Sagmeister & Walsh - Beauty
Exhibition Design, MAK Vienna 2018
In 2018 I had the pleasure of working alongside Stefan Sagmeister & Jessica Walsh as an exhibition designer, helping them launch their exhibition “Sagmeister & Walsh: Beauty” at the MAK in Vienna.
We created The Beauty Show, a visual multimedia exhibition addressing the concept of beauty. The exhibition investigates what happened to beauty, why people feel attracted to beauty, how they deal with it in daily life and what positive effects beauty can have.
With the aid of examples from the fields of graphic design, product design, architecture and city planning, we demonstrate that beautiful objects, buildings and strategies are not only more pleasing, but are actually more effective. We show that beautiful forms do not lack function, but rather, they are function themselves.
This immersive exhibition was shown at the MAK in Vienna in 2019 & at the Museum Angewandte Kunst in Frankfurt in 2020.
The main attraction of the lower level was the Sensory Room. Stepping into the crystal-encrusted, white cube-like area, patrons are immersed in fog, beams of color, citrus scents and sound. Combined, the overall effect of all the elements is meant to help visitors relax with a calming and soothing experience. Even the music — song of the Malaysian marsh frog — is meant to help patrons unwind.
A copy of Stefan’s sketches that served as the blueprint for the entire exhibition.
CREATIVE DIRECTION: Stefan Sagmeister, Jessica Walsh
S&W PRODUCTION: Stefan Sagmeister, Jessica Walsh, Bika Siliba Redek, Gosbinda Vizarretea, Erica Grubman
LEAD DESIGN: Daniel Brokstad
3D / MOTION: David McLeod, Saad Moosajee
DESIGN: Shy Inbar, Matteo Giuseppe Pani, Chen Yu
EXHIBITION: Kathrin Pokorny-Nagel, Elisabeth Wolfik, Elliott Lavi
PHOTOGRAPHY: Aslan Kudrnofsky, Georg Mayer, Sarah Hopp
TYPEFACE: Daniel Brokstad, Ondrej Jób