Museum Exhibition Designer Employment Contract UK

Responsibilities reflected in the contract

• Develop exhibition concepts layouts and specifications.
• Integrate objects interpretation and visitor flow.
• Coordinate graphics lighting cases and contractors.
• Maintain drawings costs and design approvals.
• Resolve installation issues without compromising safety.

A realistic working scenario

You are producing gallery layouts and visitor-facing graphics for a temporary exhibition. You prepare layout mock-ups in design tools, compile image captures with cameras, publish approved artwork to the CMS and update the asset library and project register. During installation you encounter a displaced or damaged artefact and a vendor asks to republish a draft visual externally before rights clearance.

Outputs to agree

• Gallery layout mock-ups and final artwork delivered to brand approval specification and project deadlines
• Updated asset register and CMS records for each visual asset, with rights and approval status
• Installation layout plans and risk notes referencing object-condition records and visitor sightlines
• Client briefing notes and timestamped feedback records showing approvals, revisions and sign-offs

Records and evidence

• Project management register (deadlines, deliverables, assigned tasks).
• Design files and version history in design tools with export records.
• Asset register and CMS entries (file provenance, rights clearance, approval timestamps).
• Exhibition, loan and object-condition records where layout affects object placement.
• Visitor, learning or incident logs where layout changes affect safety or access.
• Design files.

Reporting relationship

Typically reports to Creative Director, Design Lead, Account Director or Project Manager. Confirm the employer's actual reporting structure in the builder.

Authority and escalation

• You may produce and publish artwork once documented brand approvals and rights clearances are recorded in the asset register and CMS. You must not move, repair or authorise handling of objects; if you discover a damaged or displaced artefact or an unresolved rights restriction, you must stop publication or installation for that item and escalate immediately to the museum manager or collections lead, logging the finding in the exhibition, loan and object-condition records and the incident log.
• Obtain approval before committing expenditure, changing contractual commitments or making regulated or staffing decisions outside the assigned role.

Tools and systems

• Design software.
• Project management tools.
• Approval systems.
• Client communication tools.

Workplace context

• Office, studio, remote systems, client meetings or approved project locations.

Training and certification

• Complete employer-required health and safety training.

Contract priorities

• Deliver layout and graphic work to agreed briefs, brand approvals and deadlines
• Protect client briefs, unpublished material, pricing and intellectual property
• Maintain design files, asset register entries and CMS approval records
• Escalate damaged artefacts, unresolved rights/reuse restrictions, missed handovers and deadline or supplier quality failures
• Ensure layout decisions reference exhibition, loan and object-condition records and visitor-safety considerations

Information the employer should prepare

• the programme spaces and design scope
• the software drawings and IP ownership
• the budget procurement and change authority
• the object access and conservation controls
• the accessibility build and installation timetable