Great projects happen because of great teams. But how do you build that team in the first place? Who should a museum hire first, to start a major project? How do you decide whether internal staff should run a big project, or if you need help from outside? Should you hire an architect before you hire an exhibition designer, or vice versa? Who else do you need, and when? Where can a museum find firms they might like to work with? What’s an “owner’s rep” anyway? Beth Van Why (Senior Project Manager...
Jan 30, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 28
How can we make digital experiences work for all visitors — whether kids or grandparents? Hint: it has to do with recognizing “diverse digital literacies.” When should you bring in a creative technologist? Why should you aim for the strong verbs? What is “sneaky attract mode”? How do you do paper prototyping? Are a lot of digital experiences in museums essentially “sexy browsing”? Are touch tables a trend that will never die? Patrick Snee (Creative Technologist) joins Jonathan Alger (Managing Pa...
Jan 23, 2024•58 min•Ep. 27
What’s the very first question we should ask — before we start our projects? Should we start designing … by designing? How do we make sure we understand our audience, before we start making experiences for them? Why is prototyping so important? How many of our ideas should we expect to survive the creative process? And what does microbiology art have to do with your sense of balance? (Hint: they’re both topics at a certain well-known venue.) Liza Rawson (Head of Exhibitions, Liberty Science Cent...
Jan 09, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 26
Cultural projects should be data-driven — but which *kind* of data? What’s the difference between the “big data” we all know — and “thick data”? Which is more important? (Hint: trick question.) What does cell phone data have to do with sculpture gardens? What’s a “two-hour ring”? What if we just recorded visitors narrating their entire experience — out loud? Elena Kazlas (Founder, Elevativ) and Adaheid Mestad (Design Anthropologist, HGA) join Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners) t...
Dec 12, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 25
What if there were just five important things to remember when you build a museum? What if the most important one of them all — had nothing to do with architecture? Which costs more in the end: building the museum, or operating the building? (The answer might surprise you.) Is it better to be bold, or to be subtle? What’s the difference between how design teams experience a museum project — and how visitors experience it in the end? Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners) is joined b...
Dec 05, 2023•57 min•Ep. 24
What’s the #1 thing to know about experiential technology? How long do LED walls last? (The answer will surprise you.) Is a project done when it opens, or are growing pains normal? What happens when you use technology just to have technology? What’s an “integrator”? Is sustainability a thing in experiential tech? How? What missteps waste money, ruin the experience, and let content go stale? Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners) is joined by Will Bullins (Executive Consultant, Elect...
Nov 21, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 23
What if there were a better way? Are the normal exhibition planning and design methods actually way too risky — and is there a way to “de-risk” them? Are our concepts not good enough, because we’re not developing enough of them, fast enough? What would happen if we merged effective web techniques like “Agile” with established physical development processes like “Waterfall”? Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners) is joined by Clare Brown (PhD candidate and Creative Director at G&...
Oct 10, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 22
What’s the A in DEAI, and why are the ADA guidelines not enough anymore? What’s intersectionality? What’s a “user expert”? If ADA isn’t our goal, what comes after? This is a must-listen episode, featuring two of the most important voices in museum accessibility today. Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners) is joined by Beth Ziebarth (Smithsonian head diversity officer and director of Access Smithsonian) and Jan Majewski (Director, Inclusive Cultural and Educational Projects, IHCD) t...
Oct 03, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 21
How can exhibition teams help to decolonize design? What are the pitfalls cultural organizations should watch out for in their DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiatives? What’s a supertoken and why are cluster hires a better strategy? And what does it mean to approach the process indigenous-first? The new book, “Decolonizing Design: A Cultural Justice Guidebook” offers answers to all these questions and more, thanks to author Dr. Dori Tunstall. Now starting her own consulting firm, Dori...
Sep 26, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 20
What if the best way to market an exhibition — wasn't marketing? What do we need to do better to help visitors find us in the first place? When they do, how do we engage them? When visitors arrive at our institutions, do they know where to go? What happens to the visitor's experience when we haven't thought enough about the restrooms, the stairs, or the endless line to get something to eat? Why do cultural institutions struggle with following up with visitors after they visit? Visitor experience...
