Last week I was lucky enough to present with Sam Elliot from Bolton Museum at the Exhibition Design conference at the V&A, to share our journey and experiences working together on Bolton’s Egypt.

A forum created for honest and open conversations about designing exhibitions as part of capital and heritage projects, our audience laughed and nodded in empathy and appreciation as we told stories about the ups and downs of such an ambitious project (yay, it’s not just us!).

The relationship between designer and client is so important, and we invest heavily to ensure we nurture a transparent environment that provides the best foundations for a successful project. I love working with Sam. No ideas are too wild for her and her team, who were always willing to try new things and experiment with collections display and interpretation. Workshops and design sessions have been filled with laughter - testament to what we hope will be a fun and engaging exhibition.

I was happy to hear that people loved hearing about our open minded approach and we got lots of positive feedback and praise about the designs we shared, in particular the beautiful illustrations inspired by Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and our very own Donkey (or camel) Derby!

I thoroughly enjoyed the insights shared by the other presenters – from sensory jellies to opera and sports cars, we were truly inspired and provoked by how we communicate with our visitors and create experiences that create joy.

Bolton’s Egypt is due to open September 2018 – we’ll keep you posted!