dimensional design, exhibition graphics, identity design, marketing campaign and entrance film for Stanley Kubrick: The Exhibition, which proved to be hugely popular, attracting record numbers of visitors and five-star reviews.
The most-visited show at the Design Museum so far, the exhibition had 169,000 visitors, who stayed for an average of two hours.
The exhibition focuses on the design, process and making of Kubrick’s masterpieces. His endless passion for and attention to detail in each production is highlighted in every step of the journey through the exhibition displays.
From the start, the viewer enters the space through a tunnel of screens that emphasised Kubrick’s constant framing aesthetics using a single point perspective. The journey continues into a process room that reveals what happened behind the scenes in great detail.
The exhibition marked the 20th anniversary of the celebrated filmmaker’s death, filling the ground floor gallery of the Design Museum. It has received 5-star reviews by The Guardian, The Times, Evening Standard, Time Out and the BBC, among others.
Pentagram’s Marina Willer explains: “It is a real dream as a designer and filmmaker to be given the privilege to work on such an extraordinary exhibition, to be so close to all the content and help shape the story. It was a real team effort and I feel very lucky to be given the opportunity.”
Director of the Design Museum Deyan Sudjic adds: “Stanley Kubrick is the Design Museum’s most successful exhibition in terms of ticket sales, visitor response, and critical reaction. As a curator, it was hugely satisfying to work with the Pentagram team on the design of every aspect of the show. There was a real meeting of minds on how best to tell the story of a great filmmaker, in a way that impressed those who knew everything about Kubrick, and delighted those who didn’t.”
Kubrick’s widow Christiane opened and made several visits to the exhibition, which was also visited by two of the director’s contemporaries, Woody Allen and Mike Leigh.
Exhibition walk-through filmed by Louis Bryant. Exhibition photography by Ed Reeve.
Office
- London
Partner
Project team
- Stuart Gough
- Hamlet Auyeung
- Cleber de Campos
- Marta Gaspar
- James Aspey
- Jenni Kaunisto
- Kate Blewett
- Ana Lapa
