Museum of the Future 2016
2016

The Museum of the Future is a unique initiative by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum that explores the future of science, technology and innovation.

Open to the public for the first time, the Museum of the Future at the World Government Summit is an exhibition that previews Dubai’s permanent Museum of the Future, which will be opening in 2018.

LUST was asked by Tellart to do the graphic design and branding for the 2016 Museum of the Future, whose theme was Machinic Life.

Machinic Life showcases how sentient machines could evolve to enhance our bodies and minds, restructure our social and family lives, and manage complex social and economic systems. It does so by asking questions such as “What does Machinic Life mean for society, for government, and for our families? This transition will present amazing opportunities and challenges for society in the coming years. What conversations should we be having today to prepare for a better tomorrow?”

The Museum was organized into four separate themed spaces, each of which speculated how novel developments in machine capabilities might augment each respective theme. They were:

  • Towards Tomorrow
  • Personal Augmentation
  • Caring Machines
  • Algorithmic Management

LUST created a dynamic identity for the museum, a system of paths that can change shape by reconfiguring itself; a series of small simple modular forms that form a visual language for the exhibition. By the way those elements behave they can be used for interfaces (interactive and dynamic), video, print work but also for artifacts and packages. Although the basis is modular, the forms that can come out of it can be and geometric and almost calligraphic.

As the basis for the identity is a line, we also treated the typography in that way, by using both a roman typeface that was originally made for CNC milling (OLF Simple Sans), and an Arabic typeface (Greta Arabic hairline). To echo the connectedness of the Arabic script, we devised a set of unexpected ligatures for the roman typeface.

  • The typeface of the future will be contextual and change based on a variety of signals.
  • There is no such thing as a static face, but one that changes weight/form/pattern depending on the context in which it finds itself. It will be a connected typeface.
  • The typeface is based on a single path, that can be loaded with (parameterized) shapes.

This identity was used in all the way finding, displays, and interfaces at the Museum. LUST also designed the outside of the 10 meter high museum.

Museum of the Future at the World Government Summit 2016 Video by Tellart

Concept

Dynamic Identity Concept For Each Theme

Concept 2

Dynamic Identity Concept Detailing Different Combinations

Dynamic Identity Video

Exterior

Exterior Design

Artifact Wall

Artifact Wall

Machinic Life

Machinic Life Banner

Artifact Display

Artifact Display

Augmentation Text

Augmentation Spa Text

Augmentation Spa Room

Augmentation Spa Room

Augmentation Spa VR Interface

Augmentation VR Interface (Video Still)

Social Companionship Room

Social Companionship Room with Avatars

UAE Hypermind

UAE Hypermind with Visuals by Marshmallow Laser Feast

UAE Hypermind Interface

UAE Hypermind Interface

The Museum of the Future at the 2016 World Government Summit is a project by the Dubai Museum of the Future, the Prime Minister’s Office of the United Arab Emirates, and the UAE telecommunications giant du. It was led by Mr. Saif Al Aleeli and Dr. Noah Raford, and was directed by the global design firm Tellart, with the support of an international team of top partners including Marshmallow Laser Feast, SOFTlab, Idee und Klang, LUST, Octo, Blue Zoo Animation, and Fantazm. The onsite build and installation was done in collaboration with Projex, Neumann Müller, and PublicisLive. Foresight research and workshop facilitation were performed by Scott Smith (Changeist) and Stuart Candy (OCAD). Photography by Silvia Boschiero.