Design Museum

Design Museum
#23

⭐ Highligts

Designer Maker User

How design shapes daily life

From the London road signage system to classic consumer tech, this free gallery shows design’s hidden decisions.

Find an object you use every day and read the designer’s intent beside it.

📍 Permanent display, upper levels

The Roof & Atrium

Iconic hyperbolic paraboloid roof (1962)

The Grade II* listed former Commonwealth Institute was reborn here in 2016 - the roof floats like origami above the atrium.

Lean on the balustrade and look up to catch the roof geometry from corner to corner.

📍 Central hall under the sweeping roof

Material & Process

What things are made of

Explore how plastics, metals, fabrics and composites changed what designers could imagine.

Trace one product from sketch to prototype in the labels.

📍 Core collection cases

Graphics & Type

Visual language of cities

Wayfinding systems, posters and packaging reveal how typefaces steer us without our noticing.

Compare letterforms on a transport sign with the print on a poster nearby.

📍 Graphic design section

Spotlight Exhibition

Rotating headline shows

Blockbusters on fashion, film and tech design bring recent icons and behind-the-scenes drawings to the fore.

Pre-book timed slots; expect one or two ‘wow’ set-pieces perfect for photos.

📍 Temporary gallery

Opening Hours

Sunday: 10:00 – 18:00
Monday: 10:00 – 17:00
Tuesday: 10:00 – 17:00
Wednesday: 10:00 – 17:00
Thursday: 10:00 – 17:00
Friday: 10:00 – 18:00
Saturday: 10:00 – 18:00

A museum about everything you touch without noticing. The Design Museum maps the quiet decisions behind products, graphics, fashion and buildings, inside a reborn 1960s landmark whose hyperbolic paraboloid roof hovers like folded paper over a light-filled atrium. The free "Designer Maker User" display anchors the visit with road signs, typefaces and classic tech; materials cases trace how plastics, alloys and composites rewired possibility. Temporary blockbusters add spectacle-film costumes, fashion ateliers, concept sketches-while remaining generous with process and prototypes. It's lucid, hands-on and paced for curiosity. Start by looking up at the roof geometry, then loop the permanent gallery before a headline show. Pre-book timed slots for exhibitions; allow 60-90 minutes plus extra for the shop and café.

📖 Wikipedia🌐 WebsiteGoogle Maps

🤓 Fun Facts

Founded in 1989 by Sir Terence Conran; relocated to Kensington in 2016.

The building’s dramatic copper-clad, hyperbolic paraboloid roof dates from 1962 and is Grade II* listed.

The free ‘Designer Maker User’ display introduces hundreds of everyday objects through the stories of their creators and users.

Annual programmes include awards that spotlight innovative product, graphic and digital design from around the world.

The museum’s reinvention retained the historic shell while John Pawson led the interior redesign for the 2016 opening.

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