Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum

15 Weeks

Group and Individual Project

Birmingham, AL

We were to design an exhibit for Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum showcasing the design process of motorcycles. We were told this third-floor hallway pictured above is where it would be held.

Beginning Steps

Visit Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum and study the space provided for the exhibit.

Build a strategy, taking inspiration from other exhibits and forms, then make a mood board.

Learn what the design process of a motorcycle is actually like.

Create an immersive, informative exhibit that adheres to Barber’s brand while tastefully introducing a more futuristic design.

Goals Barber was looking for us to meet:

Constraints:

Time

3 months

Money

$2000

Materials

Durable & Transportable

Temporary

Easy Installation & Easy Take-Down

Phase 1

Logo and Exhibit Identity

Each classmate produced 2 developed logos and posters for their exhibit’s identity.

mine

mine

Museum curator, Brian Case, chose 3 classmates’ developed exhibit brands for 3 teams of 5 people to continue with.

I was assigned to team Design Cycle.

Brian Case

Phase 2

Initial Exhibit Design Ideation

Design Cycle

Round 1

What worked well:

Repeating circular flow

What didn’t:

Blocking natural light from windows

Round 2

What worked well:

Circular flow
Interactive elements

What didn’t:

Not a natural guide through the exhibit
Not enough distinction between the steps of the motorcycle design process

Team-generated concept

Round 3

What worked well:

Circular/wavy flow
Interactive elements
Distinction of steps in the motorcycle design process

What didn’t:

Too much set up labor and cost

Brian chose the team-generated concept for us to continue with.

Teams continue by developing infographics, exhibit elements and models in the third phase.

Phase 3

Exhibit feature ideation, layout, and first model.

Most of the work during this phase was Design Cycle’s team of 5’s effort to produce the first model.

Features Ideation

= Elements that were implemented into the model.

Intro wall

Downward-sloped entry

Layered panels with LED under glow to show different parts

Pick the type of motorcycle spinning table

Segmented curves

Curved, hanging infographic panels

Motorcycle prototype with callouts

Exhibit Layout

Phase 3 Model

Phase 4

Individual component design, final renders and final model.

Brian called a last-minute audible by merging Design Cycle’s name with another team’s exhibit concept/identity.

Final Exhibit

Each classmate designed their own portion of the final exhibit.

Step into Design by Nunns

Design Goals:

Create a step for children to get a better view into the window of the rapid prototyping lab.
Make it blend seamlessly with the rest of the exhibit.
Make it seem like they are stepping into knowledge with the infographic.