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Head of design at the Natural History Museum Nick Sainton-Clark would like to see more outside designers adding a fresh perspective in work with the museum’s in-house team.

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Words by Pamela Buxton

Nick Sainton-Clark is head of design at the Natural History Museum. He joined the museum in 2009 and initially headed up the production services department before taking on the design role as well a year ago. Previously, he worked at the BBC for 16 years managing both the special and visual-effects departments including prop making, animation and digital effects for programmes such as Doctor Who, Alien Worlds and Robot Wars.

What does your role at Natural History Museum entail?
I oversee 40 people including a small design team of 3D, graphic and digital designers, as well as production services that encompass conservationists, mount makers, engineers, painters and joiners, AV and media specialists, and could be dealing with anything from exhibition sets to typography for print to organising a loan certificate.

We have nearly 25,000 sq m of gallery space and the aspiration is to get even more by re-jigging how the site works. We're currently setting out our permanent gallery development programme for the next 20-30 years. We're also looking at how we can get the most out of the grounds while being mindful of the listed Waterhouse building and consultation with our neighbours - there's huge potential there.

Nick Sainton-Clark. Portrait: The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London 2014.

How many different design projects do you generally commission a year, and what sort of work is this?
We have 10 to12 major design projects a year, from architectural work in the grounds to our temporary exhibition programme. Most are commissioned externally but increasingly we are selecting temporary and permanent exhibits to design ourselves in-house. By 2016, we hope to stage a minimum of five temporary exhibitions (up from four) a year. Our key audience are 'Learned Liberals and Contemporary Cultured', and exhibition briefs are developed with this in mind.

Are you approached by design teams?
We do get some approaches made and I would like us to be better at identifying and engaging new and interesting designers.

Britain: One Million Years of the Human Story was designed by Nissen Richards. Image: Nick Rochowski.

How do you go about commissioning designers and architects?
We did have a framework of companies but recently we have just been tendering per job. We're currently looking at how we can be more agile in how we procure design. My view is that we need the right balance between external design companies and their fresh perspectives and the in-house design team, which has lots of experience of working with our collection. They feed off each other, and the museum gets the best of both worlds.

Britain: One Million Years of the Human Story was designed by Nissen Richards. Neanderthal model close up: The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London 2014.

What qualities do you look for?
Flair and imagination, and a clear engagement with the collection - that's a deal breaker. Design companies should be receptive to feedback and input from us - the design does have to earn its keep so we do sometimes play devil's advocate. But we wouldn't want to crush their creative spirit. Hopefully everyone gains from the process.

What makes for a good gallery environment, and what roles can interactive and audiovisual design play within this?
We have to be really clear about what we want to convey. Our goal is to make exhibitions specimen-rich by putting our collections to the fore and creating strong narratives around them. The design should be imaginative and engaging without overpowering the exhibits.

We don't want to just jump on the bandwagon for current display fashions - whether augmented reality or touch-screen. It's about finding the best approach to interactives and design to make the exhibition work. I'm also a fan of mechanical exhibits and objects you can touch - people often respond well to a mechanical way of relating to the subject.

Often we take a black-box route to temporary shows. When we don't we're mindful of being sympathetic to the incredible architecture and detail of the building.

Earthquakes and Volcanoes was by DesignMap. Image: Designmap

What aspects of exhibition design are the hardest to get right?
Making visitors feel it's a natural movement through the exhibition design. We've moved away from the strong narrative sausage factory route to providing an overall steer that gently guides people around without making it feel too prescriptive.

What is the most challenging aspect of your job?
Plate-spinning! When you're working across such a wide remit it's very easy to get too sucked into one particular area. I am recruiting some design management staff, which will help. Another challenge is value engineering that isn't at the cost of the concept.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?
The fun bit is near the beginning when we have the concept and blue-sky scenario and are exploring how we can make it interesting and dynamic.

What projects do you feel have turned out particularly successfully?
The recent Volcanoes and Earthquakes galleries project, which moved from a light touch content improvement to practically a new gallery. The design for Britain One Million Years of the Human Story was also very successful.

Earthquakes and Volcanoes was by DesignMap. Image: Designmap

What future design projects are in the pipeline?
We're rethinking the Hintze (formerly Central) Hall area to better showcase all the collections, including new displays on the balconies. The idea is to provide a striking glimpse of our specimens and science, as well as making the most of the amazing architecture. That will complete in 2017.

We've the Coral Reefs: Secret Cities of the Sea temporary exhibition opening this month. This has a really strong visual style and story and includes an aquarium with live coral. One of the challenges here is capturing the wonder and immersive feel of the ocean without becoming too theatrical. We've also got the 50th anniversary NHM Wildlife Photographer of the Year show (until 30 August) and an ambitious exhibition under development on whales, which will open in spring next year.

Do you have any favourite museums/ galleries that you take inspiration from?
I love the Victoria and Albert Museum. Its shows are very classy and manage to get some real wow factor. The Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford is a lovely museum with an eclectic mix of display cases that you just roam around. I quite like that quirky character.

One of my goals is to get out and about more to look at other museums and get some international trips in - the last thing I need is to become too insular.