Aug 08, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 19
Three podcast hosts join forces in a single show to discuss the latest in experience design. It’s a fast-paced three-way session covering half a dozen broad themes, and countless smaller ones. What are we hearing out there? How can we apply it to the work of cultural institutions? Is the biggest creative trend of them all the resurgence of … empathy? Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners) is joined by the co-hosts of “Matters of Experience,” Brenda Cowan (Professor at SUNY FIT) and ...
Jul 25, 2023•59 min•Ep. 18
What if there were a high-quality, peer-reviewed journal for the whole exhibition community? What if it featured the leading organizations, practitioners and ideas that shape the whole industry? What if back issues for the past 30 years were available — for free to see online, right now? “Exhibition,” the Journal of Exhibition Theory & Practice, published by the American Alliance of Museums, is all those things. But who makes it? What has it taught us? And what’s coming next? Ian Kerrigan ( ...
Jul 18, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 17
What if accessible design was for everybody, starting with … ourselves? What if we are all only temporarily enabled? How can a broader philosophy of access benefit every visitor? What does a WWII veteran have in common with a mom carrying a baby? Could TikTok and the rise of “quiet social media” teach us something we missed? Phillip Tiongson (Potion) joins host Jonathan Alger (C&G Partners) to discuss the realization that “We Are All Temporarily Enabled”. Along the way: interactive cinema, a...
Jun 12, 2023•42 min•Ep. 16
What is this thing we call a traveling exhibition? Do they make money? Are traveling exhibitions the same as temporary ones? How can anyone plan a project for a space they’ll never see? Carol Bossert (Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service / Smithsonian Affiliations) joins host Jonathan Alger (C&G Partners) to reveal the “8 Principles of Traveling Exhibitions”. Along the way: thinking in whole truckloads, how to get to square two, and what happens when you have a 16-foot narwha...
Jun 05, 2023•59 min•Ep. 15
It’s a rare moment when a leading designer swaps jobs to lead a nonprofit member organization. And then has to lead that organization through a global pandemic. What unique insights does an experience like that give you — and what can we all learn from it? Cybelle Jones (CEO of SEGD), joins host Jonathan Alger (C&G Partners) to discuss what she’s learned going “From Leading Designer to Leading a Nonprofit”. Along the way: finding your friendly nemesis, becoming a truffle pig, wearing the Hop...
May 22, 2023•57 min•Ep. 14
(P.S. Will you be at AAM in Denver? Drop a line if you’d like to catch up there, or see if we can find Phil & Monique at the grab-and-go café.) If a project is over budget, who does the cutting? How early should you estimate costs on a project? What should you do with expensive suggestions? How do you make your own cost estimate? Host Jonathan Alger (C&G Partners) goes through a list of “Black Belt Cost Control Tips.” Along the way: the beauty of modularity, poker wisdom, and ideas that ...
May 15, 2023•27 min•Ep. 13
What’s it really cost to build a museum? How can we find out if a project is financially viable — before we start? What are the most common ways museum projects get in financial trouble? Kris Collins, Managing Director of the Cultural practice group for MGAC, joins host Jonathan Alger (C&G Partners) to discuss “A Museum is a Business”. Along the way: projects of the heart, why you shouldn’t Google what museums cost, and what happens when your own kitchen goes over budget. Talking Points: 1. ...
May 08, 2023•35 min•Ep. 12
How do you keep a huge cultural project on track? How do you guess the future? What’s a contingency — and why is it the difference between success and failure? Project manager Beth Van Why (Becker & Frondorf) joins host Jonathan Alger (C&G Partners) to reveal the Secrets of Complex Cultural Project Management. Along the way: recovering architects, Gantt charts, museum benchmarking — and a Girl Scout Gold Award. Listen and subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts. Or start here: https://m...
May 01, 2023•55 min•Ep. 11
What are “streakers, strollers and studiers”? How can we plan better projects using the “attract, reveal, reward” system? What’s a “wunderkammer”? What can we expect in the upcoming “Exhibition and Experience Design Handbook”? Professor, designer, and museum director Tim McNeil (UC Davis) joins host Jonathan Alger (C&G Partners) to preview his upcoming book, “Exhibition and Experience Design Handbook”. The eBook is available this month (April), and the hardback version is coming in May — and...
