Bob Greenberg Selects: Connected by Design
Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum
New York, NY, USA
2018

“Bob Greenberg Selects: Connected by Design” was exhibited at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum from February 23rd 2018 through September 9th 2018, as part of the museum’s “Selects” series where guests are invited to highlight pieces from the museum’s permanent collection. The exhibition was designed for and co-curated with Bob Greenberg , founder of the international design innovation company R/GA, who chose 42 items spanning 65 years that uncover compelling design lineages to make thematic connections of influence of technology and design.

The selected objects are presented in four groupings: Connected Devices, Disruptive Innovations, Measurement and Calculation and Dieter Rams’ Ten Principles for Good Design.

Lighting unites the exhibition design by floating a space of display within a white box. It is the first use of lighting, in a museum outside of Japan using OLED panels instead of light bulbs, with a spectrum close to natural light that emits spherical diffusion to create a futuristic atmosphere.

In place of traditional museum labels, visitors are encouraged to download and use an interactive app developed by R/GA which allows users to take a picture of an object and discover explanatory and related materials. The app also includes an audio guide feature with commentary on the objects, in addition to the option of listening to the video commentary on design by Greenberg which is transmitted to visitors’ devices by a communication protocol that uses inaudible sound to broadcast information.

Design Team: Toshiko Mori, Sama El Saket, David Jaubert
Curators: Robert Greenberg with Emily Orr
Media Production & Graphic Design: R/GA
Lighting: Kilt Planning Office Inc. & SGF Associates

Photographs © R/GA