Exhibit Design

Here in the heart of Medical Alley, the Bakken Museum is uniquely positioned to present Minnesota’s stories of medical innovation. We created Minnesota Made as a prelude to an institution-wide initiative they’re calling “Inventing for Health.”

Minnesota’s network of physicians, scientists, engineers and other specialists was key to the development of Medical Alley. And it was a key idea we wanted the exhibit to express. The design of this exhibit and its identity were also inspired by mid-century typography, technical line art and a couple curious artifacts in the Bakken’s collections.

Tucked in a modest, L-shaped display case, the exhibit provides a concise yet visually robust introduction to the medical innovation that Earl Bakken helped to advance. We began by whittling extensive research down to three exemplary stories, paired with artifacts from the Bakken’s collections.

With space at a premium, we developed a visitor-friendly hierarchy and found ways to create depth and variation while maintaining visual unity.

We peppered the serious content with whimsy, too — the top illustration is actually a real ad for asthma cigs! — because visitors want to be enlightened and entertained.