Design Museum

The Way We Live Now, a major exhibition designed to celebrate Sir Terence Conran’s 80th birthday, explores his unique impact on contemporary life in Britain. Through his own design work, and also through his entrepreneurial flair, Conran has transformed the British way of life. The Way We Live Now explores Conran’s impact and legacy, whilst also reflecting his design approach and inspirations.

The design of the exhibition by Conran and Partners draws on the design philosophy and values of Conran. The narrative of the exhibition illustrates Conran’s influence as a designer, retailer, restaurateur and entrepreneur while the form draws on Conran’s belief that design should be plain, simple and useful, contemporary yet classic.

The functional and pure form of a ‘box’ was used as a design device to spatially interpret the exhibition content and underscore Conran’s philosophy of honest design. The boxes form a series of interconnected but discrete spaces which follow the journey of Conran’s life.

The understated exhibition design, with a restrained colour palette of white and blue tones relevant to each theme forms a backdrop to the richness and detail of the content. The graphic identity is also clear, and crisp, though the playful letters for the section headings reflecting Conran’s sense of charm and personality stand apart through their graphic use of Conran products designed over the years.