Apr 24, 2023•55 min•Ep. 10
What’s the best way to organize the content in our experiences? What tricks are we forgetting to try? And what if you learned there were five ways to do it — and only five? Host Jonathan Alger (C&G Partners) does a solo show on “L.A.T.C.H.”, the framework proposed by TED founder Richard Saul Wurman, where there are just five ways to organize any kind of information. Along the way, we’ll cover dozens of ways to apply L.A.T.C.H. to museum and experience projects, explore two surprising potenti...
Apr 16, 2023•35 min•Ep. 9
Is everything “phygital”? Are all our projects now neither physical nor digital, but both? How can a “phygital mindset” lead to better experience design? Exhibition designer and “phygital architect” Alin Tocmacov joins host Jonathan Alger (both partners at C&G Partners) to hash out some key principles, in “8 Ways to Be Phygital”. Stops along the way: magic portals, digital architecture, and that thing about glowing rectangles. Quotable Quotes: “Phygital is a mindset.” “Think beyond the glowi...
Apr 10, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 8
Is lighting art or science? If you’re a curator tasked with lighting design, where do you start? Is lighting about light, or about shadows? If an exhibit ain't lit, is it there? When is a lighting designer's job actually about not lighting things? Lighting designers Steven Rosen and Ted Mather (Available Light) join host Jonathan Alger (C&G Partners) on Making the Museum, the podcast, to discuss "Revealing the Story with Light". Along the way: how an exhibition is like a theatrical stage, an...
Apr 03, 2023•58 min•Ep. 7
How do we keep cultural projects from going off the rails, without sacrificing creativity? It’s not impossible. In fact, there are some simple secrets to unlock the process. (Except now they won’t be secrets anymore.) Media design expert Trent Oliver joins host Jonathan Alger on Making the Museum, the podcast, to discuss the Secrets of Creative Collaboration. Trent brings her theatrical experience as an equity stage manager to her work creating visitor experiences. Turns out, theater has a lot t...
Mar 27, 2023•48 min•Ep. 6
Do exhibits really teach? Do they really present big stories well? Is personalization really a must? Are exhibits getting ... better? Interpretive planner and designer Matt Kirchman joins me on the podcast to debate Six Provocative Questions. Listen in and see what your own answer is to each. But buckle your seat belts — these are called provocative for a reason. Quotable Quotes: “Exhibits tell great stories — but they don’t narrate very well.” “Do less, better.” “Exhibits are both Shredded Whea...
Mar 20, 2023•52 min•Ep. 5
Prototyping saves projects money and time, every time. But how do you do it right? Exhibition designer and prototyping expert Paul Orselli joins me to discuss his proven system: Prototyping with ELVIS. Guest Bio: Paul Orselli, POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop) For over 40 years, Paul Orselli has worked to create inventive and playful museums and exhibits. He is now the Chief Instigator at POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.) his exhibit design and development company. Paul has consulted on museum proje...
Mar 13, 2023•48 min•Ep. 4
Exhibit fabrication expert Cathlin Bradley joins host Jonathan Alger to discuss the Five Questions Fabricators Always Hear. Guest Bio: Cathlin Bradley has worked in the museum industry for nearly 20 years, holding a variety of roles in museums and the firms that serve them. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Design from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master’s Degree in Arts Administration from the University of Cincinnati, Cathlin has developed a well-rounded perspective of what i...
Mar 02, 2023•38 min•Ep. 2
Audio visual technology experts Tony Warner and Bryan Abelowitz join Jonathan Alger to discuss the Six Secrets of Exhibit Technology. Guest Bio: Tony Warner, CTS-D, LEED AP, CDT, President, Phase Shift Consulting Tony leverages decades of project experience and industry service. Having co-managed a technology practice within a top-five global design firm, he has both a strong grasp of technology trends across market sectors and fluency across all aspects of technology in today’s built environmen...
Feb 28, 2023•43 min•Ep. 1
